Her lips twitched. “Ye’re in a grand mood.”
He didn’t answer. He only helped her mount, his hands firm and detached.
They rode into the gray morning, the inn shrinking behind them. For miles, neither spoke. Scarlett tried not to glance back at him, but the silence pressed too hard to ignore.
“Ye’ll turn into stone if ye keep scowling like that,” she said finally. Robert kept his gaze on the road. “I’m nae scowling.”
“Ye are,” she said. “Ye’ve the face of a man marching to war.” “Perhaps I am.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Och, and here I thought we’d left the battlefield behind.”
He exhaled, something between a sigh and a quiet laugh. “Ye’ve a talent for talking when silence would serve better.”
“And ye’ve a talent for brooding when company would serve best.”
That earned her a sidelong glance. “Company or quarrel? I cannae tell which ye’re after.”
Scarlett smirked. “Depends which gets a reaction out of ye.”
For a moment, his mouth curved, barely, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Careful, lass. Ye’ll find me patience runs shorter than ye think.”
“Patience,” she said dryly. “That’s rich, coming from a man who spends half his days commanding folk and the other half glowering at me like I’m one of them.”
He gave her a look. “Ye mistake glowering for thinking.” “And what are ye thinking now?”
“That ye’ve talked since sunrise without breathing once.” Scarlett gasped, feigning offense. “Rude.”
“Aye,” he said, deadpan.
Her laughter escaped before she could stop it, carried off by the wind. For a fleeting moment, the space between them softened. Then she said, too lightly, “When we return, I’d like to visit Hallow Castle.”
Robert’s hands tightened on the reins. “For what?”
“To see me brother,” she said. “And Lorna. I’ve been gone long enough.”
He was silent for a heartbeat too long. “Nay.” Her brows rose. “Nay?”
His jaw flexed. “Ye’ll stay at Gundor.” Scarlett stared at him. “Ye cannae mean that.” “I do.”
Her voice sharpened. “On what grounds, pray tell?”
He didn’t look at her. “Our marriage remains unconsummated. Ye’re bound to Gundor, not Hallow. Until that changes, ye willnae go running back to yer clan.”
The words struck hard.
Her hands clenched around the reins. “Bound to Gundor?” she repeated. “That what ye call it, then? Binding? Like a rope?”
Robert’s expression didn’t shift. “It’s law.”
“It’s nonsense,” she said, the edge of fury creeping into her tone. “And cruel besides.”
He gave no answer.
Scarlett leaned closer in her saddle, her voice dropping to a warning whisper. “And whose fault is that, Me Laird?”
His head turned sharply. “Careful,” he said quietly.
Scarlett’s lips curved, but there was no smile in it. “What? Have I spoken falsely?”
