“Ye didnae get much rest either,” he commented.
“I was able to rest me eyes quite a bit in the garden,” she explained. “And I might just do the same thing right now.”
“Or ye could rest them here, with me.”
He didn’t mean for the words to sound suggestive. But even as they fell from his lips, Arthur couldn’t help but hear the implication.
Marissa shook her head, but a smile was playing at the corners of her lips. “Ye’ll nae get that lucky,” she said, dropping the rag back into the bowl of water.
A few droplets spilled over the edge, but neither of them paid it any mind. Their attention was focused solely on each other.
“I’ll see ye after me nap, then,” Arthur said.
Marissa nodded at him before turning and walking out of the room.
Even though Arthur was more exhausted than he had been in quite some time, it still took him a little while to fall asleep. Because every time he closed his eyes, his vision was filled with dancing brown eyes and a smirk that made him want to kiss it away.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Icannae believe ye’re insistin’ on this!” Marissa huffed, glaring at him.
Not that Arthur was looking at her. He’d slept well into the evening. So well, in fact, that Marissa had long since written off any possibility of them going to the loch.
But when he came downstairs as the sun was starting to set and supper was cleared, he’d cried out for her to get up. That they had an outing.
“Water is still water,” Arthur huffed, “even if it’s night.”
“Aye! But we willnae be able to see the damned thing. There’s hardly any sun!”
Marissa was arguing back, but he was not paying her the slightest bit of attention. He just moved forward.
“Ye’ll see it plenty,” he declared. “In fact, it’ll be even bonnier at night. Just wait and see.”
She wanted to yell at him again. Even better, she wanted to go back to the castle and tell him that they’d just go tomorrow. But Arthur seemed incredibly sure that she’d love the loch even at night.
As they reached the trees, Marissa thought she could make out the shimmering water in the not-so-far distance.
“Are ye sure ye remember where we’re headin’?” she asked, knowing that the question would irritate him.
“I’ve lived in this castle me whole life,” Arthur argued, and just as she had expected, there was a note of exasperation in his words. “Of course, I ken where I’m goin’. I swam in this loch before ye were even born.”
“Ah, because ye’re so old. How could I forget.”
He scowled at her but didn’t say anything else.
They crested a small hill, and Marissa’s attention was completely diverted. The loch was before them. It was bigger than she had expected. But that wasn’t what had grabbed her attention. On one edge, not too far away from where they were standing, the earth rose around the water, opening into a cave.
And that cave was glowing.
“Glow worms!” Marissa exclaimed, not hesitating for a second before breaking into a run towards it.
“Ye wouldnae have been able to see that durin’ the day, would ye?” Arthur drawled.
But Marissa was so lost in her wonderment that she didn’t turn to look at him.
It was remarkable. She hurried down the embankment, racing toward the cave opening as quickly as she could before stopping just outside of it.
The blue light of the glow worms sparkled like a thousand stars, glinting off the water. Marissa had never seen so many in one spot.
