Page 57 of A Forbidden Night with a Scot
“I promise,” said Samuel, and it wasn’t entirely a lie.
Before either Samuel or Nerian could say anything else, the door was flung open and Alicia rushed inside, heading straight for Samuel and pulling him into a loose embrace, mindful of his injury. Still, Samuel let out a shocked gasp, not so much at the sudden contact, but rather at the fact that Alicia was being so openly affectionate in front of everyone.
She hadn’t even noticed her father. She only had eyes for Samuel.
“Does it hurt?” Alicia asked as she pulled back, her hands hovering over the wound with worry, her gaze pained as it found his. “How are ye feelin’? What did the healer say?”
Silently, Samuel glanced quickly at Gavin, and Alicia followed the movement of his eyes to find her father there, watching the two of them with a small frown. So shocked was she to see him there that she drew back from Samuel abruptly, pushing to her feet, and exclaimed, “Faither!”
It was far from subtle. If Gavin was not suspicious before, he certainly was now.
“Alicia,” said Gavin, glancing between the two of them. “Perhaps ye should let Samuel rest. Dinnae worry, he’ll be all right soon.”
Alicia nodded vigorously, humming in agreement as she put even more distance between the two of them. “I think… I think I will go now,” she said, and Samuel watched in horror as blood rushed to her face, painting her cheeks a deep red. “I only wished tae see if Samuel was well.”
Without another word, Alicia fled the room, rushing as though she was running for her life. In the silence that followed, Samuel couldn’t bring himself to meet Gavin’s gaze. With a sigh, Gavin rubbed a hand over his face and leaned back in his seat, mumbling for a moment under his breath.
“I think me daughter’s infatuation with ye never stopped,” he said then, catching both Samuel and Nerian by surprise.
It hadn’t occurred to Samuel that Gavin could know about Alicia’s feelings for him, but he clearly knew there was something between them, even if said something was nothing more than a simple infatuation from Alicia’s part. But what if that was not all he knew? What if he suspected more than this and was simply biding his time until he could confront Samuel about it?
Nay, he wouldnae dae such a thing. He would have confronted me immediately.
“I will go… talk tae the men,” said Nerian, removing himself from the room, though not before he gave Samuel a pointed look, as if to say it was time for him to speak to Gavin. Samuel watched his friend leave, not yet ready to tell Gavin the truth.
But Nerian was right. It was the proper thing to do and Samuel had already delayed the inevitable long enough.
He took a deep breath, once again preparing himself, and then looked at Gavin, only to find him staring at the ceiling, his head tipped back. He looked tired, exhausted even, but Samuel had already made up his mind.
“Gavin—”
The door opened once more and two men from Samuel’s council walked in, wearing identical looks of concern as they approached. From the corner of his eye, Samuel saw that Gavin had sat up a little straighter, waiting for Samuel to continue, but it was not something he wanted to discuss in front of his men.
Instead, once again, this conversation would have to wait.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
In the days that followed the attack, Alicia kept her distance from Samuel as much as she could, too fearful that her father would suspect something. It was clear to her, even without speaking to Samuel, that he had said nothing to her father yet about their relationship, and the last thing she wanted was for him to find out by accident because Alicia couldn’t stay away from Samuel.
No, Samuel had to speak with him first, but with everything that had happened, Alicia figured he had not yet found the time.
But when will he speak with him? When will he tell him the truth?
Time was running out for them, and Alicia had begun to fear that her wedding to Laird MacTavish could not be avoided anymore. With the king’s insistence and Samuel’s inability to have a talk with her father, the future she had tried too hard to avoid was now hurtling towards her at an alarming speed.
It had already been weeks since that first letter. How much longer would they be able to postpone a meeting between her and Laird MacTavish?
Leaning against the windowsill at the top of one of the turrets of Castle MacLachlan, Alicia stared out into the distance, at the lands that surrounded the castle, the inky sky, the bright moon that dominated the heavens and made the stars around it seem dim in comparison. Ever since she had been a young girl, every time she had visited Castle MacLachlan with her father, she had always come to this turret to stare out into the distance, as it had the best view of the entire castle. Samuel had been the one to show it to her the first time, taking her, Emmeline, and Katherine there one morning so he could point at the nearest town.
Ever since that first time, Alicia had drifted there again and again alone.
She wasn’t alone now, at least not anymore. Footsteps approached her, and she turned to see Samuel there, walking towards her in silence. Once beside her, he, too, leaned against the windowsill and gazed outside, breathing in the fresh air that smelled like an oncoming storm.
“I kent I would find ye here,” he said as he turned to look at her with a smile. “Ye always loved this place.”
“I did,” said Alicia. “Still dae.”
For a few moments, Samuel only stared at her in silence, before frowning a little. “Is that me shirt?”
