Page 104 of Claimed by a Highlander
Sybil’s face was drawn as she again approached the high table, where he and the Grant men were all still gaping.
“I’m sure the MacKenzie regrets any offense he may have caused,” she said to the Grants. “Now if you’ll forgive me, I really must retire.”
After a torturous and fruitless discussion with Grant over the boy, Rory climbed the stairs with more trepidation than he ever felt going into battle. He had given Sybil a couple of hours to calm down, so perhaps she had gotten over her anger by now.
After drawing a deep breath, he pushed the door. It did not budge. He put his shoulder to it. She must feel uneasy with outsiders in the castle, for she had barred the door.
“Sybil, it’s me,” he called. “Open up.”
He put his ear to the door and heard a rustle of movement inside. His relief when he heard her slide the bar back did not last long.
Before he could reach for the latch, she flung the door open and stood glaring up at him.
“Sybil, I—”
“Not here in the doorway,” she hissed. “I’ll not be further humiliated by having your feeble excuses overheard by curious servants who are no doubt listening at the bottom of the stairs.”
Clearly, she was not over her anger yet. He was tempted to turn around and give her another hour or two. The hard glint in her eyes suggested that would be another error, so he stepped inside.
She shut the door with more force than needed and spun around to face him. “Ye have a son and heir, and ye didn’t tell me. How could ye keep something so important from me?”
“You didn’t tell me you’d been married—that ye had a husband when ye were supposed to be my contracted bride.”
“I had a dead husband, not a living son,” she said. “For the last fortnight you’ve made me suffer for not telling ye the marriage contract was false. And all the while ye were keeping this from me!”
“’Tis not the same.”
“Aye, ’tis not! The marriage contract was my brother’s deceitful act, not mine,” she said. “Ye could have found out the truth any time ye wanted in the last eight years by showing it to someone or coming to claim me.”
“But you knew the truth, and ye didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t tell because my life was at risk!” she said. “What reason could you have for not telling me about your son?”
“’Tis no simple matter.”
“Everyone knew about him but me,” she said, flinging her arms out. “Your clan, the Grants, probably half the Highlands!”
Rory could not deny it.
“It hasn’t been easy for me to be accepted by your clan when every one of them was against me from the start,” she said. “I’ve tried so hard!”
Oh, Jesu, her eyes were filling with tears. He felt like shite.
“Now you’ve made it nigh on impossible for me by showing your clansmen that ye neither trust nor respect me,” she said. “How am I to overcome that?”
“Ye already have.” He tried to take her hands, but she pulled them away. “They saw how well ye handled our guests and the…situation with the lad.”
“Thesituation?” She swiped angrily at a tear that slid down her cheek. “Ye still haven’t told me why ye kept this from me.”
***
“I don’t believe the lad is mine.”
“Ha!” Sybil could not believe Rory would lie to her now. “Will ye tell me next that ye never bedded the lad’s mother?”
Rory heaved a sigh. “I wasn’t the only one who did.”
“Don’t insult her as well as me.” His answer made her so furious she wanted to throw something at him. “Do ye count us all as fools? The lad looks exactly like you.”
