Page 45 of Bound to a Scot
“What are ye doin’ here?” she asked.
“Yer husband asked me tae help ye with the inventory.”
She pulled a face. “Why would I need help?”
Maddox shrugged. “How would I ken? He apparently thought ye did.”
“Because he thinks I’m bleedin’ incapable of doin’ anything right.”
“I’m sure that’s nae it.”
“’Tis exactly what it is,” she snapped. “Ye’ve seen the way he treats me. He thinks I’m an idiot. Ye ken it’s true.”
Maddox opened his mouth to rebut what she’d said but closed it again without a word. Laird Macfie’s disdain for his ladywife was more than clear and Maddox had seen him treat Emmeline like she was dim. It never failed to enrage him.
“Well, I ken ye’re nae an idiot,” he said. “Ye’re actually one of the smartest people I’ve ever met.”
Emmeline lowered her gaze and stared at the floor for a moment, a small smile curling the corners of her mouth. When she looked up, it was with an expression of gratitude.
“Thank ye fer sayin’ that,” she said.
“Ye cannae believe that what yer husband thinks is true.”
“Nay. I ken I’m nae an idiot,” she replied softly. “But ’tis still nice tae hear somebody else say it.”
Maddox held her gaze for a long moment, the pounding of his heart loud in his ears. Things between them the last few days had been changing rapidly. With every moment they spent together, Maddox found his feelings for her growing in strength. The way she looked at him, he thought she was experiencing the same thing. In that moment, he wanted more than anything to take her into his arms and kiss her… and he wasn’t sure he would be rebuffed.
Putting them together alone in a small room seemed like a recipe for disaster. He feared that eventually, they would give in to thedesires they both seemed to feel. His body was tingling from head to toe. Maddox took a step forward as if drawn by some unseen force. Then another. And when he was standing in front of her, looking down into her eyes, their hearts seemed to be pounding in unison.
“Maddox,” she gasped.
The sound of heavy bootsteps in the corridor snapped them out of their trance and pulled them back to the moment. Maddox cleared his throat and took a step back as Emmeline turned her back to him as she feigned being absorbed in the task she’d been assigned. A moment later, Macfie stepped in, his eyes shifting from Maddox to his wife then back again. It was as if he could smell their desire for each other on the air.
“And how are things goin’ in here then?” he asked.
“Goin’ fine,” Maddox said. “We were… uhh… just figurin’ out the most efficient way tae get everything accounted fer.”
Macfie’s eyes narrowed and his face was tight as he kept looking back and forth between them. If Maddox didn’t know better, it almost seemed as if Macfie had expected to find them in a compromising position and because he hadn’t, he seemed… disappointed.
“Good,” Macfie said and cleared his throat. “’Tis good. And I appreciate the two of ye takin’ this on fer me. ‘Tis important work.”
“Of course,” Maddox said. “’Tis nay problem. Happy tae help.”
It still struck Maddox as strange, given that any one of his household staff was more than capable of doing this task and there was furthermore no need for him to check up on it in person, but it wasn’t his place to question the laird’s orders. Emmeline had not moved since Macfie had walked into the room but stood statue still, her hands clasped at her waist, her gaze fixed on the floor beneath her feet.
“Alright, well, I’ll let ye get back tae it then,” Macfie said.
Before either one of them could say anything in return, Macfie turned on his heel and walked briskly from the storeroom. Maddox and Emmeline remained frozen in place for several long moments as they listened to the sound of Macfie’s heavy bootsteps ebbing. It was only when he was gone that they both let out the breaths they were holding. They turned and stared at each other for a moment then let out a shaky laugh.
“What was that about?” Maddox asked.
“He was just makin’ sure I was bein’ faithful tae him.”
“Does he suspect ye’ve nae been?”
“He always suspects me,” she says, her tone hard and brittle. “He doesnae want me, but he doesnae want anybody else tae have me either.”
Their gazes lingered on each other for another moment before Emmeline turned away, breaking their eye contact.
