He straightened slightly, his gaze sharpening. “Then speak,” he said.
“Laird Drummond,” she said, the name falling heavy between them. “If word has reached me father, then it will reach him, will it nae?”
James studied her for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Aye,” he said at last, his voice calm. “It likely will.”
Eloise’s breath caught slightly. “Then what happens when he learns I’m here?” she pressed, stepping closer. “Will he come to claim me?”
James rose slowly from his chair, his presence steady and unshaken.
“Drummond kens well enough that me guard is stronger than his, and me numbers greater,” he said, his tone firm with quietauthority. “He’ll nay risk conflict over a betrothal that’s already been announced.”
Eloise searched his face, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. “Ye’re certain?” she asked softly.
He held her gaze. “Aye,” he said. “He’ll accept it and move on to another.”
The words settled something within her, easing the panic that had gripped her chest.
She let out a breath she had not realized she held. “Then I am safe,” she said, more to herself than to him.
“Safer than ye were,” James replied, his voice quieter now.
She glanced up at that, something shifting in her expression. “Ye speak as though I’ve traded one danger for another,” she said, her tone sharpening slightly.
“Ye’ve traded danger for uncertainty. And for me control,” he said. “There’s a difference.”
She stepped closer, her eyes flashing. “Control?” she echoed. “Is that what ye call it, then, this arrangement?”
“It’s what keeps ye alive,” he replied, his voice firm.
She shook her head, frustration rising. “And what if I daenae wish to be managed like one of yer soldiers?” she shot back.
“Ye’re nae a soldier,” he said, stepping closer in turn, his gaze locking with hers. “But ye’ll follow me lead if ye wish this to work.” The space between them narrowed, tension building with each breath.
“And if I daenae?” she challenged softly.
“Then ye risk everythin’ we’ve built,” he said.
She held his gaze, her breath quickening, though she did not step back. “And what exactly have we built, James?”
He did not answer. He stepped closer, just enough that the space between them nearly vanished. “Ye shouldnae look at me like that,” he murmured, though his voice held no true warning.
“Like what?” she whispered.
His hand lifted slightly, hesitating as though unsure whether to bridge the final distance. She felt a shiver as his eyes locked on hers, his hand moving closer to her cheek.
“James?” she whispered, still waiting for an answer.
But he did not respond with words, instead his gaze moved to her lips. Her mouth parted slightly, though she did not intendit to. It was as though she had no control over her body’s own response to him.
Then he leaned in, his mouth coming within inches of hers.
A sharp knock at the door shattered the moment.
“James,” came Callum’s voice from the other side, brisk and unaware, “we’ve need of ye.”
The spell broke at once. Eloise stepped back quickly, her face flushing with sudden heat as she turned away.
“I… I should go,” she said, her voice unsteady. Without waiting for a reply, she moved past him and out the door, leaving the air behind her thick with what had almost happened.
