Page 58 of A Sinful Night with a Scot
“Ye dinnae have tae tell me if ye dinnae want tae.” But even as she spoke those words, she knew they were not true.
Ye are such a liar. Ye are desperate tae ken his secret.
Keane beamed a smile then, and Elsie frowned. “What?”
“I have a gift. I was born with it. Inherited from me maither’s side, fer she was born from a long line of mystics and magic.”
“A gift?” she breathed.
He brushed the back of his fingers against her temple. “I can read yer mind, Elsie.”
Her mouth dropped open and she gasped. “All the time?” she blurted.
Och, God. What has he heard me say? What has he heard me think? I have thought so many dreadful things about him since he captured me.
“Only when I touch ye,” he said. “Like now.” He lifted their entwined hands as though to show her.
Elsie suddenly pulled her hand away. Partly from fear. Partly from astonishment. But Keane only smiled again.
“Yer mind is a beautiful place tae be, Elsie. Ye are such a beautiful person. Inside and out.”
Still reeling from his disclosure, Elsie wanted to make certain he was telling her the truth. Particularly about only being able toread her mind when he touched her. Not that that wasn’t bad enough.
Can ye read me mind now?
She watched his face, searching for any sign that he had heard her thought. Instead, he only gazed at her with the same expression.
“Ye are testing me tae see if it is true.”
Elsie did not answer him.
Are ye inside me head?
Still, there was no reaction. She then placed her hand on his forearm.
Are ye inside me head now?
“Aye.” He nodded.
She whipped her hand away again, struggling to assimilate his revelation. Thousands of thoughts had passed through her mind since the day he had taken her. Thousands. What had he heard? What did he know? How dare he read her mind without saying anything.
“I cannae believe ye didnae tell me,” she gasped.
Keane lifted his eyebrows, his expression knowing. “It’s nae something one goes around announcing tae the whole world. And I told ye. I only tell those whom I truly trust. Dae ye ken how many people in this castle ken?”
Elsie shook her head.
He lifted his hand and held up one finger.
“Alisdair,” she said.
Keane nodded. “I have grown up with this clan, Elsie. The servants in this castle. The soldiers under me command. The older men o’ the council. And yet, it is ye I have chosen tae tell.”
Only then, did Elsie realize how open and vulnerable he was being with her. How much he was trusting her with this great secret that even his own council did not know.
“Thank ye,” she breathed.
But Keane shook his head. “It is I who ought tae be thanking ye. I have done naething tae deserve yer trust. Any other person in yer position would have let those soldiers kill me.”
