Page 39 of An English Rose for the Highlander
“Has the carriage been readied for departure?” Dominik asked, decidedly ignoring any look of confusion or question on Oskar’s face, despite how he cocked a brow at him. “I wish to leave for the land with the workers as quickly as possible.”
“Aye, me laird.” Oskar nodded, very evidently not believing this was the sole matter on Dominik’s mind. “Will ye be taking yer wife along again?”
Nearly choking on his own saliva, Dominik forced himself to swallow, maintaining composure only because he had years of practice at his back, aiding him. With a slight nod, Dominik remembered that Rose had indeed asked to come once more, just the other morning in fact. He’d forgotten about her request, which he had granted, because of what had happened last evening. Because…
He had been so wrapped up in the experience that he’d forgotten as well that this was all meant to only be an act of duty.
“Aye. See to it that she is made ready to leave. I will see myself to the carriage.”
“Of course, me laird.” Oskar offered a short bow, his eyes still sparkling with that knowing cunning of his before exiting to ensure everything was ready for the journey out to the coast today, and Dominik clenched his jaw.
The day ahead of him was going to test him as no other hand, and he was thoroughly done with his man-at-arms being so very perceptive when it came to the Laird’spersonalbusiness.
As he stood there in the Great Hall, Dominik’s appetite was suddenly a thing of the past. While there was still time yet before the carriage would leave, he found himself walking straight out the main entrance to where it would be waiting, seeking the solitude of sitting in the empty interior until it was at last time to depart.
When the welcome sight of the coast made it into view, Dominik stepped down from the carriage and joined the workers from the clan as they dismounted from their horses. The men stood around a small collection of gear that they brought along with them to inspect the land briefly. They jested and smiled with each other, their mood light, and Dominik found his own lifting some as he saw them.
“Me laird,” one of them called out, bowing his head, “we’re truly grateful for the opportunity to be working the land for ye. The air is fresh here. A good sign.”
Rose quickly followed behind him, and the men lowered their heads at her arrival, their smiles growing even more as they took her in. The same man, Calum, stepped up, putting his hand over his heart.
“And to ye as well, me lady. The work wouldnae be possible without yer land.”
While it was true, Dominik was surprised that this small group of workers would take the moment to acknowledge such a thing. It touched him, and the constant worry over the clan’s approval of Rose lessened, an ever-present tension in his chest relaxing.
“That is so kind of you to say. I am thrilled that this arrangement can provide the clan with so much.”
“Of course, me lady. Come spring, I’m certain that we’ll be able to begin work on the land.” Calum nodded at her once more, then returned to his small collection of workers, walking with them toward the edge of this short drop-off.
In truth, Dominik was incredibly happy to see his clan warming to Rose, his English wife. It would bode well for the continued prosperity of the clan, even if a more cynical part of himself told him that their approval did not matter so long as the council would relent in their constant nagging. It was a war of emotions and thoughts, on one side wishing for Rose to be accepted, to be happy here, and the other telling him that he should not be concerned with such things.
The men dispersed then, taking their items to inspect the land some and see if the copper deposits found would indeed make for a valuable mining operation. Dominik stood there in silence, Rose not far behind him. The wind blew across them, bringing with it the smell of crisp, damp rain on the way. Dark clouds hung overhead, and the distant din of the waves crashing against the shoreline offered subtle music to the stillness.
When a horse whinnied gently near the carriage, Dominik turned over his shoulder. The ground beneath them was so soft here, his boots sinking into the soil. Even the horses’ hooves were dirtier than they might have been during a typical trek through the Highlands. It was just so very different here, and it drew so much of his attention to the woman who stood not a few feet from him, her differences just as stark.
Rose was English, while he was Scottish. Rose was a woman of high-class English living, one who frequented theton’sevents and engaged in women’s gossip of the city. Dominik was a soldier, a Highland warrior who had spilled blood and lived to see his parents die embittered to each other.
And yet they were similar, too.
They felt the pressure to ensure their family’s well-being, to protect those around them. They were both headstrong and loyal to those around them, both willing to do the hard labor it required to keep the clan running.
So then why was he still holding himself at arm’s length from her?
Every touch or brush of her dress in the carriage had been torture. Even now with her standing so near him, all Dominik wished to do was to claim her, to at the least, pull her to his lips so that he could taste her. The memory of last evening’s events lived brightly in his mind, infecting his waking thoughts as if he were trapped in a dream that would not let him go.
Rose’s stare flicked to his, but she quickly ducked away. There was a glass sheen to them, abundant moisture that reflected the filtered light of the cloud-heavy sky. She had not said a single word to him during their ride to the coast. Rose still had not spoken to him. And he could not lie to himself and say that she was simply uninterested in talking. She was upset with him, and, if he were honest with himself, a task increasingly more difficult—Dominik could understand why.
He’d just left. Dominik had simply exited the room after making love to her without so much as a moment of consideration for her. And he’d done it because he was terrified of how he was feeling.
Sighing, Dominik raked a hand through his hair, turning toward the coast and letting the salty wind blow across his face. He’d been a fool, and a callous one at that.
Rose appeared in front of him but was not looking his way. Instead, she knelt near the ground, digging her pale hand into the soil and picking some up. It smeared across the pads of her fingers, tumbling to the ground.
“Am I a miner too then?”
Dominik was so struck by the words that a snort tore from him, genuine laughter taking over and causing him to pitch back as he put a fist to his chest. Rose’s lighting voice joined in, subtle and weak at first before picking up to its full volume.
“It cannot be that strange of an idea.” Dominik blinked as he glanced at her, staring through tearing eyes. “Oh, very well then. I suppose it is.”
