Page 29 of To Wed a Laird
Suddenly the memory of him carrying her in his arms came back to her, and she wanted to beg him to do it again. Instead,she thrust the thought out of her mind and waited for him to tell her the reason why he had summoned her.
“I would like you to come into the village with me,” Cormac said. Strangely, his tone held a note of uncertainty.
“Why?” she asked, frowning. “Is Elspeth coming with us?”
He shook his head. “No,” he replied. “I want to show you something, and this does not concern her. The weather is good, and it is a pleasant day for a ride, so if you can be ready in a few moments, we can go at once.”
“Of course.”
Rose made her way to her room and found a riding habit laid out on the bed for her. Nell had obviously known what the Laird had in mind!
Quickly, she changed her clothes, then looked in the mirror to see how she looked. She doubted if Cormac would even notice, and the wind would no doubt tease her hair into something resembling a haystack, but she could do nothing about that.
With a deep sigh, Rose let herself out of her room and walked to the stables, tilting her chin up defiantly at those servants who still gave her poisonous looks. However, there seemed to be fewer of them these days, and she wondered if her relationship with Elspeth had something to do with it.
Rose’s heart was beating wildly as she neared the stables, and she found that she had been walking so fast that her ankle was hurting her again and she had started to limp slightly. She slowed down slightly, hoping that the change of pace would take the pain away and stop Cormac from noticing.
However, it was too late. As she reached the entrance to the stables, she saw that he was already there, frowning as he noticed the way she was walking.
“Are you all right?” he asked anxiously as he came forward to meet her.
Rose nodded. “Fine, My Laird,” she replied. “I was walking too fast. I need to slow down a little.”
“Are you sure?” Cormac still looked concerned.
“I am,” Rose replied, smiling.
Cormac took a breath. “Rose.” He said her name gently, with a tone he had never used before. “Please call me Cormac. After all you have done for Elspeth, I feel that we are friends now. Do you agree?”
Rose was startled, but she smiled and said, “Yes, I do.”
He laughed. “Say ‘yes I do, Cormac’.’” he ordered.
“Yes, I do, Cormac.” Rose repeated, echoing his laughter.
He helped her up onto a different horse this time, a slightly bigger chestnut mare. “Her name is Daisy,” Cormac told her. “I thought you might not like riding Heather again.”
He climbed up onto his big stallion, Broch, and they set off.
Rose used the opportunity of getting Cormac alone to find out more about the castle, the staff, how she could improve her relations with them, and other matters, which she thought might help her and Elspeth.
She discovered that not only was Cormac handsome, but he had a wicked sense of humour, and a fearsome intelligence. Rose was sorry when they arrived in the village because she had enjoyed their ride so much and did not want it to end.
She was about to dismount when Cormac reached up to help her. His big hands clasped her around her waist, almost encircling it, and as he pulled her down, their bodies brushed against each other, causing both of them to catch their breaths. For a fleeting second their eyes locked, then Cormac turned away to lead the horses away to tie them to a tree.
She had to resist the impulse to pull him into her arms; she wanted to feel his strong body against him, smell that scent of his. She was nervous and unsure of herself in a way she had notbeen for a long time, and she hoped it did not show on her face, for she did not want to look weak.
Rose tried to calm down, since her heart was once again hammering, and by the time Cormac came back, she felt a little better. Cormac, however, looked shaken to the core. Was it possible that their proximity affected him as much? However, Cormac pasted on an unsure smile on his face as he returned to her.
“I thought you could do with an outing to get you away from the castle for a while,” he said. “There is a special market here today. It only comes round once every three months, and I thought you might like to see it.”
Rose was delighted. “Thank you so much for thinking of me,” she replied, smiling widely as she looked around the stalls which lined both sides of the street. “My goodness! It has been an age since I saw a market like this.”
She did not add the reason for this, which was because she never had any money to spend.
“It is a special one that comes every season,” Cormac told her. “There is one in spring, one in summer, another in autumn, and one just before Christmas. The Christmas one is best, and Elspeth used to love it. Perhaps she will want to visit again this year.”
Rose smiled, but it was a false smile. “That would be lovely,” she said lamely. The truth was that though she loved Christmas, there would be no money for her to give any presents to anyone, not for Elspeth or anyone else.
