“I fear the lady doth protest too much,” he replied with a smile. “I suspect ye might be the most interesting person I’ve met in a long, long time, Anna Webster.”
“What on earth makes you think that?” Anna replied, feeling a little uneasy. She didn’t want Duncan to think she was interesting. Or his grandmother, for that matter. It would be better if they both thought she was the dullest person they’d ever met and promptly forgot her.
Duncan shrugged. “There’s a fire in ye, lass. It’s there in yer eyes, even when ye are trying to hide it.”
Anna gave a small, nervous laugh. “I think you’re confusing fire with anger. And I’m not trying to hide anything.”
“Perhaps,” he said with a grin, “but I always did enjoy the challenge of a fiery woman.”
Anna’s eyebrows rose. “Oh. Is that right? Well, I’m sure there are plenty of fiery ladies around here that would enjoy the challenge too.”
The banter was light-hearted, yet her unease deepened. Despite his easy-going manner, she got the impression that Duncan’s words were more than just idle flirtation.
“Ye never did tell me,” Duncan continued. “What set off that storm cloud of an expression earlier?”
A momentary flicker of hesitation crossed Anna’s face as Emeric came surging into her mind. “Nothing important,” she said with a wave of her hand.
Duncan watched her as though assessing her words, then gave her a curt bow and grabbed the reins of his horse from the groom. He paused, though, just before he swung into the saddle, turning back toward Anna.
“I’ll bid ye good day, my lady,” he said, his accent lilting over the words in a way that made them sound like a gentle caress. “And I hope I’ll make yer acquaintance again soon.“
Then he vaulted into the saddle with an effortless grace that spoke of his expertise as a rider and with one last wink thrown her way, booted the horse into a trot through the gates.
She turned on her heel and headed towards the doors to the keep, but paused when a familiar voice shouted her name. Turning, she saw Emeric striding toward her and waited for him to catch up.
“Anna,” he began, his voice a little breathless as he came to a stop in front of her. “What did Duncan MacDonald want?”
Anna crossed her arms. “Is that all you’re interested in?”
“Of course not,” he said quickly. “I... I came to give ye an apology. Another one.” Emeric sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I fear I’ve made some poor choices recently. My temper... it got the better of me.”
His admission was unexpected. He swallowed hard, the bob of his throat visible through the open collar of his linen shirt. His eyes were earnest as they searched her face, and she felt something warm race along her nerves.
She wanted to step into his embrace and feel the strong, reassuring presence of him. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be all right. She wanted...she wanted... She could barely put a name to what she wanted from him. And that terrified her. So she said nothing, unwilling to betray her tangled emotions.
“What...what ye said about yer family,” he said after a moment. “About wanting what I have. What did ye mean?”
The question took her aback. She hadn’t meant to say those things, but she’d been so annoyed with himthat she hadn’t been able to stop herself. She normally kept a tight rein on such feelings, unwilling to expose the core of vulnerability that lay behind them. She was Anna Webster wasn’t she? Nothing ever upset her. She was a free spirit, wandering where her whims took her.
But she wasn’t. Not really. She was Anna Webster, the lonely drifter, desperately searching for somewhere to belong.
Is it just yer friend ye are looking for? Or is there something else as well? Something ye’ve been looking for yer whole life but never known how to find?
She studied Emeric’s face. What would be the harm in telling him?
You know what the harm would be, she answered herself.You will be exposed. You could get hurt.
But she no longer cared. She was tired of the weight of the mask she wore to keep others away.
She sat down on the step and leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees. From here she could see through the main gates of the castle to the Highlands stretching out into the distance. So different from everything she knew. Wild. Untamed. Alien. And yet... it felt more real to her than her own life sometimes did.
After a moment, Emeric joined her. He said nothing and sat close enough that they were almost touching, but not quite. She didn’t know where to start. But she recognized the feeling she’d been struggling with ever since she came here.
“I’m jealous,” she said at last. “Or envious, at least.”
“Envious?” he askedin surprise. “Of what?”
She gestured vaguely. “Of this. Of everything your clan has.”
