Seducing the Highlander (36 page)

Craig nodded against her head. “Water seems like a simple chore, but it can be demanding. You merely need to build up endurance. It will come with time. You will see.”

“Mm-hmmm,” Meriel answered, barely tracking what he was saying.

“And we’ve been eating at the castle for this long. I am sure your father will not mind feeding us a little longer until you learn how to cook.”

“Father likes us to eat with him,” she said slowly, her voice fading as her exhaustion once again sent her back into a deep sleep.

“I think I have found the solution to your problem,” Craig said with a hopeful heart. “You just need to slow down, and that starts with ending your work at the castle. You don’t have to do that anymore. That should help. Now, doesn’t that make you happy?”

All he heard was a deep breath followed by a slow exhale. Craig smiled and lifted her in his arms and carried her to their bed. Tonight he would just hold her.

As he approached the door to his home, Craig took a deep breath and opened the door. His heart sang as he inhaled the smell of bread and meats and ale on the table before him. Next to the scrumptious food was his wife, looking beautiful and serene. So overjoyed at the sight, he almost went back outside and started shouting words of praise to the Lord because, finally, his prayers had been answered.

He carefully put down his things where they would not cause any harm and then placed a warm, loving kiss upon Meriel’s soft lips before sitting down on the empty chair next to her. Just by the smell, Craig knew the food had come from the castle, but as he reached over and began to pile food on his plate, he realized he no longer cared. Finally they were in sync. He had tried to speak with her in the morning about the solution to her problems with allocating her time, but she had refused to awaken before he left. Now he wondered if he even needed to. “So I assume you were right,” he said with smile, “and your father has no issues helping us with dinner while you learn how to cook.”

Meriel was pulling a small piece of meat off a leg of lamb when Craig’s assumptions about their dinner hit her full force. Once again, Craig was telling her that he was not satisfied, that
more
change was warranted, and that none of that change was coming from him.

Last night as she sat waiting for Craig to come home, she went over every conversation they had had since they were married. How she had missed his prejudiced definition of “wife,” Meriel was not quite sure, but she had. While she would agree that most of the soldiers’ wives did assume certain house-related responsibilities, it was only because it made sense for their circumstances. Never had it occurred to her that women cooked
just
because they were female. She doubted many of the women would respond very well to learning that their domestic responsibilities were assigned
solely
on the basis of their sex.

“Aye, Father is very accommodating, though he would like us to eat there every once in awhile as
we
learn how to cook.”

Craig caught the emphasized “we” but truly did not understand what she meant. “I think we can arrange that,” he said cautiously.

Meriel wrinkled her nose at the meat, suddenly not hungry. “Which part? The eating at the castle or you learning how to cook?”

Craig started choking on a half-swallowed piece of fowl. He had
not
misheard. “I’m not learning how to cook,” he clarified.

“And why not?” she challenged.

“Because I’m a . . . a . . .” Meriel stared him directly in the eye, daring him to say “man.” “Because I am too damn busy!” he shouted.

“I am just as busy with my work supporting this clan.”

“Then tell your father and your sister that you quit,” he ordered, a little more forcefully than intended.

“I have no intention of quitting. So if I must learn new skills to make this marriage work, then
so must you
. I am not your servant.”

“No, you are my
wife
,” he growled ominously.

Craig could once again feel anger starting to edge its way into the conversation, and he fought to keep it pushed down. For once, they were not going to have a huge fight before they went to bed. Still, Meriel’s accusation that he thought her a servant simply because he wanted her to learn how to cook and support their household like every other woman did, riled him enormously. He was not being ridiculous! Compared to other husbands he knew and had overheard talking, he expected very little!

“Aye, I am your wife. I also happen to be a
working
wife who is responsible for more than taking care of a single household.”

“Other women choose not to work until their young can help their mothers at home,” Craig responded through gritted teeth.

Meriel took a deep breath and prayed for calm. “You and I seem to have fallen into some kind of communication trap. I think because we seem to know each other so well, we thought we knew everything. So, let me be clear, Craig. I respect women who raise children and take care of their homes. I always have, and after the past few weeks, even more so. But I have always supported this clan, and I will continue to do so until I am no longer able. It is who I am, and you knew this before we married.”

