Robert’s silence was answer enough.
Leon grinned like a fox. “Aye, thought so. Ye’ll wear a groove in the floor pacing before long.”
“Leon,” Robert said through his teeth, “take yer dram and go.”
Instead, Leon stretched his legs out, comfortable as if he owned the place. “Ye ken, if ye keep starving her of yer attention, she’ll find it elsewhere. Half the lads in this castle would slit their own purses just to have her smile. Do ye want to test her patience so soon?”
Robert spun on him, with his eyes flashing with anger. “She’s mine. That’s nae in question.”
Leon raised his brows, taking a slow drink. “Then maybe show her, instead of hiding in here.”
Robert stared him down, but Leon didn’t flinch.
“Ye think she doesnae notice?” Leon went on. “The lass is sharp. She’ll see ye skulking and wonder if she’s wed to a ghost. Better ye give her truth than silence.”
Robert’s chest tightened. Truth? The truth was that every time he thought of her, his body betrayed him. That restraint felt thinner than parchment. That her laughter in the hall haunted him worse than any nightmare. But he’d be damned before he said it aloud.
“I’ll handle it,” he said finally with his voice flat.
Leon clucked his tongue. “That’s what ye said when ye broke yer wrist in the yard and swore ye’d heal it yerself. Took me dragging ye to the healer before ye admitted ye’d nearly lost the hand.”
Robert’s mouth twitched, half a smirk and half annoyance. “Ye’re relentless.”
“And ye’re hopeless,” Leon shot back. “But ye’re me Laird, so I’ll drink to yer misery till ye sort it.” He drained the last of his dram, set the cup on the desk with a clatter, and rose. “Shall I send yer wife to ye, then? Save ye the trouble of glowering at ink another day?”
Robert’s glare could’ve split stone. “Out.”
Leon laughed, clapping him on the shoulder as he passed. “Aye, aye. But mark me, Robert, ye cannae out-stare desire. It’ll win every time.”
When the door shut, Robert didn't move. He didn't reach for the remaining papers or try to salvage the desk.
After a long moment, he pulled the ruined sheet toward him. He stared at the ink blot. A jagged, black bloom that had erased half the figures. He didn't try to blot the excess. He just watched it settle into the grain of the parchment.
Leon was right. He’d known it before the man had even opened his mouth, and that was the truth that sat like lead in his stomach. He wasn't in control of the distance anymore. Scarlett was.
Scarlett sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, a half-finished sketch smudged beneath her fingers. She had drawn the same sharp jaw three times, and each time it looked more like him. With a hiss of frustration, she snapped the parchment shut.
Katie, pouring tea into cups on the table in Scarlet’s chambers, arched a brow. “That poor charcoal never wronged ye, Me Lady.”
Scarlett threw the stick onto the table. “I cannae get him out of me head, Katie. We kissed, and it… it shouldnae have happened. Yet I havenae seen him since. He’s avoiding me, and I…” she broke off, pressing her hand to her chest. “I cannae breathe for the silence.”
Katie’s mouth twitched. “Men are prideful when they want to be. Maybe he thinks ye’ll bite him if he comes near again.”
Scarlett barked a bitter laugh. “He kissed me like he meant to devour me then vanished into his solar as if I were plague itself. Saints, I willnae sit here wringing me hands while he broods.” She rose, gathering a blank notebook, parchment, and her charcoal. “If he hides behind papers then I’ll bring mine too.”
Katie set the linens aside. “So ye’ll barge into the Laird’s den with yer sketches? That’s very bold.”
“Aye,” Scarlett said firmly, tying the notebook with a ribbon. “He doesnae get to toy with me and then shut me out. He owes me more than silence.”
Katie watched her head for the door, a grin tugging at her lips.
“Godspeed, Me Lady. Maybe ye’ll drag the great wolf out of his cave.”
Scarlett didn’t answer. Her pulse thrummed in her ears as she crossed the hall, each step echoing louder than the last.
He cannae avoid me forever.
The corridor outside Robert’s solar smelled faintly of parchment and smoke. Light leaked beneath the heavy door, flickering from a low-burning fire. She hesitated for half a breath then lifted her chin, set her hand to the latch, and pushed it open.
