Page 40 of Claimed By the Heartless Highlander
And why should she trust ye, when ye speak of marriage alliances one moment and then have yer way with her against the wall like a heathen the next, and use the dreams she wrote in innocent fun as a chain to try and bind her? Especially after ye tell her ye cannae, and willnae, truly fulfill the dream ye ken she cherishes most?
He was a fool, and he knew it, but he couldn’t bring himself to set aside his pride or his stubbornness to fix matters.
She was still watching him, her expression polite but distant, her eyes empty of any affection or warmth. He swallowed hard and forced the words past the lump in his throat. “We’ll talk when ye get back.”
No acknowledgement. He might as well have spoken to a suit of armor on a stand. After a moment, she started to turn away.
Desperate, he grabbed her arm. “Ailis… ye will be comin’ back, will ye nae?”
No answer. She stood quietly, and when he didn’t release her, she yanked her arm free and turned toward the carriage without a word.
For one brief moment, he entertained the idea of lunging forward, spinning her around to face him, and kissing her, just to see her reaction. Just togeta reaction, even if it was a slap across the face and a slew of curses.
For one moment, he wanted to ask her not to leave this way. He wanted to admit to the truth he’d been forced to see in the lonely silence of the past few days.
Against his will, he’d come to care for her, for his gentle Highland lass with a nurturing hand and a love for literature, and a core of steel. He couldn’t count how often he’d lurked, just out of sight, just to listen to her read to Lily or laugh in the gardens.
Even wrestling back his temper and the hot jealousy that nearly suffocated him when she conversed with Jack had become something to be cherished, when the alternative was a silence as cold as the winter sea.
But she’d made her stance plain, that day in his study, and the one brief conversation they’d had made it clear she had no intention of backing down.
“I’ll nae be comin’ back unless I receive a letter from ye sayin’ that ye want me back… dinnae write that letter unless ye’re prepared to let me into yer life as more than just a shadow…”
He was tempted to tell her she’d long since become the sun in his life, not a shadow, but he knew that, without proof of his trust in her, she’d take the words as another ploy—empty and without meaning, no matter how sincere they were.
And if that happened, he’d lose any chance he had.
With a sigh, he stepped back and let her climb into the carriage without another word. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, perhaps some time apart would do them both good. It might allow him to clear his mind, get a fresh perspective.
And perhaps he could find out what was happening with the watchers, and resolve that issue. If it wasn’t the Frasers, he’d get answers and put the matter to bed. If it was… well, at least he would be on guard against the resurgence of the feud, and he might be able to tell her, directly or indirectly, that it was happening. That might be enough.
She was smart enough to guess what troubled him if she heard a feud had been declared between his clan and another. And that was the sort of thing he could write in a letter, he thought.
It would be best, of course, if the matter could be resolved quickly and he could tell her it was all over. That the need for secrecy was gone. Then none of it would matter.
As he watched the carriage roll away, he could only hope that would be the case.
CHAPTER16
In a corner of the kennels,Lily sniffled as she watched her favorite puppy play with the others. They were still tiny, but their eyes were beginning to open, and they were beginning to wiggle around like they were trying to learn to walk.
Normally, she’d love watching them. Now, though, all she could think of was the fact that Ailis was leaving. She’d only been here a few days, and now she was going away again!
Even worse, Ailis seemed to be angry with her father. She might not understand everything, but she could see how Ailis never spoke to her father and sometimes pretended not to hear him. Lily knew how to do that too, and what it meant when someone behaved that way.
What if Ailis never came back because she was mad and her father couldn’t make her happy again?
She sniffled again, then looked up as a shadow fell over her. She was hoping it was Ailis or her father, but it was just a guard. Lily frowned.
She knew the guards, especially the ones who were usually assigned to watch over her when her father and her uncle Jack couldn’t. Guards like Connor or Leith or Brian. But this man was a stranger.
Lily started to back away when the man gave her a friendly smile. “Och, lass, I didnae mean to frighten ye. There’s nay need to leave if ye dinnae want to.”
Lily hesitated. “Dinnae ken ye. Faither says nae to speak to folks I dinnae ken.”
“Aye, and yer faither’s a wise man who’s raised a braw and bonny lass. But as it happens, ‘twas yer faither who sent me to watch over ye. And if it puts ye at ease, me name’s Braden.”
She didn’t know any Braden, but there had been a lot more guards on the walls lately. Maybe he was telling the truth.
