Connor shook his head at his brother. 'Don't make more of this than it is,' he remarked as he reached around his back to move his wife so he wouldn't knock her over when he stood up.
Alec nodded. 'I would suggest you not make less of this than it is.'
Brenna didn't have any idea what the two men were talking about. Alec abruptly changed the subject before she asked him to explain.
'You'd best keep a close lookout on your way home.'
'Connor always has his guard up,' she said.
'That is so,' Alec agreed before issuing a second warning to his brother. 'He could be waiting on your land even now.'
'Ah, Alec, you do give me hope.'
'Your arrogance is going to get you killed. We both know he'll want her back.'
Brenna suddenly realized who the brothers were talking about. She let out a gasp, grabbed hold of Connor's arm, and whispered, 'The pig MacNare?'
Her husband smiled. God love her, she was beginning to realize how fortunate she was to have married him. 'Yes, the pig MacNare.'
'You won't, will you?'
'I won't what?'
She leaned into his side so she couldn't be overheard. 'Give me back.'
His smile vanished. 'What do you think?'
'You won't.'
His brisk nod told her she'd made the right guess. He put his arms around her shoulders and squeezed her to let her know he approved of her answer.
She tried to hide her exasperation. It was difficult, given the fact that her husband was now trying to defend her behavior to his brother.
'My wife meant no offense to me. She's English, if you'll remember, and therefore doesn't understand.'
'What don't I understand?'
Alec answered her. 'We keep what belongs to us, and we protect our wives. You don't understand your worth yet, do you, Brenna?'
'No, she doesn't,' Connor answered.
'Englishmen also protect what belongs to them.' She told them what should have been obvious. 'The barons are just as possessive.'
'Then why are you here, lass?' Alec asked. 'Did your father protect you by sending you to marry MacNare?'
'One has nothing to do with the other, Laird.'
'How is it different?' he asked.
Both brothers would think her father had been motivated by greed if she explained his reason, and she knew she would never be able to convince them her dear father loved his daughters.
'I'm here because I wish to be here. When I asked my husband if he would give me back, I only wanted to hear his assurance. I already knew he wouldn't,' she boasted.
'Because you received the church's approval with the priest's blessing?' Alec asked.
He was already nodding when she told him no. 'Connor would have gotten around to getting a priest to bless us. Many marriages begin without a blessing because there are so few confessors available.'
Connor knew she was struggling to be diplomatic, and he smiled. She was about to lose her patience now, and from the way Alec was questioning her, Connor knew Alec was curious to see what she would do.
Alec was enjoying himself, and with each of her frowns and hesitant answers, he was actually finding out far more about her than she could possibly realize.
'Then how did you know Connor wouldn't give you back?' Alec persisted. 'Did you understand him so well?'
'No, I didn't understand him at all. I had, of course, noticed how stubborn he was,' she added when she remembered how she'd argued with Connor to get him to change his mind, and how he'd refused to listen to a word she said. 'However, my parents taught all of their children to stand on their own two feet. My family, you see…'
Connor interrupted her. 'We are your family now.'
'Yes, but my sisters and brothers…'
He once again interrupted her. 'Jamie and Alec are your sister and brother now.'
'And Raen,' Alec interjected.
Connor nodded. 'Yes, Raen,' he agreed. 'It's been such a long time since I last saw him, I sometimes forget about him.'
'Connor, why don't you let me talk about my family?'
'We're your family now,' he gently corrected.
Alec understood exactly what his brother was doing and fully supported him. Connor wanted to help his wife become loyal to him and his followers, of course, and let go of the past, and though Alec thought Connor wasn't as subtle as he had been when he'd helped Jamie get over her homesickness, he couldn't fault his brother. 'Twas the truth, Connor still wasn't capable of being subtle.
Disheartened to realize her husband was trying to make her pretend her family didn't matter, she decided to go outside and ignore him for a few minutes and try to figure out his reason for being so cruel. She was going to have to remove Connor's arm from around her shoulders first, of course, but when she tried to do just that, she realized she was holding the Kincaid plaid she'd folded and kept on her lap through supper. She tucked the blanket under her arm with the intention of putting it down on one of the stools as soon as Connor let go of her, and then reached up to nudge him away from her.
He caught hold of her hand and held tight. She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. She was quite helpless now, and he knew it. She gave him a quick frown to let him know what she thought about his behavior.
He winked at her.
Alec was trying hard not to laugh. The look she'd just given Connor did amuse him, though. He recognized it too, for it was similar to the wait-until-I-get-you-alone expression his Jamie often cast him when she was dying to voice her opinion and knew she shouldn't.
'You've still to appease my curiosity, Brenna,' Alec told her.
She forced a smile for the laird and tried to remember what they'd been talking about. Connor had winked at her. What in heaven's name had come over him?
'Brenna, answer my brother,' Connor instructed.
God help her, his eyes had turned so wonderfully warm. Why did such a handsome warrior have to be so difficult all the time? She let out a little sigh while she thought about that.
'I would be happy to answer your brother.'
Both brothers waited a good long while for her to do just that. Alec took mercy on her before Connor did. He reminded her of their topic.
'You were about to explain how you knew Connor wouldn't give you to MacNare.'
'It's simple, really. I wouldn't let him.'
'Of course you wouldn't,' Jamie interjected just to show she supported Brenna's belief.
Alec laughed. His reaction puzzled Brenna. Connor didn't laugh; he did smile, though, and she found his reaction just as bewildering.
Connor was still smiling as he pulled her behind him to the doors leading outside. He was just about to dismiss the matter from his mind when she asked him why her answer had amused him.
'I wasn't amused. I was pleased.'
'All right,' she agreed. 'Why were you pleased?'
'Because you believe you're strong enough to enforce your decisions.'
Jamie came up behind the two of them and gained Connor's full attention when she told him he was wrong. 'She doesn't believe she's strong enough to enforce her wants on you. I believe she realizes she's intelligent enough to find another way to get whatever she wants.'
