AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He gave her a brusque shrug.
She reread the sonnet from the beginning, and he heard with chagrin the
poet’s wish that he were like other men, with as much hope, as many friends. As much freedom.
Only this time, Elspeth read to the end, in which the poet finds somebody to think on, someone to lift him from melancholy. The final line lingered loudly in the stillness of her cottage. “That then I scorn to change my state with kings. ”
They sat there in the glaring silence, and he watched her, but she stared only at the page before her, as if she dared not glance elsewhere.
Elspeth. He felt the muscles in his jaw loosen, and knew an ease in his chest. Ever guileless was this Elspeth. He’d misread her skittish nature. Because, in her heart, she was unafraid. And unafraid of him.
For the first time in his life, he could almost imagine how indeed a man might come to forsake a kingdom for love of another.
Chapter 13
A knock on the door startled her. Elspeth blew wisps of hair from her brow, frowning at her rolled-up sleeves and her apron covered in a fine dusting of flour. Visitors were rare, and she glanced from the bread she was kneading to the door, as if that could tell her who stood on the other side.
Because, though it was early yet, she had a wild hope it might be Aidan.
“Come in?” she announced, though it came out sounding more like a question than an invitation.
The door opened, and it was him.
“Aidan,” she said, instantly regretting the oddly chirping sound to her voice. She pasted what she hoped resembled a composed smile on her face.
He stepped inside, filling the cottage as was his wont, making it seem so small in comparison with his powerful frame. He touched a hand to his brow as if tipping an imaginary hat. “Morning. ”
Nerves seized her. Aidan never came to see her during the day. Had he decided he was done with their arrangement? Had her father found him and said something horrible? “Is there a problem?”
He scanned the room, and she had the odd thought that he might not know why he was there either. But then he said, “No problem at all, luvvie. I simply find myself…” He got a peculiar look in his eye. Tilting his head, he walked toward her.
She held her breath.
“I find myself … in need of a kiss. I find myself … unable to work a moment longer without seeing you, my dearest darling. ”
“I find myself parched, and came to see if you might spare a poor laborer one of those cups of milk you seem always to have at hand. But first—” He stopped just in front of her, a warm smile quirking his lips. “You have a bit of flour on your …”
“Oh!” Her apron was a frightful mess, so her hair and face must’ve been so too. Horrified, she clapped a hand to her cheek. Unfortunately, the cloud of flour told her she’d just mussed herself up even more.
“On your nose,” he finished, with a low chuckle. “Here, I’ll—” He raised a hand just as she did, and they knocked into each other.
She flinched back. “I’m sorry—”
“I’ve got it,” he said definitively, wrapping one firm, warm hand over hers while he used the other to smudge her nose and cheek.
“Th-thank you. ” She stared up at him, and her mind went blank. His skin was weathered from the sun, and it made him seem so masculine. So unlike the pale Aberdeen fops in their velvet waistcoats and polished boots. Aidan might not have been a nobleman, but he was a man.
He pinched her chin. “The milk, luvvie? Hauling stone builds a powerful thirst. ”
“Yes! Milk! Of course. ” She clapped the last of the flour from her hands and went to the small pitcher they kept in a shadowy corner. “It’s fresh, just a couple hours old,” she told him, pouring him a small glass. Doubt froze her. “Unless you might like it warmed?”
“Never you worry,” he said easily, taking it from her. “Cool is best for a working man. ”
He gulped it down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I came this morning, thinking to check on Achilles, but he found me instead. The pup’s spent the past hour nipping my heels. He’ll be more tired than I by the end of the day. ”
“It’s because we’re fond of you. ” She smiled, but it froze on her face. What had she just said? “He. I meant, he’s fond of you. ”
“Are you not fond of me too?” He handed the cup back to her with a wink.