Craig fought to keep his voice as calm as possible. “I assumed you would realize that you would have to refocus on the needs of your husband, placing them above those of your father and the clan.”

“Just because I have not catered to your needs as you imagined I would, does not mean that you are not the most important person in my life.” Meriel rose to her feet and took a step closer to him. Bending down, she gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Enjoy your dinner. I’m exhausted. I think I will lie down for a bit, if you do not mind.”

Craig sat there dumbfounded as Meriel sauntered from the table through the kitchen area to their bedroom, leaving him alone to eat. How were they ever going to resolve all their problems if Meriel kept refusing to implement his solutions?

“
Mo creach
,” he muttered under his breath. He was out of ideas.

Thankfully, there was one person nearby who might be able to help him. His brother. For if anyone would understand his quandary it would be Crevan. Being married to the fiercely independent Raelynd, the man must have encountered this type of situation before. Probably daily, knowing his sister-in-law.

Craig got up and quietly left the cottage. Aye, if anyone had the answer to getting Schellden women to understand their roles as Highland wives, it would be his brother.

 

 

Craig found himself feeling overwhelmingly jealous. Of his brother, of all people. Which made it all the worse. Never had he been jealous of his twin. And to his knowledge Crevan had never been jealous of him either. They had been best friends all their lives, taking advantage of and leaning on each other when it came to their different personalities and ways of thinking. But jealous? And yet, Craig found himself overcome with it.

“Never?” he repeated, still finding it hard to believe that Crevan did not fight with his wife. How? The woman was only slightly less obstinate than Meriel, and Crevan lacked Craig’s good-natured disposition. If anything, the two should have been explosive.

Craig stood up and began to pace. “Meriel and I fight all the time,” he confessed reluctantly.

“Of course you do.” Crevan shrugged his shoulders and stretched out his legs. The posture practically announced that all was well within his world and it made Craig only more agitated. “All couples f-fight their f-first year. You did not think you w-would be the exception?”

Aye. I did
, Craig admitted, but only to himself. “How did you get to escape this torture?”

Crevan laughed heartily. “Escape? Raelynd and I f-fought practically daily about everything. Even in that month before w-we married, w-w-we got so angry at each other that now that I look back, it is amazing that I sit here right now, happy as I am. But don’t misunderstand. I said w-we did not f-fight, not that w-w-we don’t argue. Difference is that w-we try to re-f-frain f-from yelling—though Raelynd has a hard time w-with that on certain subjects—and, umm, w-w-well, as much as you w-won’t like to hear it, neither of us goes to bed angry or leaves in the middle of a . . . uh, discussion.”

If those condemning words had come from anyone else, Craig might have been tempted to take physical steps to ensure they would never be uttered again. But Crevan was unique. Only he and Meriel could correct him without fear of retaliation. Still, usually such censure would have at least pricked Craig’s pride, raising his ire. Tonight, he just felt helpless because he knew his brother was correct, but at the same time, he still had no clear path away from his troubles.

“Before we got married, Meriel and I were so in tune we did not need to talk. We each seemed to understand what the other needed. And while it is still like that on most things . . . when it comes to living together . . . well, simply put, she is
most
aggravating.”

Crevan reached back and intertwined his fingers behind his head and stared at his brother thoughtfully. “I’m sorry you are not f-finding the marital bliss that I have discovered.”

“Oh, I find it,” Craig corrected. “Every night. My problem is that I lose it again by morning. Meriel just refuses to accept her role! She is my wife. I want to help her, but she won’t listen to anything I suggest!”

Crevan raised a single brow into a high, incredulous arch. “Maybe . . . she doesn’t like w-what you have to say.”

Craig shot him an evil look, well-practiced after years of being so close. “I doubt you would be saying that if it was Raelynd who knew not the first thing about cooking or cleaning.”

The bubble of laughter Crevan had been suppressing erupted. “Raelynd has not the f-f-first idea about cooking. She might know a little about cleaning after last year and what Laurel and Aileen did to her, but I suspect if she really had to do any of the w-work herself, the results w-would be f-f-far f-from pleasant.”

