Page 41 of Married to the Icy Highlander
Her chest heaved, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.
Neil bent to kiss her, just a soft brush of his lips against hers. A tease, a sample—nothing more. Why did it make her so sad?
“Nay. I’m sorry. Good night, Ceana,” he whispered and retreated down the hall.
19
“Look! Ceana! Look!” Jeanie called loudly as she bounced from one garden bed to the next.
Ceana nodded along, not really paying attention to her as she likely should. She hadn’t been able to sleep a wink last night, and the headache she had woken up with this morning wasn’t helping either. After Neil turned her down, she continued the festivities alone in her room. She had really needed another drink. Now she was paying for it. But far be it from her to tell Jeanie to calm down.
Instead, she tried to pay attention to whatever she was doing. The plants and various herbs in front of her seemed to keep blurring together as she picked them, and it was making her move far more slowly than she normally would.
It was slowing their progress, even more so because Jeanie didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in helping her. She was supposed to be learning from the new castle healer, Alice, how tomake oils for various ailments. Instead, she was running around, trying to catch butterflies and counting the various bugs that she came across.
Alice was a very kind woman. Ida had introduced them not too long ago, but she had only just recently started working at the castle.
“Ye ken, lass, ye’ll nae learn a thing about flowers if ye keep yer eyes trained on the sky the whole time,” Alice called to Jeanie without bothering to look over her shoulder.
“But the butterflies are so much prettier than the flowers!” Jeanie shouted back from across the garden.
Ceana winced, squeezing her eyes shut against the loud noise that was only making her head pound harder. She tried to will the ache away, but her vision was swimming to the point that she had to pause her work.
“Long night?” Alice asked in the same flat tone.
“Aye,” Ceana muttered, starting to nod and then stopping herself quickly. “I just cannae seem to shake off the throbbin’ in me head.”
“Did ye have a raw egg for breakfast? Lorne sausage?” Alice shifted, plucking a different batch of flowers.
Ceana didn’t answer right away. She wasn’t about to admit to the fact that she hadn’t eaten anything yet because she did not wish to run into Neil. She wasn’t ready to face him after last night’s rejection. She felt like such a fool for allowing any of it to happen. She could blame the drink, but that wasn’t the true cause, and she wasn’t about to let her husband call her out on it either.
Alice continued to gather herbs and then thrust her closed fist toward Ceana with a nod. “Put these in yer tea, then.”
Ceana smiled weakly—even the slight movement made her head hurt. “I thank ye. Truly.”
“Ceana! Ceana! Look, I’m a butterfly too!” Jeanie screeched, flapping her arms and chasing after a butterfly.
Ceana couldn’t help but laugh at that, despite her headache. She pushed herself up off the ground and walked over to Jeanie, but the girl was now running around the large fountain in the garden, not caring if she fell into the water. The anxiety of it made Ceana’s stomach clench.
She wanted nothing more than to run after her. Maybe she could even take her boots off and chase her across the garden for a while, leading her away from the fountain. She tried to run after her but stopped the moment the throbbing in her head worsened. So, all she was really able to do was smile affectionately at the child.
She had a duty to be here, to stay with Jeanie, but as the sun rose higher in the sky, it was becoming more difficult. “Do ye nae wish to help Alice with the pretty flowers, too?”
“Nay!” Jeanie cried. Her hair was coming undone, her dress was covered in grass stains and dirt, and the well of energy inside her seemed to have no end.
“If ye wish to go and have some tea now, M’Lady, I’m happy to keep an eye on the lass. Perhaps if it’s just the two of us, she’ll calm down?” Alice offered, finally glancing up at Ceana with a knowing smile.
“Ye dinnae mind?” Ceana asked softly.
“Nae at all. I’ll have her grindin’ flower petals before ye ken it. Maybe she’ll let me make a game out of it. If nae, then I’m all right with her dislikin’ me,” Alice teased, flashing her a smile before motioning for her to go back to the castle.
Ceana felt bad that she had to leave Jeanie, but perhaps it was for the best.
“We are goin’ to be fast friends.” She grinned. “I owe ye one!” Then, she turned to the child, who was still running around. “Oi, butterfly! I’m goin’ to lie down for a while, but I’ll wait for ye in me chambers to tell me all about the flowers that Alice will show ye.”
Jeanie ran to her, her eyes searching. “Are ye unwell?”
“A little bit, aye. I couldnae sleep last night.”
