“I dinnae ken, Bram,” Skylar snapped. “Maybe ye should go and ask yer stupid brother.”
Bram smirked before Skylar sidestepped him and continued on her way. On her way to the bedchamber, the tears began to fall, and when she finally closed the door behind her, she allowed the sobs to escape.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
“What?” Maxwell demanded when he heard the knock on his study door. If Skylar was coming back to continue the argument, he was ready for her. She had riled him more than she could imagine, and there was still plenty he had to say.
But it was Bram who peeked his head around the door. Looking about the study, perhaps to see if Maxwell was now alone, his brother eventually turned his attention to him. “Is it safe tae come in, or are ye going tae launch something at me?”
Maxwell heaved a sigh that encapsulated all the pent-up feelings that tortured him. “Come in and lock the door behind ye,” he growled.
Bram did as he was bid and walked slowly into the room. “I just met yer wife, traveling down the corridor at the speed o’ a spooked steed. What happened between ye two?”
Maxwell rolled his eyes. He was still angry at her and the words she had said and didn’t really have the energy right now to explain it all to Bram. His brother, however, walking over to the dresser and lifting an entire bottle of whisky and two glasses, had other ideas.
“Come and sit with me, Maxwell,” he said easily and lowered himself into a high-backed chair in front of the fire.
It was probably the idea of the whisky that coaxed Maxwell more than anything else, for he definitely needed a drink after what had just happened. Skylar’s words had been piercing, and yet, some of them had made a far deeper impact than others.
“Ye treat people how ye want, nae matter how much it hurts them.”
His actions had never meant to hurt her, but he could not deny that he had been selfish in trying to protect himself.
“It couldnae be any worse than being stuck here.”
Surely, she hadn’t meant that. She couldn’t possibly compare her comforts and protection here to being left with Colum’s men. It had been the fact that she had left without a word that had irked him so much. She had called him controlling, but she had no idea how much he had paced with worry until she had returned.
Johnson’s men could still be out there, waiting for them to make a mistake. If she had been taken, he would never have forgiven himself, and perhaps, at the end of it all, he was angrier at himself. It was strange that realization only occurred to him now, but it did make the most sense. It had been his own actions that had caused her to leave without telling him. But instead of acknowledging that, he had taken his anger out on her.
I’m such a fool.
Bram handed him a glass half filled with amber liquid. “So, turmoil in paradise then,” he said.
“Dinnae slight me, Bram. I have enough on my plate without yer sarcasm.”
“Aye, but ye cannae deny ye’ve brought it upon yerself, Max. The lass is angry, and ye cannae blame her. What did ye think was going tae happen if ye kept pushing her away?”
Bram being able to see everything with such clarity did not help his mood. Once more, his stubbornness reared its ugly head, and instead of agreeing with his brother, Maxwell chose denial.
“And what was I supposed tae do?” he spat. “Allow myself tae get close tae another woman, only tae have her snatched from me? Ye’ve nae clue how much I’ve suffered.”
“Ye’re right. I dinnae ken what ye’ve suffered, brother. But then, neither does Skylar. Do ye nae think it might be helpful for ye tae open up tae her, tae tell her how ye feel?”
“I dinnae ken how I feel,” Maxwell lied.
“Aye, ye do. Jesus, even I can see that yer in love with her, for Christ’s sake.”
Maxwell stared at his brother then, stunned at his words.
“Och, come on, Max. Dinnae tell me ye dinnae ken,” Bram said, looking at him in shocked disbelief.
Did he know? Had he really sat and thought about his feelings for her? He knew he cared for Skylar deeply, not that he had shown it over the past few days, but he did. It was the reason he had pushed her away in the first place. His desire for her had scared him. The fear of losing someone he felt so attached to, having them snatched from his grasp again and him helpless to stop it, had caused him to step away.
When she had dragged him into the library the day before, he had been determined to get himself out of the situation, to leave at the earliest opportunity. But as he watched her in all her fiery glory, he had not been able to help himself. Like a moth to a flame, he had got closer and closer until his instincts and desires had taken him over. After their passionate lovemaking, the acknowledgement of how much he had wanted her had only frightened him more.
She possessed a power over him that she was not aware of, and he could not resist. But surely, it was a recipe for disaster. Not to mention, if Johnson ever discovered how he felt about her, her life would be in more danger than it was now. The man wouldn’t marry her; he’d kill her just to get to him.
“If this thing between ye is going tae work, Max, ye have tae stop pushing Skylar away. Ye forced her tae marry ye, and now she’s stuck here. It’s hardly fair on either one o’ ye.”
