“Och, he had a face on him like a smacked arse, but he dinnae pressure me further.” Mary patted Saoirse gently on the arm. “I think he’s startin’ to realize that his temper can only get him so far, and certainly cannae get him what he wants.”
“Well, that’s more than I could have expected.” Saoirse chewed on her bottom lip and covered Mary’s hand with her own. Part of her had hoped he might disobey, but she couldn’t be angry with him for accepting her wishes.
Unless… he simply doesnae care enough to bother?That was always a possibility, considering his previous behaviors.
“He did give me a message for ye though,” Mary said, with a wry smile.
Saoirse swallowed past the knot of vain hope in her throat. “What did the Laird have to say?”
“He wanted me to tell ye that he was sorry for losin’ his temper, and has asked that ye join him for dinner tonight.”
“That’s it?” Saoirse couldn’t hide her dismay. “I adore ye, Mary, but… did he really use ye to apologize to me? He couldnae have… I daenae ken, written a note, or waited until I was ready to see him?”
“He did seem a bit mournful,” Mary interjected, as if trying to defend her Laird and keeper a little bit. Saoirse couldn’t blame her for that. After all, Mary was Noah’s servant first and foremost, even if she was fast becoming a friend to Saoirse. “And he did want to come and find ye, but I might’ve been a touch… vigorous about how hard ye were hidin’.”
Saoirse hesitated. “Do ye think he would’ve apologized if he’d come to find me?”
“After a light scoldin’ about ye hidin’ in the first place, aye.” Mary clearly meant it in jest, but the prospect of bearing any more sharpness from Noah, even a little bit, left Saoirse with a dogged determination. Besides, she didn’t want Noah to think that she’d just forgive and forget in the blink of an eye, no matter how cruel and cold he was to her. He needed to stew a while, and there was no better place for stewing than dinner.
“Then, it is settled.” Saoirse took a breath. “I willnae join him for dinner tonight, or any night, until he gives me his apology himself. I wish I could, but I cannae pretend that all is well when it’s nae. He must understand that his actions have consequences. Ye spoke the words well, Mary, but the apology is hollow unless it comes from him. Will ye tell him so?”
In the corner of Saoirse’s eye, she caught Mary’s lips twitching, as if hiding a smile. “I’ll let him ken.”
“Nay,” Saoirse insisted, reaching for Mary’s arm. “Tell him nothin’. If wants to live as if he is unmarried, then we should let him experience it. Just a taste of the bitter medicine that he’s made me drink since our weddin’.”
* * *
Noah sipped the wine from his goblet as his eyes shifted to the doorway of the Great Hall. The chatter around him droned on in his ears. Although the room was filled with laughter and jesting, he wasn’t sharing in his Clan’s enjoyment.
Glancing to the clock, he pursed his lips into a tight line.
“Ye look mighty tense.” Scott poked his elbow into Noah’s side. “What’s the matter?”
“Where is she?”
“Who?”
“Saoirse,” Noah mumbled. “I expected her to be in here fifteen minutes ago.”
“Well, ye ken how women can be.” Scott shrugged with a mouth full of food. “She’s likely decidin’ which gown will torment ye the most.”
Noah raised a thoughtful eyebrow. “Do ye think so?” He paused. “Nay, that cannae be it. Mary would’ve chosen somethin’ for her if she couldnae decide quickly enough.”
“Mary is more besotted with Her Ladyship than ye are. She wouldnae say a word if Saoirse wanted to take all evenin’ to dress,” Scott replied, washing his pheasant down with a gulp of spiced wine.
The most likely possibility nagged at Noah’s mind. “Ye daenae think that she is deliberately nae comin’ down, dae ye?”
Although he didn’t want to believe that Saoirse would disobey him directly, he couldn’t dismiss it. After all, the clock chimed out the hour and each strike seemed to cry,“What did ye expect? What did ye expect? What did ye expect—”
“Could be,” Scott said simply.
Noah pulled in a long, deep breath, trying to get a grip on his thoughts. If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that Saoirse wasn’t beside him. She wasn’t there to show a united front to the rest of the Clan, and while it might’ve been his fault, it was her duty to set aside her quarrel for the sake of appearances. Pulling at his collar, Noah started noticing the side glances of the elders and clan members. He could see the same curious glare in their eyes, saying,“There must be trouble already.”
“If she is nae here in five minutes, I want ye to go and fetch her,” Noah ordered Scott.
Scott snorted. “And what makes ye think she’ll listen to me? I’m nae her Laird, and I’m nae the one who upset her. She was probably playin’ that trick that lasses do—they say they daenae want ye to do somethin’, but really they do. And ye sent Mary off with yer apology instead of tryin’ to find yer wife yerself.”
Noah pursed his lips into a thin line and clenched his jaw. The moment he opened his mouth, he chomped it close again. Scott likely had a point, but such silliness maddened Noah, and the last thing he wanted was to make a scene with the room full of council members and his Clan.