The Heiress Bride - Catherine Coulter [48]
“Not again,” Sinjun said.
“Yes, again, dammit!” Ryder now, and his jaw was working he was so angry. “You were a virgin, Sinjun? You, who have been married to this damned heathen for how long now? Completely married, you told us? In all ways, you said. Well then, just how the hell could you still be a virgin? This rutting stoat doesn’t look like he’d wait for anything or anyone.”
Sinjun pulled the covers around her and brought her legs over the side of the bed. Colin was looking like a dog ready for a good fight, bent forward, hands fisted, his eyes mean as a snake’s. Her brothers were coming closer and closer, just as ready to spill blood.
“Stop it, all of you!” she yelled. Where was Angus with his damned blunderbuss? She jumped in front of her brothers. “No more, do you hear me? No more!” They were ignoring her, intent on bashing Colin. She spoke calmly now, colder than they’d ever heard her voice. “You will leave my bedchamber now, both of you, or I swear it, Douglas, Ryder, I will never speak to either of you again. I swear it.”
“No, you can’t mean that,” Douglas said, paling.
“You can’t know what you’re saying,” Ryder said, taking a step back. “We’re your brothers, we love you, we—”
“I do mean it. Get out, both of you. We will speak of this in the morning. You have embarrassed me to my toes, both of you, and if—” Her voice broke off and she burst into tears.
It was so utterly unexpected that both Douglas and Ryder rushed forward to her. Colin raised his hand and said quite calmly, “No, gentlemen. I will see to her. We will speak in the morning. Go away.”
“But she’s crying,” Ryder said, clearly aghast. “Sinjun never cries.”
“If you’ve made her cry, you bastard—”
“Douglas, leave us alone.” Colin tightened his arms around his wife’s back.
Ryder and Douglas backed off. They didn’t want to, but they had no choice. Both left the bedchamber cursing.
Colin said nothing. He simply held her tightly against him, watching the door close finally.
“I should have locked the damned door,” he said, filled with disgust for himself. “That will teach me to be more careful when my wife has two brothers who love her so much they’d kill anyone who broke her fingernail.”
“They would have broken the door down. It would have made no difference. And you broke more than a fingernail.”
“Why, she speaks,” he said. “How grand. A bride who bursts into tears one minute and speaks calm as a clam the next.” He shoved her away from him. Her eyes were wet with tears, but none had spilled over. It didn’t slow him though. He grabbed her shoulders, squeezing tight, and shook her. “I will tell you this once, Joan, and I don’t expect to have to repeat myself. This is my house. You are my wife. Damn you, I am a man, not some sort of sniveling hound for you to protect by shoving me behind your damned skirts. Do you understand me, madam?”
She tried to pull free of him, but he held on tightly. She wanted to strike him herself, hard. She snarled like an animal at him, “Blessed hell, they would have killed you! They would have bashed you to the floor. And if you would open your eyes, you would notice that a skirt isn’t what I’m wearing.”
“Don’t you dare try to distract me. You will never again jump in front of me. Do you understand me, madam? For God’s sake, there could be real danger, possibly, and you could be hurt. This is Scotland, a land vastly different from that gentleman’s paradise to the south. There is always the chance of violence here. I won’t tolerate your foolish behavior, ever again. Do you understand me?”
“You’re not a sniveling hound, you’re a bloody stupid fool! You’re raging about like a bull, Colin, and it’s absurd! I merely pretended to cry, just to stop them, and it did. Whatever was wrong with that?”
“Enough!” He slammed his palm against his forehead. “It is too much, dammit! Get into bed, Joan, you’re shivering.”
“No, I shan’t. You’ll do those horrible things to