Page 30 of The Daughters of Avalon
He gave her a twisted smile. “Unless ye wish to remain here?”
Elspeth shook her head, unwilling to argue when there would be time enough for that with a proper chaperone at Amdel. And suddenly, she didn’t relish any thought of angering Malcom further. As startled as she had been by those men, at the moment, Malcom seemed far more dangerous. And even so, she dared to ask, “Will you reveal the truth once we are arrived?”
“What truth?”
“That we are not betrothed.”
“Nay,” he said. “And yet you are quite welcome to do so at your own discretion. The decision is yours. But if you choose to let it be, Elspeth, you will do us both a favor.”
“Favor?”
“Aye,” he said, lifting his cloak from the ground where it lay, brushing it off. He cast her an arched glance over the garment. “If not for you, his sister would be my intended. And if there is aught you can do for me, Elspeth of Llanthony, it would beto save me the unpleasantness of having to repudiate his little sister.”
He handed her the cloak. “Wear it, please. I would prefer not to offer more explanations than necessary.” And he turned away, leaving Elspeth to consider all he’d said.
He had an intended?
For a moment, Elspeth stood, astounded. Certainly,thatwas nothing she had foreseen! So then, was she losing her ability to sense fates? Evidently, she had not read Malcom properly, nor had she guessed at his true nature. She had ignorantly taken for granted the smiling man she’d encountered in the woods.
“Art ready to ride?”
Sweet fates!
“Elspeth?”
No, no, no, no, no…Shemustgo back. This was not right. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong! And she was quite certain her sisters must need her. Elspeth yawned, and her eyes grew heavy and she realized belatedly that her sleepiness had returned.
Rhiannon!
No sooner had the thought occurred to her when her knees buckled, and Malcom rushed forward to sweep her into his arms.
“Elspeth,”he said, gently patting her cheek.
Feeling more protective over the girl than would seem natural, Malcom considered the fact that until yesterday morning, he’d never set eyes on her before. He wasn’t at all sure why he’d blurted such a lie—his bride? What in God’s sweet name had possessed him to say so?
Not only was shenothis bride, he was beginning to suspect, more and more, that she was meant for someone else. Andnevertheless, he had no regrets, despite that he would now have explanations to make. No matter; his heart was not set on a union with Dominique Beauchamp. He’d set out to help Elspeth, but it was equally as likely that he’d spoken the lie for his own self-gain, because, to put it mildly, he didn’t care for Dominique at all. And, perhaps, for the first time in all his life, he considered that there might be another woman he could bring himself to love…
“Elspeth,” he whispered again, patting her cheek insistently.
Her face was unnaturally pale, and though it was only a moment or two before she reopened her eyes, blinking up at him in confusion, it was the longest moment of his life. He breathed a sigh of relief as she refocused her gaze.
“Elspeth?”
“I-I am fine.”
“Art certain, lass?”
She nodded uncertainly, but that was enough to settle his nerves. “You did not eat well enough,” he scolded, sounding too much like a mother hen though he didn’t care. “Nor did you rest long enough. We shall see to that as soon as we are arrived at Amdel.”
And it struck him then how much she’d endured in the space of a single day—and yet despite this, how well she’d fared. For all he knew, she could have been afoot in those woods for days and days, and he’d never even bothered to ask. Like his stepmother, she was too prideful to admit any weakness. And, even now, she was as impenetrable as any fortress made of mortar and stone.
Whether he liked it or nay, Elspeth harbored secrets, and if he wished to know them—or her—it would be at her own discretion.
She pushed his hand away, like a proud little foundling—looking more lost than she’d looked even when he’d discovered her back in the woods in Wales. But now, once again, she shuthim out, and it was quite evident that he was only a means to an end.
Her trust would not be forthcoming, and whatever it was that he was beginning to feel for her—if indeed it was real—he suffered those feelings alone.
Nodding to himself, resigned to the unpleasant fact, he took one last look at Elspeth as she rallied, lifting herself up, half-heartedly smacking the dust from her clothes.
