Page 48 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
The seamstress looked a little crestfallen but went into the back to see what she could find.
Keira walked about the shelves, touching some of the fabrics and examining others. There were beautiful patterns and colors everywhere, more color than she had ever seen in the villages growing up. She felt like a grand lady in this place, wondering what it must be like for those who could afford such magnificent garments.
In truth, she suspected she would not be able to afford a single button. She glanced back at Noah to assess his reaction, only to find him still watching her, his gaze brooding and all-encompassing, just as it had been the night before.
She shivered, trying to hide his effect on her and determinedly suppressing her own desire. She was grateful when the seamstress returned with an armful of gowns.
Keira went into the back to try them on, waiting patiently as the seamstress marked what needed to be changed. Two of them needed barely any amendments at all.
She was far more comfortable than she had been in the ill-fitting clothing she had borrowed from the maid. For the first time, she could look at herself full length in a looking glass. She was pleased with the reflection staring back at her, unaccustomed to seeing herself in such finery.
As she donned the final dress—a long black gown with gold trim on the sleeves and down the center—she came out to show the seamstress the cut but, instead, found herself face-to-face with Noah. His gaze ran over her immediately, his eyes hungry as he looked her up and down.
“What do ye think?” she asked timidly.
He did not speak immediately, his eyes raking over every inch of her body until she was quite breathless.
“Buy it,” he said darkly.
“What?” she asked, surprised at his tone. “Do ye like it?”
“If I tell ye how much I like it, ye might accuse me of mockin’ ye again,” he murmured, and as he spoke, he took a step forward, as tall and menacing as he had been before. It unmanned her completely and she felt as though she would collapse into his arms if he said another word.
But even as he approached, Keira’s eyes were caught by something else: a movement over Noah’s shoulder that stole all of her attention.
Two women had entered the shop and were admiring the fabrics, just as she had done. But now that she had emerged, they were staring at her with a familiar look of suspicion and fear. Keira’s sucked in a shallow breath.
Noah stiffened instantly, and he turned around to see what she was looking at.
The women had bowed their heads toward one another and were whispering urgently. They glanced furtively at Keira as though she might bewitch them on the spot.
Noah’s hand moved to his sword, more on instinct than anything else. Keira stepped forward to try and quell his rising ire; she could tell by his shoulders that he was tense as a bowstring.
The women looked up at his towering presence and hurriedly backed away. Keira hated the idea that being associated with her might taint MacAllen’s reputation.
“Och, Laird MacAllen,” one of the women stammered. “G—good day.”
“Good day,” Noah replied in a voice that could have frozen fire. The shop owner had returned and was glancing between them all with some consternation. Noah’s voice was so heavy with threat that the women tittered nervously together before they walked out without another word.
Noah turned back to Keira, his mouth a hard line of discomfort.
“Lucas has already poisoned them against me,” she whispered. “His lies are spreadin’ even to yer clan.”
“He willnae be a problem for long,” Noah replied ominously, his expression grim.
“Ye cannae risk yer life for me,” she said urgently, coming forward, wishing she could touch him and beg him to forget what they had seen.
“We should get back,” he replied, his voice lighte, as though he were forcing calm into it to reassure her.
But as he settled his account with the seamstress and they walked back through the town, Noah’s hand never left the hilt of his sword, not even for a moment.
CHAPTER20
The journeyback to the castle was melancholy.
Keira had felt so happy and content in the seamstress’s parlor, but then those women had looked at her as though she were wicked. It had taken her right back to the night of the chase through the woods.
She glanced at Noah, seeking some reassurance from him, but his eyes were ever watchful, and there was a vein pulsing in his left temple. But eventually, he sighed as he glanced behind them, his gaze softening somewhat.
