Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,109

some of the ache in his muscles. But it did nothing to help free the images of his crying wife from his mind.

After bathing and donning clean clothing, Richard went back inside the keep. Lachlan and Rory were standing by the fire, talking about the progress on the wall. Above stairs, he passed Marisse in the hallway. If looks could kill, he’d be a dead man. Her scowl said much; his wife was still quite upset with him.

He knocked on his door before entering. The room was just as empty and dark as he had left it an hour ago. Leaving, he called out to Marisse who had just reached the top of the stairs.

“Marisse, where is Aeschene?”

She turned to look at him. “In her room.”

“I was just in our room and she is not within.” A sense of dread tugged at his heart, his first thought was that she was missing.

“She is not in yer room, laird, but her own.” She smiled, a devious smile that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“What do ye mean her room?”

“She has moved back in with me,” she said, before turning away and heading below stairs.

Furious, he headed back down the hallway. What kind of game was his wife now playing at?

He flung open the door to Marisse’s chamber and stepped inside.

His wife was standing at the window, arms wrapped around her waist, with her head resting against the window frame. If one didn’t know better, one would assume she was staring out at the early evening sky. Her unbound hair cascaded down her back in glorious waves. Waves he very much wanted to bury his face into. He had to remind himself that he was, at this moment, quite angry she had moved out of their bed chamber and in with Marisse. He wouldn’t stand for it. He pushed all thoughts of the physical aside, fully intent on getting to the heart of the matter.

“What are ye doin’?” he asked, doing his best to mask his anger.

She did not turn at the sound of his voice. “Lookin’ out the window, pretending I can see the sunset once again.”

There wasn’t a bit of upset to her voice. If anything, she sounded melancholy. Was she trying to make him feel guilty in order to goad him into apologizing for his earlier behavior? “That is not what I meant. I want to ken what ye are thinkin’ by movin’ out of our chamber.” His words were clipped, his anger barely hidden.

“So ye can sleep.”

’Twas not the answer he was expecting. “What do ye mean?” He asked, taking a step closer to her.

“I fear ye have nae had a good night’s sleep since we married, Richard. Ye have been sleeping on the cold floor of yer study each night. Ye need better rest and sleep than ye’ve been gettin’.”

A twinge of guilt pulled at his insides. She did sound sincere, but deep down, he was certain there was more to her decision than worrying over his comfort. “Ye worry I am not sleeping?” he asked, a hint of challenge in his voice.

“Aye, I do,” she replied. She still hadn’t turned to look at him.

“Be there more to it than that?”

He watched as she took in a slow breath. “Aye, there be more to it than that.”

After a lengthy silence, he realized she wasn’t going to tell him what was truly on her mind. “What game are ye playin’ at?” he bit out.

“’Tis not a game, Richard,” she replied in a whisper. She sounded exhausted.

“Are ye certain?” His voice was laced with sarcasm and annoyance. “Because it certainly looks that way to me.”

Finally, she turned around. Her eyes were red and her skin blotchy from crying. “Then ye do not ken me well at all,” she said. “But then, why would ye? Ye avoid me at all costs. Ye refuse to spend any time with me.”

He shook his head in dismay. “Is this all because I did nae walk with ye at night?”

Aeschene let out a heavy sigh. “Richard, it is not about the walks. Or the picnics. It is about the fact that ye want nothin’ to do with me until nightfall, when it is time to join.”

Her words stung, but they were nothing but the truth.

“It is about the fact that ye do not trust me, and I doubt ye ever will.”

More painful truths. Truths he could not deny.

“Ye are intent on being alone,” she began tearfully. “Ye do