“’Tis no’ fair!” she cried. “You take advantage of your position.”
“Nay, lass, I dinna do that, or I would’ve had you where I want you ’afore now.” She blushed and looked away. His tone softened. “’Tis minor things I insist on, and I wouldna have to insist at all if you didna hide yourself up here.”
“’Tis a matter of freedom, Sir Jamie, and you’re denying me mine.”
Jamie chuckled. “You would be a hermit if I let you. Have you no’ learned yet that woman’s will is less than man’s?”
“Only if woman lets it be so,” Sheena said quickly.
Jamie sighed. “I dinna know why I put up with this. Dinna make me force you, Sheena. Come along.”
Sheena barely managed to keep herself from shouting. What would defiance accomplish? She was helpless. They both knew it.
But she still had her pride. “Move away from the door, then.”
“Why?”
“So I can pass.”
Jamie grinned and stepped back, bowing. “Your wish is my command.”
“Would that it were, I would no’ be here now,” she said sharply, as she passed him smoothly. She kept up her pace, staying always a little ahead of him, until she reached the arched entrance to the hall. The large room was full of people, and noisy. There was a festive air.
“A feast in honor of our guests,” Jamie whispered behind her. “’Tis no’ often we have guests and an excuse for festivity.”
“Your guests are important?”
“Nay, ’tis only Will Jameson and some of his retainers. Will lives east, across the river.”
“Friend or foe?”
Jamie chuckled. “Well now, I can never be sure with old Will. He professes friendship, yet he does try to rile me. I think he just likes to live dangerously.”
Sheena stiffened. “Do I detect a subtle warning, Sir Jamie?”
“Come now, Sheena,” he admonished lightly. “Must I guard every word I speak? Dinna hunt for hidden meanings.”
“Your meaning was clear enough and not hidden,” she returned resentfully. “A person must live in fear of your anger.”
“Not you, Sheena.”
His warm breath near her ear sent shivers over her.
“Your…your guests await, Sir Jamie,” she said weakly.
“They can wait a moment more.” He turned her around to face him, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Look at me, Sheena. Give me the answer I’ve been waiting to hear all day.”
She kept her gaze lowered. “I dinna know what you mean.”
“You do,” he replied softly. “And I’ve been patient.”
“Patient?” Her eyes widened incredulously, and she looked directly at him. “You call only one day’s waiting being patient?”
“For me it is.” He grinned. “I thought to have the matter settled ’afore we returned from our ride, but I hadna anticipated the interruption of our…dalliance.”
Sheena blushed. Oh, how she wanted to forget that afternoon! Now there he was, sure of victory, just because she had been snared by his spell for a short time. Didn’t he realize his magic worked only when he touched her? He needed a setdown, and she ached to give it to him.
A smile curled her lips, and Jamie took heart. “You’ll be telling me what I want to hear, lass?”
