Page 69 of An English Rose for the Highlander
Dominik pulled the door open, and immediately his heart sank into the floorboard and then beyond. He was not lucky enough for it to be his wife, and it still annoyed him that he had hoped it would be.
“Oskar,” Dominik grumbled, “leave me be. I daenae wish to hear yer blathering as it interrupts me quiet.”
His man-at-arms, but more importantly, his friend, glared at him, shoving his way past the Laird and into his bed chamber. He went straight for the bottle of whisky on the table, holding it aloft as he scowled.
“And how long has yer quiet been a wet one?”
“Shove off,” Dominik grumbled. “Me state right now is none of yer concern. I’m well enough to tend to the keep should there be need.”
“Och, I highly doubt that, me laird, and it has nae a thing to do with yer drinking. What has gotten into ye as of late? Ye have been as fortified as damp hay. I have never seen ye mope about a day in yer life, and every little thing appears to grind into ye as if it were the end times.”
Dominik stood back, actually reeling at the way Oskar was speaking to him. Not because he was the Laird but because his friend was clearly much more observant than Dominik gave him credit for. He was surprised to see that Oskar had noticed all the changes in him that he believed he’d been keeping to himself.
Clearly, I’ve nae been doing a suitable job at schooling meself.
Crossing the room, Dominik slumped down onto the edge of his bed, hanging his head in his hands. He let out an exhausted breath, pressing the tips of his fingers into his temples. As he began to rub them in a circle, Dominik heard Oskar taking a seat at the table and then that of the cork coming out of the whisky bottle.
“I am drinking this because ye cannae be responsible for the entire thing, and I believe there is quite the story ahead.”
Dominik couldn’t help but chuckle and then looked up at Oskar with another long sigh.
“I am…irritated.”
“With?” Oskar cocked a brow, waiting for further explanation as he sipped at the whisky.
“Ye willnae let me be, will ye?”
“Never. Ye will have out with it before I leave, and ye will feel all the better for it.”
Dominik wondered about that. He had not discussed the situation, or how he was feeling, with anyone. Perhaps it would do him some good to get the words out of him.
“I am irritated that the woman I married is returning to England just after I was wounded in the act of protecting her from her own troublesome Viscount.” Oskar nodded at that, but didn’t speak, allowing Dominik the space to continue. “I am bloodyirritatedthat the man attackedmekeep, andIam the one who might face legal ramifications.”
“I daenae blame ye for being upset about the mess with Egerton. The keep was set ablaze. It was a horrid sight for any of the clanspeople here, and of course for yerself. But is that all? Yer attitude has only gotten worse, and with Rose’s leaving, it is like ye?—”
“Because she shouldn’t be leaving!” Dominik slammed his hand down on his leg, pain radiating through the bone. Fury peaked in him once more, and this was precisely what he had been trying to stave off with the whisky.
When he’d been dancing with Rose, Dominik was terrified that he might scream the entire keep down for his rage. He had to get away when she looked at him so nervous and put out. Happy in the face of her return to England when she should be…He didn’t know.
“Me laird,” Oskar stood up, approaching Dominik and gripping his shoulder, “Dominik, I feel I shouldnae be the one to tell ye yer own feelings. But can ye see that it isherthat has ye so vexed?”
“I…” Dominik clenched his jaws, then his fists, squeezing his eyes shut. “…daenae wish for her to leave, Oskar. I want Rose…here.”
No sound, no movement. The room went still, and more and more of the truth that Dominik had been denying filtered in. He breathed as if he’d run from the head of his land back to the keep.
Nay. I daenae wish to do this. I cannae…
Dominik was spiraling, but it was a crescendo of emotion that he could not rein in. It had been too long coming, and it would be faced whether Dominik liked it or not. Whether the truth scared him or not.
“I…Bloody hell, Oskar, I think I love her.”
“Och, Dominik.” The Laird looked up at his man-at-arms, not overly thrilled that he was staring into a knowing smirk. “Are ye just now realizing that?”
“Damn ye, Oskar.” Dominik shook his head, shoving off his friend, no malice behind his words or actions, only resignation. “Would it have killed ye to clue me in? Surely, discovering the truth as it is now would not be preferable to knowing it earlier.”
“I genuinely thought ye had enough sense to put it all together by now, Dominik.” Oskar laughed, but realization swam through the Laird’s head stronger than the drink.
“And what am I to do with it? This is nae less a disaster than it was before ye barged in and took me whisky.”
