Page 24

“ M uir,” Kian Murray, Laird of Clan Crawford and Campbell’s closest friend, greeted, coming to hug him. “I feel like I havenae seen ye in ages.”

“Likewise, Crawford,” Campbell returned, tightening his hold on the man.

He caught his wife stealing a glance at him and nodded at her. She was surrounded by her family now. She must have been ecstatic at the surprise.

He had invited them in a bid to help her cope with the many unfamiliar faces she would be meeting, but now he saw that his worry had been unfounded.

She had surprised him with the poise with which she had carried herself and made conversation, especially with how she had looked.

His men had been right to be so stunned by her that they couldn’t speak. Campbell himself had been stunned as well. A compliment had been hanging on the tip of his tongue, but when he had seen his men eyeing her bosom, he had not been able to speak any words.

He had seen her face fall in disappointment, but he had been much too angry to change his mind.

Even now, he felt naught but anger as he watched Laird Stuart stare at her.

“Ye didnae send an apology for missing me wedding, Muir,” Kian accused with a mock glare. “Even after receiving such a fine blend of me whiskey.”

They had not seen each other since Kian had gifted him the brew to convince him to leave his castle for the wedding. That felt like a lifetime ago, even if it had only been a matter of weeks.

Campbell had not been thinking of marriage back then, only the upcoming harvest. But now he was married, and with heirs.

“Ye ken why I couldnae attend yer wedding, Crawford, or did ye forget?” he replied with a small smile.

“Aye, I ken.” Kian laughed. “Ye cannae even pretend to apologize.”

“I never say things I dinnae mean, and ye ken it.”

They shared a small laugh, and Campbell remembered why he had missed his friend so.

They had met as boys at a cèilidh hosted by Clan Crawford and remained fast friends ever since. Kian had led a battalion alongside him when other clans came to pillage Muir Castle and had sustained several injuries as a result.

Theirs was a friendship forged in blood and one Campbell cherished, even if they were both too damn stubborn to say anything about it.

“And ye went to marry a lass from the same clan a few days after me wedding,” Kian mused. “Do ye intend to follow in me footsteps every time? I feel proud.”

Campbell wrinkled his nose.

He had not even realized he had done it until his friend had so kindly pointed it out, and now that he had, he laughed humorlessly.

“Will ye believe me if I say it was unplanned?” he asked.

“Aye.” Kian nodded. “I believe I am to blame as well for the incident.”

Campbell gave him a confused look, and Kian told him all about how he had unintentionally sent his wife riding through the Highlands after telling the family the reason for his absence.

“I believe I have ye to thank, then, for me marriage.” Campbell laughed.

“‘Twas fate, even though it was rather hilarious,” Kian said with a smile. “I would never have believed ye would marry.”

“I intended to marry sometime, Crawford. I just didnae intend to marry quickly,” Campbell corrected with a pointed look. “I needed heirs.”

He watched as a mischievous grin spread across his friend’s face and knew the coming conversation was not one he wanted to have sober or inebriated.

“And ye would have found a clan willing to give ye their daughter?” Kian joked. “They call ye the Beastly Laird . I am surprised Laird MacLennan agreed to a match with ye.”

“He couldnae refuse me even if he wanted to,” Campbell answered smugly. “I only gave them the illusion of choice.”

“Still, he would have been well within his rights to refuse,” Kian reminded him. “And the lass… How did ye convince her to marry ye? She doesnae look scared of ye.”

Campbell wanted to point out that his wife was not scared of him, not even at the beginning. She was shy, he knew that now, but she had been bold when men would not dare look him in the eye.

“Ye’re smiling,” Kian scoffed. “Ye must tell me the tale.”

“I would rather keep such details to meself,” Campbell quipped, swiping a tankard of ale from a passing tray.

Kian did the same and took a sip, making a face.

“Nae everyone makes good brews, Crawford,” Campbell huffed.

“Forgive me refined palate,” Kian said smugly. “‘Tis been a while since I have had ale.”

As the owner of one of the largest whiskey distilleries in the Highlands, Kian no doubt had not tried a drink of lesser quality, and he did not even bother to hide his pride in his hard-won success.

The Crawford family business had expanded under his leadership, and it was a point of pride for Campbell as well.

Notorious in business but fair in judgment, Kian was feared around the Highlands, almost as feared as Campbell. The other clans wanted to be associated with such a prosperous clan, hence their constant efforts to curry favor with him.

His alliance with Clan MacLennan had surprised even Campbell, but he knew his friend did not do anything without considering the risks carefully.

No doubt, MacLennan was the only clan that did not have designs on his family business, yet one had to wonder.

“Ye never told me why ye married Lady Scarlett,” Campbell pointed out.

Kian made a face, as if he had tasted something sour, and took a long swig of his ale.

“I dinnae want to speak of it,” he answered coldly.

“Does she nae please ye?”

“Dinnae make me speak of it, Muir,” he warned. “Me marriage is none of yer business.”

“Yet ye so gladly speak of mine.”

“Only because ye need guidance and I am surprised, is all,” Kian muttered. “Me wife’s sister is the more quiet of the bunch. Timid, if ye will. Yet she so bravely married ye and hasnae run from ye. ‘Tis strange.”

