The Mask Revealed (The Jacobite Chronicles Book 2) by Julia Brannan Page B

not terrified, as he had hoped, or angry, as he had expected, but laughingly.
    “I saw a picture of a porcupine once, in a book,” she said.
    “What?” he said, utterly perplexed.
    “That’s what you remind me of now,” she answered calmly. “A large, red porcupine.”
    He felt the top of his head, realised that his hair was standing up all over the place, the blue ribbon dangling precariously on his shoulder. The rage vanished, and he felt foolish suddenly, and not a little ashamed of some of the things he had said to her. He made an attempt to smooth down the wayward locks, and sat down again.
    “Aye, well, I’ll admit, I am feeling a wee bit prickly at the moment,” he admitted. “I’m sorry if I frightened you. But I’m no’ sorry for what I said. It’s true, Beth, every word of it. It isna a game, no’ something I’ll have you involved in, an ye dinna know what the consequences will be if things go wrong.”
    “You didn’t frighten me,” she replied. “But you’re right. I hadn’t thought properly about the consequences. I can see I need to give it a lot more thought.”
    “Good,” Alex said, deeply relieved. “I knew ye’d see reason, understand that it isna possible for you to come with me.”
    She looked across at him, surprised.
    “Oh no,” she said resolutely. “I’m still coming with you. I just need to think about the sort of wife people will expect me to be to Sir Anthony, that’s all, and how I can play that role convincingly and to our best advantage.”
    Alex dropped his head into his hands in despair.
    * * *
    The three men and one woman sat in the kitchen. Between them on the table burned a single candle, which supplemented the light from the fire, and a bottle, which was regularly passed from one hand to the next.
    “She does have a point,” Angus ventured, after receiving the bottle from Iain, and taking a deep draught of the spirit within.
    “No, she doesna,” retorted Alex. “I never had any intention of her getting involved in all this. And why I’m even speaking to you at all is beyond me. I never thought my own brother would give my enemy such a weapon, knowing how well she’d wield it against me.”
    “Och, be fair, man,” put in the representative female, Maggie, who, as well as being Iain’s wife, also doubled as cook and general maid. “Ye didna tell any of us as she had the Gaelic. How was Angus tae ken? You’ve only yersel’ to blame.”
    “And even then, how was I to ken she’d use how you felt for her against ye?” Angus added.
    “Christ, man, have ye learnt nothing about women in nineteen years? Dinna ever tell a woman you love her unless you’re wanting to be led around by the nose for the rest of your life.”
    “I often tell women I love them,” Angus protested.
    “Aye, but ye dinna mean it, as they well know. It’s a different matter entirely.”
    “What are ye going tae do?” said Iain, interrupting the dialogue before it got too heated.
    “I’m going to make her decide that she doesna want to come with me, that’s what I’m going to do,” Alex replied determinedly.
    “Why do ye no’ just forbid her to come? You’re her husband, after all,” Iain said. His wife snorted derisively as she reached for the whisky bottle. “And you’re her chieftain too,” he added hurriedly before Maggie could point out that she rarely took any notice of her husband, unless it suited her to do so.
    “Aye, well, that’s the other thing she doesna understand, having been brought up a Sasannach an’ all. She’ll no’ obey me just because I’m her husband, in spite o’ the marriage vows she took two days ago. She’s too much spirit for that. And I’ve no’ the time tae teach her about clan rules. If I forbid her outright, like as not she’ll wait till I’ve sailed and book passage on the next boat to follow me. No, she’s got to decide for herself that it’s too dangerous. And I think I ken how to do it.” Alex upended the bottle,