Page 29 of An English Rose for the Highlander
“Thank you. I do wish that I could do more, that…I could help the people to feel more at ease with our marriage.”
“They will come around. It will only take time.”
Easy silence fell between them as the Laird escorted Rose to her room. When they reached the door, however, she was not ready to separate just yet. Her mind still churned, and she wished to lighten Dominik’s burden. There would be so much on his shoulders, and if she could ease some of that, she would.
“Would you like to come in? We can discuss the situation a bit.”
Dominik’s eyes widened before he dropped his stare to the ground with a subtle, nearly imperceptible smile.
“Aye, lass. That sounds lovely.”
Rose entered first, walking to the back of her chambers and draping the shawl she’d put on after her bath over the back of a chair. It had been cooler in the Great Hall, but her room was pleasantly warm, the fire roaring in the hearth.
Dominik came in after her, walking in and folding his arms across his chest as he waited for her to speak. Or at least itseemed as if he was waiting. Her husband was being especially quiet. Never one for prolonged silences, Rose hurried to fill it with conversation.
“I will admit that arriving here…” Rose pulled off the apron she didn’t realize was still tied around her waist from the kitchens. “…seeing the people eye me so skeptically, well, it had made me especially nervous. In fact, I’m downright terrified that I might fail them as their lady.”
When she turned to face him, Dominik watched her silently, his stare neither judging nor sympathetic. He merely listened. There was something quite affecting about that, and Rose’s words fell from her mouth in a confession that she’d been keeping to herself for several days now. Perhaps months if she were honest with herself.
“I am the only daughter, only child, of my parents, and they have made that position…difficult. They possess such simple, open hearts and minds that I have seen them manipulated my entire life. It has been my duty to ensure that they survive comfortably until their very last moments, and I…I often wonder if I have failed them by not securing a match sooner. I had not focused on it, in truth, because keeping them from giving away our finances was an endless task.”
Still, Dominik said nothing. But he went to the small table in her chambers, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He gestured with his head for her to join him, and Rose approached slowly, taking a seat as quietly as she could.
As she sat there, the sound of the fire in the background the only prominent noise, she stared down at her fingers as she fiddled with them, nervous energy boiling over.
“My parents’ naïve mistakes have caused me to become something of an investigator and a shepherd at once. They require so much looking after. I began to think that it was that distraction that prevented me from seeing Lord Egerton for who he truly was. I believe I was fatigued, unable to do my due diligence after years of being responsible for the entire family.”
She looked up at Dominik, and he nodded as he held her stare, silently encouraging her to go on, to release these words and feelings that had been so trapped within her.
“It is a shameful thing for a woman to be jilted as I was.” Rose didn’t look away, but she felt the burn in her eyes as the tears fought to take over. “The Viscount nearly left us with nothing, and shame fell on me and my family in high society. We should have known better. We should have been better prepared. Lord Egerton will face his own justice, if not by much, but the pain of his actions continues to haunt us.
“I feel so often that I am expected to be perfect. I must be this pristine version of a woman, perfectly suited to be a wife, perfectly suited to be a mother, perfectly suited to be exactly what Society would have me be. I will admit that I am so dreadfully tired of being proper all the time. I want to be seen just as I am as…enough.”
The room remained quiet around her, but as she gazed at Dominik across the small table from her, she could see a softness in his eyes that she’d never seen before. His expression was a gentle one, and he reached across the table to take her hand, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.
Heat swelled in her cheeks. They were alone in her chambers, and it didn’t go without notice that a deadline loomed on the horizon. Rose was unsure how to feel. She couldn’t deny that Dominik was appealing, that after their kiss today, thoughts of him touching her hadn’t filled her mind.
Were it not for the disaster with the livestock, Rose was certain that she would have spoken to Dominik about the kiss, about where they might find themselves that evening.
But the terrible circumstances had interfered with all that. Their duties came first, as they always had and always would. After what she’d said, Rose could admit—at least to herself—that she wished to be selfish, to not think of duty for a change.
Rose wished to see what might spark between them were they to indulge themselves. She was still nervous, still terrified that she might do something wrong or that it would harm her in some strange way, but the notion of taking the risk didn’t seem as daunting as it had.
“I ken what ye mean, lass. Truly.”
Not saying anything more, Dominik lifted her knuckles to his lips, this intimate gesture that sent Rose reeling. He was so softand gentle with her, but there was an undeniable power in his hand, in his entire body. Rose could tell how Dominik restrained himself.
What if he didn’t?
The thought struck her, and she didn’t know what to do or think. Dominik eased some of that, however, by resting her hand back on the table and standing up, bowing his head to her.
“I will see ye in the morning, lass. There is still so much work to be done for the animals and the investigation. I hope ye get yer rest so that ye may be up to the task.”
Rose nodded once at him, her smile confident. “I will be up to any task to aid the keep. I assure you.”
“I have nay doubt, lass. None at all.”
Dominik turned and proceeded to the door, leaving Rose in her chambers alone. His last words lingered in her head. He believed in her, and somehow that was more of a prize than another kiss. The entire clan sometimes felt against her, but not her husband. Not Dominik.