“Nae as strange as yer wife staying with ye,” Campbell retorted.

They grinned and watched the party.

Campbell knew he had made the right decision by hosting the cèilidh. The boys were happily playing with Poppy and other children from the clan, and even his wife looked…

He frowned deeply as he watched her converse with another laird who was struggling to keep his eyes off her bosom.

Damn that dress.

“Ye seem taken with yer new wife,” Kian noted, drawing his attention.

“I dinnae ken what ye mean,” Campbell muttered with a frown, trying but failing to keep his eyes off his wife.

Kian shot him a knowing smile and turned to look at her.

“I can see why ye are taken with her,” he continued. “She is bonny. Ye’re nae the only one who can see that. I just have never seen ye watch a woman so intensely.”

And that was the reason for Campbell’s irritation.

His wife had been getting attention from his clansmen and even guests from other clans, and he did not like how their eyes lingered longer than was proper on her cleavage.

When he had ordered the accursed dress, he had expected it to ease his wife’s troubles and make her happy. It was to be a beautiful design as befitted her station, not tempt every man who looked her way. He had not expected it to be the cause of the headache that was building between his temples.

“Ye look like ye’re going to kill Laird Fraser soon,” Kian snorted. “I would advise ye to stay yer hand. He is a powerful man, and ye dinnae want a war with him. I dinnae see meself riding into battle with ye; I am much too busy as it is.”

Yes, but Campbell was damn near close to forgetting that fact.

Laird Fraser had refused to leave his wife’s side and kept stealing glances at her bosom, even though his wife was standing right beside them. He felt as glum as Lady Fraser looked.

The woman had been a beauty in her youth, but age and the six sons she had given her old husband had taken their toll on her.

“I never thought the day would come when I would see ye so enamored with a woman,” Kian said with a smug smile.

“I am nae enamored,” Campbell gritted out. “I just dinnae like seeing men lusting after me wife.”

“Still, ye would have hardly cared if she were any other lass,” Kian argued. “Ye havenae felt jealous over any of yer mistresses.”

“I should never have bought her that accursed dress,” Campbell hissed. “It is driving me mad.”

“With lust?” Kian supplied, earning a glare from him.

Campbell would never admit it, but that was another thing that ate at him, fueling the flames of irritation in his blood.

Since he had seen Mabel in that dress, he had wanted to forget that he was not supposed to be touching her and take her back to his chambers.

Every lush curve was highlighted, and her beautiful bosom was hugged and put on display like ripe apples ready for the picking. And oh, how he wanted to spend time worshipping those glorious globes. But he would endure the torture and go swimming in the loch later to cool his heated flesh.

“Ye bought her a dress?” Kian asked incredulously. “What has happened to ye, mate? Ye dinnae seem like the man I ken.”

Campbell hated how his friend was pointing out every single thing that he never wanted to voice. His little wife was making him behave in ways he had never thought he would, and he did not know how to stop.

Seeing her smile and charm everyone that came to pay their respects should have satisfied him, but he felt nothing but jealousy.

He did not want anyone else to see her beauty. She was for his eyes only.

“Dinnae tell me the obvious, Crawford,” he warned. “I am incensed as it is.”

“Ye really have gone mad, and I cannae understand why,” Kian said, wrinkling his nose. “Have ye fallen in love with her? That can be the only logical explanation, even though I can hardly understand it.”

“Love?” Campbell scoffed. “Now ye’re the one who is mad. Aye, I feel lust for her and dinnae want to see her suffer, but that hardly means I love her. We married for the boys, and she is fulfilling her role well. ‘Tis only proper that I reward her.”

He shook his head at his friend’s absurd deduction. How could he conclude so quickly that he was in love?

“Why do ye feel so strongly against it?” Kian asked. “‘Tis only natural for it to happen between married couples. Do ye ken if she feels the same for ye? Yer kind gestures might be interpreted differently.”

“Ye seem so knowledgeable on the matter, yet ye dinnae seem any closer to yer own wife,” Campbell shot back, earning a glare.

“Me marriage is different, and ye ken why,” Kian said through gritted teeth.

Campbell did not care that he had angered his friend. That would at least teach him to choose his words wisely.

That accusation of love had rubbed him in a way he did not like, and the thought of being perceived as someone so weak irritated him.

“Perhaps ye should try winning yer wife’s affection,” he suggested. “Ye might?—”

“We arenae discussing me marital struggles, but yers, Muir.” Kian arched an eyebrow. “Dinnae be a coward and change the subject.”

“I am nae a coward,” Campbell retorted.

“Yet ye run from the mention of love, even if ye act besotted. What is yer reason for opposing what ye are likely feeling?”

“Love means weakness and mistakes,” he answered honestly, not seeing the need to lie to his friend. “I dinnae want to make mistakes and end up with children. I already have heirs—Aidan’s bairns.”

“They arenae?—”

“‘Tis a good thing to see ye doing well, Campbell,” a familiar voice suddenly cut in.

Campbell turned around with a frown, only to find the last person he wanted to see.

“Darragh,” he said with a frown. “Why are ye here?”