Page 52 of Taken By the Savage Highlander

As silence threatened to encroach on them again, Cameron said, “They’ve planned a ceilidh to celebrate me weddin’.”

“Ye allowed them to plan a ceilidh?” Gavin asked, doing nothing to hide his amusement. “That doesnae sound like ye.”

“It isnae for me,” Cameron snapped. Immediately tempering his defensiveness, he added, “This marriage has been nothin’ but duty and obligation for Margo. Marian and Lachlan believe that it is the least I could do for her, and I am inclined to agree.”

“Does she ken that we’ll be throwin’ a ceilidh for ye?” Gavin asked, grinning like a fool. “Or are ye avoidin’ speakin’ to her so ye daenae have to tell her?”

“I’m nae avoidin’ speakin’ to her,” Cameron growled, turning his fiery gaze directly at his best friend. “It seems she doesnae wish to speak, so I willnae force her.”

“Ye daenae have to force her to respond to inform her of an event that she will be attendin’,” Gavin countered, infuriatingly calm in the face of Cameron’s frustrated posturing. “I just assumed that ye would have learned from nae tellin’ her about yer upcomin’ absence. I imagine that she’ll be even more upset if ye spring a ceilidh on her days before it happens.”

Cameron refrained from responding, knowing that Gavin had a point. It didn’t matter how cautious he was attempting to be around the woman. He needed to treat her as an equal rather than an asset to be managed, especially in matters that concerned them both. He could only imagine the hell his cousin and Marian would raise if he put a stain on the celebration before it had even begun.

Pushing himself away from the table in an attempt to reclaim some of the control he felt slipping through his fingers, he said, “Margo will be informed of the ceilidh. I resent yer implication that I would keep the celebration hidden from her until days before it took place.”

“I wasnae implyin’ that ye wouldnae tell her,” Gavin said, raising an eyebrow. His antagonistic attitude seemed to retreat, sensing Cameron’s seriousness, though it was a bit delayed. “Ye werenae here to see how yer sudden disappearance affected her. She thought she was hidin’ it well, but she dinnae take bein’ left in the dark well.”

For a moment, Cameron’s entire body stiffened. Then, forcing his posture to relax, he said, “That was an oversight that I daenae intend to repeat.”

Without giving Gavin a chance to say anything else, Cameron turned on his heel and marched out of the Hall. Throughout the course of their conversation, most of the clan had filtered out of the room, either to carry on with the last of their duties or to retire to their quarters. That came as a relief.

At least I dinnae have an audience witnessin’ me behave as though I were a foolish boy.

Banishing that thought and that image from his mind, he walked the familiar path to his chambers. That was not his final destination, though. Gavin was correct. He could not leave Margo in the dark, even about something as frivolous as a ceilidh.

Even as he told himself that it was a visit meant only to tell her about the celebration, his mind kept trailing back to her lips. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he would have to keep a tight grip on his control.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“You mean that they went to greet him after he arrived this evening?” Eleanor asked, now lazing in the window seat with Treasure asleep on her lap. “The kittens like him?”

“I think we both already knew that,” Margo giggled. “Miss Crusoe earned her name because she decided she enjoyed his presence enough to go on an adventure.”

“Maybe so,” her sister hummed, scratching Treasure’s chin. The kitten’s purr seemed to fill the entire room, the sound seemed much too strong for its tiny body. “But the idea of it is just so ridiculous to me that I cannot believe it.”

“Had I not seen it, I would not have believed it myself,” Margo admitted as she rose from her seat and walked over to where Spirit was stretched in front of the fire. As she stroked her soft black fur, she said, “But what was even more unbelievable was that he greeted them.”

Eleanor tilted her head to the side, pressing her lips together as she looked at Treasure. It was almost as if she expected the animal to either confirm or deny Margo’s claim. Finally, Eleanor met her eyes and said, “Perhaps he is more confusing than I thought.”

“I’ve been telling you, Eleanor!” Margo exclaimed with a laugh, scooping up Spirit. As she stood and crossed the room to her sister, she continued, “I used to think that I was good at puzzles. He has proved I am not.”

Eleanor’s laughter was a balm to the lingering soreness of discovering the letter from their father and Cameron’s strange behavior this evening. Since she could not discuss the details and the horrifying truth of their marriage, she was grateful for the distraction. Her sister was a breath of normalcy, something she could always rely on.

Though I pray that if she ever faces hardship like this, she’ll speak with me.

Just as a strange sort of guilt attempted to thread through her mind, there were three sharp knocks at the door. Margo’s stomach dropped when she met Eleanor’s eyes. Though her sister had quickly stifled it, fear had flashed over her features. Even now, acute terror was etched into the wrinkle of her brow.

“Who is it?” Margo called after a beat, though she was sure she already knew who was on the other side of the door.

“I would like to speak with ye briefly, Lady MacLeod,” Cameron said, his voice stilted, formal, and subdued in a way that was not befitting of him.

Why does he sound so… formal? Restrained?

“You may enter,” Margo replied, dropping Spirit onto her sister’s lap. The kitten made an undignified noise before settling in against her sibling.

The door opened slowly, and when Cameron stepped through, he still carried with him his imposing energy and intimidating height. His hair was pushed away from his face, and the fire cast delicious shadows over the sharp line of his jaw. For a moment, she nearly forgot their circumstances and saw only the handsome man she was bound to.

When he spoke, it became clear that he was profoundly uncomfortable.