"Do you have a problem with your sight?" Gabriel asked.

"No," she answered.

"Then why in God's name didn't you see my men were fighting with weapons?"

She mistook his exasperation for anger. "I have explained, m'lord. I wasn't paying attention."

Her husband didn't show any reaction to her explanation. He simply continued to stare at her. He was waiting for his temper to calm. Seeing his wife come so close to death had frightened the hell out of him. It was going to take him a long while to get over it.

A full minute passed in silence. Johanna thought her husband was considering her penance.

"I apologize for interrupting your important work," she said. "If you wish to strike me, please do so now. The wait is becoming unbearable."

Calum couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "M'lady…"

He was stopped from saying more when Gabriel raised his hand for silence.

The second his hand moved, she backed up. It was a protective action learned from past lessons. She realized what she was doing and immediately moved forward again.

Her husband had best understand she wasn't going to let the past repeat itself. "I would warn you, m'lord. I cannot stop you from striking me, but the minute you do I'll leave this holding."

"Surely you cannot believe our laird would…"

"Stay out of this, Calum."

Gabriel gave his command in a hard voice. He was furious over the insult his wife had just given him, but damn it all, the fear was real. He had to remind himself that she didn't know him well and, therefore, had only jumped to the wrong conclusions. He took hold of Johanna's hand, started up the steps, then heard the pounding and immediately changed directions. He wanted privacy for this important discussion.

She tripped over the step when her husband turned, righted herself, and hurried to keep up. Calum shook his head as he watched his laird drag his mistress behind him. It wasn't Lady Johanna's awkwardness that caused him to frown but the paleness that had come over her complexion. Did she believe her laird was going to take her someplace private so he could beat her without an audience?

Keith, the red-haired leader of the Maclaurin soldiers, walked over to stand next to Calum. "What has you frowning?" he asked.

"Lady Johanna," Calum answered. "Someone has filled her head with dark tales about our laird. I believe she's afraid of him."

Keith snorted. "Some of the women are already saying she's afraid of her own shadow. They've given her a nickname," he added. "After just one look at her, they're calling her Courageous. 'Tis a pity, their mockery, for they're judging her without giving her a fair chance."

Calum was furious. In calling her Courageous, they, of course, meant just the opposite-they believed her to be a coward. "MacBain better not hear of this," he warned. "Who started this blasphemy?"

Keith wasn't about to give him the name. The woman was a Maclaurin. "Who it was isn't important," he argued. "The name caught on. The way Lady Johanna trembled at the sight of the laird's hound started some of the women smirking, and the frightened look in her eyes each time MacBain spoke to her made them conclude she was…"

Calum interrupted him. "She's timid, perhaps, but certainly not a coward. You'd best put the fear of God in your women, Keith. They think they're so damned clever with their game. If I hear the name from any Maclaurin, I'll retaliate."

Keith nodded. "It's easier for you to accept her," he said. "But the Maclaurins aren't so forgiving. Remember, it was her first husband who destroyed all we'd worked so hard to build. It's going to take time for them to forget."

Calum shook his head. "A Highlander never forgets. You know that as well as I."

"Then to forgive," Keith suggested.

"She had nothing to do with the atrocity done here. She doesn't require anyone's forgiveness. Remind the women of that important truth."

Keith nodded agreement. He didn't believe his reminder would make much difference, however. The women were set against her, and he couldn't imagine what he could say to change their opinions.

Both warriors kept their gazes on their laird and his bride and watched until they disappeared down the hill.

Gabriel and Johanna were quite alone now, but he still didn't stop. He continued walking until they reached the meadow. He wanted to rid himself of his anger before he talked to her.

He finally stopped. Then he turned to look at her. She wouldn't look at him. She tried to tug her hand away from his, but he wouldn't let go of her.

"You've given me a grave insult by suggesting I would harm you."

Her eyes widened in surprise. He sounded furious enough to kill someone. Yet he felt injured that she thought he would strike her.

"Have you nothing to say to me, wife?"

"I interrupted your training session."

"Yes, you did!"

"I almost caused a soldier to harm me."

"Yes!"

"And you appeared to be very angry."

"I was angry!"

"Gabriel? Why are you shouting?"

He let out a sigh. "I like to shout."

"I see."

"I had thought that in time you would learn to trust me. I have changed my mind. You will trust me," he commanded. "Starting now, this minute."

He made it sound so simple. "I do not know if that is possible, m'lord. Trust must be earned."

"Then decide now that I've earned it," he ordered. "Tell me you trust me, and mean it, damn it."

He knew he was asking the impossible. He sighed again. "No man is allowed to beat his wife here. Only a coward would mistreat a woman, Johanna. None of my men are cowards. You have nothing to fear from me or anyone else here. I will forgive you your insult because you didn't understand. I will not be as tolerant in future. You would do well to remember that."

She stared into his eyes. "But if I do insult you in future? What would you do?"

He didn't have the faintest idea, but he wasn't about to admit it. "It will not happen again."

Johanna nodded. She started to turn around to go back to the courtyard, then changed her mind.

Her husband deserved an apology. "Sometimes I react before I have had time to think it through. Do you understand, m'lord? It seems to be instinctive. I really will try to trust you, and I thank you for your patience."

He could tell from the way she was wringing her hands together that her confession was difficult for her. Her head was bowed and her voice sounded with bewilderment when she added, "I don't understand why I expect the worst. I never would have married you if I'd believed you would mistreat me, yet there seems to be a tiny part of me that has difficulty believing."

"You please me, Johanna."

"I do?"

He smiled over the surprise in her voice. "You do," he repeated. "I know the confession was difficult for you. Where did you think you were going when you tried to run through a lance?" He added the question in an effort to change the subject. His wife looked like she might start weeping at any moment and he wanted to help her calm her emotions.

"To find Alex. I thought we could take a walk to look over the holding."

"I ordered you to rest."

"I was going to take a restful walk. Gabriel, there's a man crawling on all fours behind you."

She whispered the news and moved closer to her husband. He didn't turn around to look. He didn't need to. "That's Auggie," he explained.

Johanna moved to stand next to her husband so she could get a closer look at the man. "What is he doing?"

"Digging holes."

"Why?"

"He uses his staff to hit stones into the holes. It's a game he enjoys."

"Is he daft?" she whispered, lest the old man overhear her.

"He won't harm you. Leave him be. He has earned his leisure."

Her husband took hold of her hand and started back up the hill. Johanna kept glancing back over her shoulder to get a better look at the man crawling his way across the meadow. "He's a MacBain," she blurted out. "He's wearing your plaid."