Page 35 of Laird of Steel
She continued the deception anyway. “I was lookin’ for a spot where Robbie and I could have a wee chat.”
“A wee chat?” He arched a brow. “And what exactly was this wee chat about?”
She smirked. “Well, ’twasn’t about a specularium and propagation.”
“I’m serious. What did he want with you?”
She raised her chin. “I told ye ’tisn’t your affair.”
He looked like he might curse. Instead he demanded tightly, “’Tis my affair when it affects…” He hastily invented, “My cousin. In her condition, shouldn’t you be helping her? Don’t you have chores to do? What would Feiyan say about you meeting stray men in the garden when you’re supposed to be working?”
She smugly crossed her arms. “’Twas Feiyan’s idea.”
“What?”
“Ye’re not the only one of an age to wed, sirrah. Feiyan said I should be lookin’ for a match as well.”
“You?” he scoffed. “Why?” Then he lowered his brows. “Are you with child?”
She gasped in outrage. Was he serious? She reared back a hand to slap him across the face for his insolence. He caught her wrist before she could complete the blow.
“Forgive me,” he murmured, repentant. “That was ill-mannered. I only wondered what the hurry was.”
Her skin tingled where his fingers wrapped around her wrist. When she answered, her words came out like a breathy sigh. “I might ask ye the same thing. Brides are rushin’ at ye from all quarters. Like blades in a melee.”
His eyes dulled to the color of lead. He released her arm. But the heat of his touch lingered deliciously on her flesh.
“’Tis…complicated.”
Merraid could tell from the tension in his mouth that he wanted to say more. But he wouldn’t. Or couldn’t.
She would have pressed him. But he was already stepping away, disconnecting from her.
“I have to go,” he said. “I’m to ride with Lady Metylda this afternoon.” Then he gave her a sidelong glance. “Is there anything I should know about her?”
She smirked. “Ye mean, does she wish ye to build her a stable so she can study the propagation o’ horses?”
He gave her a frosty look.
“Nay,” she replied. “I know naught about her.”
He nodded and turned to go. Then he paused with his back to her. “Take care, Merraid. Not all men are decent. Find one who will be good to you. Who will treat you with the respect and honor you deserve. Take your time and choose wisely.”
He left without waiting for her response. It was just as well. She would have told him to heed his own advice.
“Shall we be a bit naughty?” Lady Metylda asked. She gave Gellir a saucy wink.
They’d crested the hilltop and were far away from onlookers. Naughty? Did she mean to seduce him here on the grass?
Under different circumstances, he might have considered her offer. She was lovely to look at. Pleasantly plump. Good-natured. And more than willing.
But he wasn’t looking for a hilltop tryst. He was looking for a wife.
Apparently, that was not at all what she had in mind. Before he could answer, she let out a whoop and whipped her horse into a blazing, reckless run down the hillside.
“What the devil?”
That wasn’t naughty. It was careless. On the uneven slope at that speed, one misstep and her horse would go down and break a leg, throwing her onto the ground or crushing her.
