Never Seduce a Scot (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs #1)(44)

“I don’t believe I made any such claim,” Graeme said mildly. “What I’d like her to do, however, is to put down the sword before she hurts herself.”

Graeme took a step forward, his gaze focused solely on his wife. “Eveline,” he said gently. “Please give me the sword. No one will hurt you. I swear it.”

She turned her gaze to the women still standing several feet away and her lips turned into a mutinous line. “Out,” she said again. Then her lips quivered and the firm line dropped. Deep sadness entered her eyes and they filled with tears. When she looked at Graeme again, there was clear defeat in her gaze.

It broke his heart.

Anger gripped him. At the moment, he cared not what his clan’s feelings were or whether they had the right to be angry over his marriage to an Armstrong. All he knew was that an innocent was being harmed by their words and actions, and he would stand it no longer.

He whipped around and stared at Kierstan and the other women gathered around her.

“Be gone,” he hissed. “All of you. You’ll not return to the keep. You’ll tend the fields or help in the cottages, but you’ll not serve in my keep any longer.”

Kierstan paled. The women around her gasped. One wrung her hands. Another burst into sobs. But all he could think of was his own wife, who was so near to tears because she’d been abused by his clan.

“Begging your pardon, Laird, but the keep needs the lasses for serving duties and also for the cleaning duties they hold,” said Nora, the senior woman charged with overseeing the women’s duties in the clan.

“Find other women,” Graeme snarled. “These will not set foot in the keep again, nor will they address my wife directly. If they disobey me, they will be cast out of the clan.”

Gasps and sounds of disbelief echoed through the crowd. Murmurs arose. Accusations flew. Their laird was siding with the Armstrong lass.

Even as he heard the statements, he turned to his brothers to gauge their reaction.

“You know you have my support, Graeme,” Teague said in a low voice. “ ’Tis obvious they’ve not made it easy for her. I’ll not go against your edict; moreover, I support it.”

Bowen took longer answering. He studied the group of women and then he turned his attention to Eveline and stared intently at her.

“She can speak,” Bowen said.

It wasn’t what Graeme had anticipated and for a moment Bowen’s statement took him aback.

Bowen turned his gaze to Graeme. “ ’Tis said the lass hasn’t spoken a word since her accident, and yet today she bellowed loudly enough to be heard over the entire keep. Whatever it was that forced her to break that silence must have been rather momentous, wouldn’t you say?”

“Aye,” Graeme said in a grim voice. “I’d say she suffered extreme upset to have broken her silence.”

Bowen stared thoughtfully at Eveline once more. “Perhaps then, her madness has also been exaggerated.”

Relief was crushing in Graeme’s chest. Both his brothers were siding with Eveline against his clan. He knew that if they wanted, it would be easy to turn his clan against him. One of them could even make a play for power, gain the approval and support of the clan, and take over as laird.

But they stood with him. With Eveline.

Graeme went to Eveline, close enough to reach out and cup her cheek. His arm was merely inches above the sword. Were she to make any sudden movement, she could take his arm off. She was wary of it, too. Her gaze tracked downward, and even as he touched her, she lowered the sword, letting it slide toward the ground.

“Give me the sword,” he said gently. “I do not want harm to come to you, Eveline. I won’t allow them back in the keep. They will not harm you further. They will not serve me again.”

Her eyes widened in surprise, and it made him ill that she’d be so shocked and seemingly in awe that he’d side with her over members of his clan. But then what other logical conclusion could she have drawn?

With shaking hands, she extended the sword. He took it from her and without looking down, held it back for his brother to take.

“Come inside,” he said, taking her hand.

She glanced at the assembled crowd with stricken eyes, and then she looked up at Graeme, sorrow so deep that he was swamped with it.

“S-sorry.”

The word came out raspy and rough sounding, but the fact that she was communicating with him sent excitement up his spine.

“ ’Tis no matter,” he said as he touched her cheek. “Let’s go up to our chamber. We’ll discuss things there, in private.”

She nodded, relief lightening her eyes. She turned and rushed ahead of him, as if she couldn’t wait to be away from the others.

When they reached his chamber, she opened the door, hurried in, and then held the door while he entered. As soon as he was inside, she closed the door and slid the sturdy piece of wood through the loop so that no others could enter. As if they would. He didn’t tell her that no one would dare enter his chamber without permission. It seemed to make her feel more secure after she’d barred the door, so he left it alone.

She went and sat by the hearth, though only a few glowing embers were left. She was clearly upset over the day’s events, but he also sensed that she was nervous and unsure. He wanted to ease her worries and fears.

He had many questions and now it was evident that she did possess at least some ability to speak. The real question was, if she could communicate, why had she chosen not to?