Page 24 of An English Rose for the Highlander
Ashton stepped back, and their stares locked for a moment. Dominik could see the fiery will to fight until the last flaring in his friend’s pale irises. While the man did not mean any harm to Rose or Dominik, the Laird could see in his friend that drive, that challenge that would ensure any violence brought against Ashton’s person would be answered in kind.
It was impressive and concerning at once. Dominik nodded at him, and they both sat down at the table, dropping the matter. Conversation returned to humor and alacrity in short measure, and the tense moment was forgotten. While Dominik wondered about Ashton’s response to his words, that he needed to stand firm regardless of the threat, he admitted that it was not sounreasonable an action considering everything that his friend had been through.
Odhran would not be married, and Ashton was leaning away from it each time he flirted with any lass in his vicinity. Perhaps Dominik would be the only one of them married, indeed.
12
The arrival of Dominik’s friends suddenly visiting the keep turned out to be a rather happy interruption. Rose was delighted to meet people who clearly meant so much to him. It was abundantly clear that he had missed them, as well as joining in a bit of fun. She had listened to stories of the trouble they would all get up to in their youth and seeing him with his friends had endeared her husband so much to her.
So, when Rose heard this morning that Dominik intended to visit the land that she had inherited after the wedding, she wished to join him on the journey to see it. It was partly hers, this item attached to her dowry, and she was undeniably curious about what it looked like.
After their morning meal, and not without a fair bit of nerves, Rose decided to ask her husband if she might travel with him.
He will say no, and you must remain calm. A single day of camaraderie will not win him over entirely. Just put your desires out there.
Walking up to the door of his study, Rose rapped her knuckles on the wood, waiting for his response.
“Come in.”
She gripped the knob, a bit more shakily than she would prefer, and opened the door, stepping into the cozy warmth of Dominik’s study. A fire was blazing briskly in the hearth, and he sat behind a desk at the back of the room, a set of narrow windows behind him.
“Good morning, my laird.” Rose ducked her head politely, offering an amiable smile. “I wanted to inquire with you about joining you today on the trip to visit my inheritance. I should like to accompany you and get a look at the land for myself.”
“Oh?” Dominik put down the quill that rested easily in his fingers, looking up at her curiously. “It should be another long trip in a carriage that continues to rumble about. Are ye sure ye can manage that?”
“I am prepared for it this time. I am sure I will manage just fine.”
“Verra well, then.” Dominik nodded, circling the large desk and standing in front of Rose. “We shall be leaving shortly, so if there is anything ye must do beforehand, I suggest doing so now.”
“Of course,” Rose answered quickly, heightened energy zinging through her as the excitement spilled over. “I will make haste at once.”
She did not even wait for a response, spinning around and leaving the study before Dominik could change his mind. He agreed! Rose was floating on air with happiness. She’d so hoped that she would be able to make this arrangement work for the best, and this trip could very well be the first step.
The ride to the north was a quiet one for some time; the space around Rose and her husband filled with tension. Unbidden, her mind dwelled on the evening they’d spent so close. How they had nearly consummated their marriage before her nerves had gotten the best of her.
Right now, she felt slightly more confident about the situation. Still, it was difficult to determine if that was simply because she’d spent more time around the man, particularly time spent in the company of his friends as well. Rose felt as if she knew him better, and that did make the prospect of lying with him less terrifying.
But what would she feel in that moment? Would she panic again?
“Ye seem to be verra in your head, lass.” Dominik’s voice startled Rose out of her thoughts, and she snapped her attention to her husband. “I certainly hope that ye arenae plotting something.”
Laughing quietly, Rose shook her head. “Do I honestly look like the type of person who would be plotting something?”
“I daenae ken much about ye, but…” Dominik leaned in, narrowing his eyes on her as he sat across from her in the carriage. “…ye have surprised me before. Ye got on quite well with me mates, and that isnae something most can boast about.”
Rolling her eyes, Rose shook her head. “No, I imagine not. But I maintain that I am not scheming or anything of the sort. I only wonder what the land will be like. What…we’ll find there.”
Dominik appeared to notice Rose’s pause. While, of course, she was not plotting his demise or ruminating on how to bring about his downfall, she was distracted by thoughts of their future. The Laird was a different man than she’d first assumed, friendlier when in the right company and relaxed. Still, it was the way he’d included her in the conversation with his friends, the way they had taken a liking to her that had started the rumbling thoughts of her impending deadline.
Rose could not deny how much she enjoyed that time or her curiosity regarding everything her new husband might hold locked within him.
And that is to say nothing of my fascination with his undeniable physical appeal.
“I see. Have ye a special interest in land there I daenae ken about?”
Rose’s cheeks heated as she blushed. She knew that Dominik was only teasing her, the way he had his friends, but being alone with him in the carriage while he did felt…different.
“When it is my family’s land, I think a curiosity about it is rather natural, don’t you?”
