Olivia, simultaneously flustered and thrilled, finally dared to meet his eyes. She found no trace of awkwardness or embarrassment in them.
If that’s how ’tis goin’ to be, then I might as well go along with it.
Summoning a small smile and a nod, she replied, “Aye, very well.”
“Come along then, while ’tis still daylight,” he said, holding out his arm for her.
Olivia hesitated for a moment before accepting it and allowing him to lead her downstairs.
They left the castle and began walking along the broad track that led across a stretch of fields and then moorland to the nearby village. Olivia was glad of her fur cloak, for it was bitterly cold. However, the brightness of the day was invigorating after being cooped up in the castle, and she enjoyed the fresh breeze on her skin.
A wintry sun shone above in a bright azure sky. Cobwebs twinkled on the surrounding gorse bushes like strings of diamonds, and the grass and trees glittered beneath the frost.
It would have been romantic if she had not felt so awkward as they walked in silence. She could not get the kiss out of her mind, and it irked her that Edan seemed to want to pretend it had never happened.
I suppose he’s kissed many women.
She felt a flash of jealousy.
It was just another kiss to him, of little importance.
Even though she was not about to bring it up, she decided she had had enough of the silence and would at least force him to talk to her.
“Do ye recall the purpose of us goin’ on these dates?” she asked as they crossed a small wooden bridge over a rushing burn.
“Do ye think I’ve forgotten then?”
“Well, ye cannae blame me for wonderin’. Ye’ve hardly said a word to me since we left the castle, and since the intention was for us to get to ken each other better, I’m nae sure.”
“I could say the same to ye.”
That stumped her for a moment, but she was not about to give up.
“Very well. In that case, we should both make an effort to talk to each other.”
“What do ye want to talk about?”
“I’d like to ken what’s been keepin’ ye so busy.”
“Just clan business. Nothin’ that would interest ye.”
Olivia bristled at that. “How do ye ken what is or isnae of interest to me, since we hardly ken each other? As ye keep remindin’ me,I’m yer wife. I believe most husbands confide in their wives. This is me clan now. Maybe ye could try tellin’ me somethin’, and then I’ll tell ye if it interests me.”
Infuriatingly, he shrugged. “All right. Last season, we had a good harvest, but the barley did better than the wheat. But that was the same all over, so the price of barley has dropped, which means less income.”
That was not at all what she had expected.
“Och, what a shame,” she said.
“Is that of interest to ye?”
“Well, in itself, nay, but in terms of the clan’s future, I suppose it is.”
“Grand. Because there’s plenty more where that came from. For instance, it’ll soon be time for lambin’, and we expect to do moderately well from that.”
Olivia frowned, suspecting he was stringing her along. “That’s fascinatin’. So, is that what’s been keepin’ ye closeted in yer study all those hours for the last few days?”
“That and other things.”
