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“What?”
“You heard me. ” Her eyelids fluttered nervously shut, and he pulled the thin, velvet-wrapped package from his pocket. Brushing wisps of hair from her face, he gently placed a pair of spectacles on her nose.
Gasping, her hands flew up to her face, fingering the frames. “What have you—?”
“Hush. And keep your eyes shut for the full effect. ” He reached around, tying the thin ribbon that secured them to her head. “There. You may open them. ”
He laughed, warmed by her look of wide-eyed amazement.
“Oh, Aidan. ” She studied him up and down, outlining with her finger the path of her gaze. “Oh,” she said again, “Oh, Aidan!”
He’d given gifts before in his life, but he’d always been careful to remain anonymous. When he was enslaved, he’d always found a way to help the younger, more innocent lads. But such gestures could be misconstrued as weakness, and so his help had always come in secret. He’d never been there to see the moment of surprise, the realization of pleasure. “Do you like them?”
She fingered his shirt. “Did you know, there are the tiniest wee threads that make up the weave of this fabric? I see them, even in these shadows. ”
He laughed, gratified to see her so animated. His heart soared to think this happiness of hers had been his doing. “Aye, I knew it. ”
“Though I think they’re just for reading,” she said, looking beyond him, to the mouth of the alley. “They appear to”—she alternately peered up over, then through, the lenses—“distort things that are far away. ”
“Dear Beth. ” He took his index finger and gently pushed the spectacles all the way up the bridge of her nose. “I asked if you like them. ”
“Oh, I do,” she said, meeting his gaze in utter earnest. He noted the telltale uncertainty that generally preceded one of her blushes. “But I’m afraid”—she touched a finger to one edge of the spectacles—“I’m afraid I must look a sight. ”
He studied her, a smile broad on his face. Her eyes were a bit magnified, those mysterious yellow flecks enhanced, leaving her looking more than ever as though she could see all, understand all. “You do look a bit owlish,” he added with a laugh. “But a very pretty owl indeed. ”
She smiled back at him, and he was pleased to see her self-consciousness beginning to ebb. “I’m tempted to give you a gift every day of the week,” he told her. “Just to get you in the habit. ”
“Oh, no, Aidan. ” She shook her head vehemently. “These are too much as it is. ”
“Silly woman. ” Reaching around, he gently untied the ribbon. “It was long past time you got a decent pair of spectacles. I see you, straining to do your tallies by firelight. ”
“They are a wonder. ” Taking them from his hand, she held them out of the shadows, catching the light, tilting them this way and that. “This … this is more than I ever could have imagined. ”
Her sweet smile had him fantasizing that the this she referred to wasn’t the pair of spectacles, but rather the two of them.
“But promise you won’t buy me anything more,” she said, earnestness drawing a faint line between her brows. “I don’t need anything more. ”
“Hmm. ” He’d spotted a dress in Aberdeen with pretty blue and yellow stitching about the neck that he thought might bring out the color of her eyes. “On the contrary. I think there’s much indeed that you need. ”
She raised a saucy brow, and a laugh exploded from him, surprised by the flash of heat in her eyes. “You wicked, wee minx,” he muttered, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Clear that look from your face, or you’ll find me kissing you again. ”
She laughed with him, and the carefree sound of it loosened something in his chest.
“I need to hear more of that. ” At her inquisitive look, he said, “Your laughter. I don’t hear enough of it. ”
The joy drained from her face, and he regretted his words. It appeared he’d only reminded Elspeth of her current worries.
“Aye, you nearly made me forget my troubles. What did you find out about Fraser?” She gave him a hard look. “But you’ve got troubles too. Why won’t you tell me of them? I can help you find your man. And where, pray tell, did you ever find the money to buy me such a lavish gift?”
He stiffened. “Not lavish. ” But she spoke the truth: the money he’d spared for her gift would’ve been better spent tracking his enemy.
Money. It seemed always to come down to money. She was being married off to some aging blackguard, because of money.
“My finances are not your concern, Beth. ” As if he had any finances to speak of. A
ll he had to show for his life was a jealously guarded pouch, filled with hard-earned coin intended to create the illusion that he was a man of worth.
Again, it came down to worth, to worthiness.