Craig narrowed his gaze and waved his hand around, his gesture referring to the castle at large. “You expect me to believe that? Your false words bring me no comfort.”

“Every w-word I say is true.”

“And you don’t care that Raelynd cannot cook?”

Crevan turned his head slightly at the odd question. “W-what w-would it change if she did? Her having the skill holds no purpose in either of our lives.”

Craig grimaced. “Meriel and I don’t live at the castle—”

“By choice. O-o-one that Rae is still not happy about, by the w-way.”

“Newly married couples need freedom.”
And privacy
, Craig added to himself.

Crevan pulled himself upright and then leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “I understand. Believe me on that o-one, I truly do. It took a w-while to establish some boundaries w-with Rae, but he now respects our privacy as he does yours, by the w-way. Otherw-wise, you w-would be seeing him every night at your doorstep. He may not like that you have elected to live in the village, but he respects your and Meriel’s right to make such a decision.”

“When is it going to get better?” Craig rubbed his face vigorously. “I think Meriel entered our marriage truly believing that she would be able to do exactly as she had been, just in a different location!”

“And w-what is Meriel asking of
you
that is so onerous?”

Craig sank into his chair. “I don’t know. Patience until she learns how to cook? Honestly, I’m not too sure she ever plans on learning how to put together even a simple meal. Meriel would be happy to keep on abusing her position as the laird’s daughter.”

“It’s hardly abuse, and you know that Rae, her sister, and I have no qualms w-w-with her raiding our kitchens. W-we don’t understand w-why you don’t just eat here.”

Craig scoffed. “You’re right. If she isn’t willing to try to learn how to cook for me . . . I mean for us . . . we should eat here. It would be simpler.”

Crevan, still leaning forward, tapped the tips of his index fingers together. “So she expects things to remain exactly as they w-were be-f-fore you married, and you expect her to do nothing but change.”

Change
. Craig cringed at the word. How many times had he and Meriel promised that they would not change each other? “Is it so unreasonable for a man to expect his wife to
act
like a normal, typical spouse? I’m only asking for a clean shirt and some decent food!”

Crevan shook his head, knowing that Craig was lost in his thoughts. His brother was listening, but not hearing. “If you w-w-wanted typical, you married the wrong w-woman. Meriel w-will never make you happy.”

Craig’s head snapped up and true anger flashed in his bright blue eyes. Crevan continued, now that he had his brother’s attention. “Our w-wives are not traditional w-w-women. Never have been and they never w-will be and
that
is w-why w-we love them so.

“Look at Conor and Laurel. Look at
any
of our married brothers. All of us have chosen strong, smart, and often infuriatingly independent w-women. W-which also means we have stubborn, crafty, and w-w-willful w-wives. And because they are all of these things, they w-want—and even demand—more than most w-wives do of their husbands.

“Raelynd insists on having significant input into all decisions w-when it comes to the castle and the clan. It is something her f-father and I are constantly trying to balance as neither of us always trusts her judgment. But—and don’t tell her I told you this—a f-f-few of those times, w-we have regretted it miserably that w-we did not. F-for you and Meriel, it sounds like autonomy is your curse. And how you deal w-w-with that is up to you and her, but let me add one last thought f-for my w-wife’s sake. And f-f-for my sanity.”

Craig sat back in the chair, his anger ebbing but not completely gone. He heard all that his brother was saying, but it changed nothing.

“Aye, the castle is w-well run,” Crevan continued. “Raelynd is exceptional at organizing and overseeing, though sometimes she can be a little too demanding. Most of our ‘discussions’ are on that point, by the w-way. But Caireoch,” Crevan said, mimicking Craig’s gesture, “is a huge responsibility.

“How many times have you heard that our neighbors enjoy the w-warmth and hospitality of our homes? That our clansmen are not as belligerent as many Highlanders you and I have met? W-why do you think the games come here more often than some-w-where else? You’ve been to other clans, other castles. Too often they are in a state of chaos. ’Twas the w-way of McTiernay Castle before Laurel came. You remember. But it is not, nor has it ever been, that w-way here. And Raelynd w-would not be as successful as she has been at keeping this castle running if she did not have the support of her sister. Raelynd needs Meriel more than ever, especially now that she is w-with child.”