Page 22 of Ruining a Highland Healer
"Och aye," said Torrin with a small nod. "Ye should go tae bed soon. Ye are beginnin’ tae look half dead."
Torrin’s words hit Valora like a wagon and she stood there, in stunned silence, looking at him with her mouth hanging open.
What a terrible thing tae say!
Torrin must have realized his words had a different effect than the one he intended, as he was quick to say, "I only mean ye look positively exhausted! Just… pallid an’ tired an’—"
The more he spoke, the more Valora’s indignation grew. She couldn’t help it. She scoffed, shaking her head at Torrin’s rudeness, and he was quick to wave his hands in front of her as if to try and say that wasn’t what he meant.
"I didnae… I dinnae ken why I said that!" he said, his voice taking on an embarrassed, slightly higher tone than his usual gravely baritone. "Fergive me. Ye’re a very attractive lass, dinnae misunderstand me, in fact, ye’re one o’ the most attractive lasses I’ve ever seen, so…"
Torrin let his words trail off, as he perhaps suddenly realized that he was not helping himself at all. Valora watched him, half in confusion and half in amusement as he struggled with himself, pacing in small circles in front of the door.
It was a relief, at least, to know that he found her attractive. If she was going to end up married to him, then they should be attracted to each other, she supposed.
And attracted to him she was. There was no denying Torrin was a handsome man, his features strong and masculine, the scars from the battles he had fought only adding to his allure. His eyes were what had caught Valora’s attention at first and even now, after looking at them for so long, during every conversation they had had, she could hardly tear her gaze away.
But a handsome face did not a good husband make. There was much more to a marriage than being attracted to one’s spouse, and Valora would not settle for a man who, despite his good looks, did not fulfil her in any other ways.
"What I’m tryin’ tae say is that ye should rest," was what Torrin settled on at last. "We can discuss everythin’ else on the morrow."
"I agree," said Valora. "Will someone show me tae me chambers?"
Torrin gave her a small frown, one Valora did not like at all due to what it seemed to imply. "Ye will be sleepin’ here, I decided," he said, much to her surprise.
"An’ when, precisely, did ye decide that?" Valora asked, her hands finding her hips as she stared him down—or tried to, something that was impossible with their height difference. If anything, it must have looked a little comical to Torrin, as he chuckled at her antics, much to her chagrin. "Why would I sleep here? Where will ye sleep?’
"Also here," Torrin said. "In the next ten days, we should act like we are wedded, so ye can see if it is somethin’ ye’d want."
When he put it like that, it sounded if not reasonable, then at least logical, and there was no doubt in Valora’s mind that to Torrin, it sounded perfectly reasonable indeed. But when taking everything else into account, it was nothing but pure madness.
"We dinnae ken each other at all!" Valora pointed out. "How can ye think that I would agree tae sleep in the same chambers as ye?"
Torrin gave a small shrug, as though this wasn’t a big deal for him. "I told ye, I think we should act like husband an’ wife, an’ the way tae dae that is by sharin’ a bed."
"I willnae share a bed with ye," said Valora firmly. She didn’t think she had to explain her position at all.
"I willnae let ye out o’ me sight," Torrin countered. "How dae I ken ye willnae try tae escape?"
"An’ where would I go?" Valora asked, her voice rising in volume. It wasn’t quite a shout, but it was close, and Torrin gave her a warning look. "Where will I go? There are guards everywhere in this castle! How far dae ye think I can get?"
"Nae far," said Torrin. "But ye can still cause trouble."
"I have naywhere tae go," Valora insisted. "I cannae leave, nay matter how much I wish I could. Even if ye didnae inform me faither, the moment he found out I was gone, he would force me sister tae wed ye instead, an’ I will never allow that. Never! Althea is… she’s too young an’ too pure an’ too good tae be sacrificed like this. If anyone is tae wed against her will, let it be me."
Her words had brought Torrin to a total silence. He blinked a few times, staring at Valora as though he was seeing a different person in front of him, and eventually, his expression softened, his eyes losing their sharp edge.
"Was that yer faither’s plan?" he asked. "If ye refused tae dae it, he would force yer sister?"
"Aye," said Valora with a small nod. "Aye, he would."
"An’ what if she, too, refused?"
"Then he wouldnae ask us anymore," she said. "He would simply arrange it himself an’ neither o’ us would have a choice. He’s only sparin’ her because he kens I would dae anythin’ tae keep her safe, an’ he kens I will dae what I must without protest… well, without too much protest."
Protesting was in her nature. Whenever she saw injustice, whether it was directed towards herself, Valora simply had to point it out, to fight against it. That, of course, only made her father even harsher with her, but she couldn’t help it. She deserved better than this. She deserved better than a lifetime in which she was always used as a pawn.
Torrin chuckled at her last words. "I think ye dinnae protest enough if I am tae be honest."
