Celestia blushed a bit, grateful that it was night, and much of the light came from the huge bonfires in the middle of the field. “I suppose ye must be right.” Sebastian’s comment had made her think back to last night.
“Should I wait to congratulate ye now or after ye and Anthony have walked down the aisle?”
She blinked, brows furrowing together. Words formed on her lips and then disappeared before she finally took a sip of her drink and found her voice again. “What?”
“Anthony told me ye finally agreed to marry him.” He raised his cup to meet hers.
Reluctantly, she did. “Do ye ken where Anthony is?”
“I do.” He nodded and pointed behind her. “He’s just there, comin’ this way.”
She turned to see Anthony, dressed in his finest kilt and plaid pinned perfectly to his jacket. His hair curled just above his ears with the humidity that lingered still from last night. A jolt rushed through her body, and she felt more alive than just a moment ago.
“Good evenin’, Celestia. I didnae think I would ever find ye in this crowd,” he said when stood before the table. He nodded in acknowledgment to Sebastian.
“Evenin’,” Celestia answered.
“Will ye dance with me?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.
Celestia could hardly say no to him, especially in front of Sebastian who already knew of their arrangement. She nodded and grabbed hold of his hand. Flashes of last night came to her when he pulled her enthusiastically from her seat and toward where the others were dancing.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the twins spinning around Nessa and Flora. Auralia was still dancing with the young man who had taken her away earlier.
Anthony pulled her attention back to him when he wrapped his arm around her back, guiding her along to the beat.
“Do ye have any regrets about last night?” he asked.
“I told ye last night that I dinnae,” she said, looking up at him through her lashes. She felt a bit bashful after the intimacy they shared last night, wondering if it was just a fluke because she’d felt so emotionally spent and raw. “Are ye regrettin’ it?”
“Nay, lass,” he said, but there was something in his voice that she couldn’t pinpoint. Maybe it was the mead she smelled on his breath or maybe it was just the whirlwind that was last night.
“Have ye told anyone?” she asked. “That I said yes.”
“Nay.”
“Then why did Sebastian congratulate me just before?”
Anthony gave himself away with the nearly imperceptible grimace. “Sebastian is family, and he kens to be discrete.”
“Are ye sure?”
“Aye.”
“If he’s like family, then I assume ye have told Eleanor?”
He shook his head. “I have nae told my sister yet. She still has the biggest mouth of the family.”
“I hope so because I havenae told my family yet,” Celestia told him in a rush of air as they spun together passing between two other couples.
“I promise ye, Celestia. I’ve only told Sebastian.”
Celestia nodded, deciding to trust him.
11
“Should ye really be dancin’ with me?”
Anthony frowned. “What do ye mean, lass?”