Page 24 of Ruining a Highland Healer
With a yawn and a languid stretch, Torrin pushed himself off the floor—albeit with some difficulty. In the dim light of the morning, that first blue light that streamed in through the windows, he could see Valora’s shape under the covers on the bed, her chest rising and falling softly with every deep breath that she took. Throughout the night, he had heard her toss and turn a few times, but he had refrained from waking her. Not only did he not know whether or not he should disturb her, but healso didn’t dare approach her in the middle of the night, lest she thought he was trying anything less than chivalrous with her.
But now, he had no reason to stay so far away from her. Tiptoeing all the way to the bed, Torrin leaned over Valora, a sly smile spreading over his lips.
"Good mornin’!" he called softly, right over her ear. "Time tae get up, we have much tae dae!"
Despite his low tone, Valora woke with a start, almost bolting out of the bed with a cry of panic. She clutched the covers to her chest like a shield, looking at Torrin with wide, terrified eyes from the far corner of the bed. For a few moments, she didn’t seem to know where she was, but after a few breaths, her look of terror shifted into one of hatred mixed with disbelief.
"What dae ye think ye’re daein’?" she demanded, even as Torrin, unable to help himself, laughed. "Why would ye wake anyone like this, leaning over them? What is the matter with ye?"
"Well, ye’re nae the easiest lass with whom tae share a room," Torrin pointed out, as though that excused his behavior. He knew, of course, how irritating his wake-up call had been, but that didn’t stop him from being entirely too pleased with himself. "An’ I wasnae lyin’. We dae have plenty tae dae today."
"What could there possibly be fer me tae dae here?" Valora asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I dinnae ken anyone. I have nay duties. Ye could have let me sleep."
"Ye think the Lady o’ the Clan daesnae have any duties?" Torrin asked with a small, confused frown, one that Valora soon mirrored.
"I’m nae the Lady o’ the Clan," she reminded him.
"Fer the next nine days an’ today, ye are," Torrin said. "I told ye, we must act as though we are wedded fer ye tae see if ye would like tae proceed with this."
"Could ye nae court me like a regular man?" Valora said as she fell back onto the mattress with a groan, her eyes slipping shut once more. Torrin, though, would not let her sleep; not because he was cruel, but because he wanted her to meet his people—the people who might soon be her people, too.
"Why would I dae that when I can dae this instead?" Torrin asked with a small shrug. "Come now, get up. It’s time fer ye tae meet yer people."
"Me people?" asked Valora as she opened a single eye to look at him—or rather glare at him, Torrin supposed, since she looked entirely too unhappy by his presence.
"Aye," said Torrin. "We’re goin’ tae the village."
For a moment, Valora said nothing, but then she gave him a look from head to toe—one that told Torrin she had only just realized he had come to wake her shirtless, not bothering to put on any of his clothes.
Immediately, her cheeks flushed a deep red and she averted her gaze quickly. Torrin couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction. He couldn’t say he had been shirtless in front of a noble maiden before, and he was more used to women who didn’t have the same moral compass as women like Valora, so to him, her embarrassment was as amusing as it was endearing.
"Will ye put on a shirt, please?" Valora asked through gritted teeth. "I dinnae think yer appearance is particularly decent."
"There is naethin’ wrong about a wife seein’ her husband without a shirt," Torrin teased and any bit of embarrassment he had ignited in Valora instantly turned into fury as she grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it right in his face. Even with his reflexes, he had no time to catch it, considering how close they were sitting, and the pillow hit him smack in the face, pushing him back a little.
"Enough with this charade," Valora said. Now she had the guts to face him, her face still red, but this time from anger instead of shyness. "I agreed tae give ye ten days, but I’m nae yer wife yet. Ye will treat me appropriately."
Ach, I supposed I teased the lass too much.
"Fergive me," said Torrin, raising his hands up in surrender. "I will wear a shirt. I promise."
As he spoke, he rounded the bed and made his way to the chest of drawers by the door, grabbing a new shirt and pulling it on.Only once he was once again more or less decent did he turn back to Valora, gesturing vaguely at his torso.
"Well?" he asked. "Is that good enough fer ye?"
"It’s somethin’," said Valora. "Now ye shall leave me so I can also dress."
"Ye’re already dressed," Torrin pointed out.
"Well, I can hardly wear the same thing when I’ve been sleepin’ in it all night!"
With a roll of his eyes, Torrin walked to the door and left the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to make her sleep in his own chambers. When he had requested it, he had not expected her to completely take over the room—even his bed.
He waited patiently for Valora to finish dressing—or perhaps patiently was an overstatement when he was tapping his foot against the floor, constantly wondering when the door would open. But when the door did finally open, Valora peeked through it, only her head visible. She mumbled something Torrin couldn’t catch, and he leaned a little closer, only for her to withdraw abruptly.
"What was that, lass?" he asked. "I didnae hear ye."
