Eloise nodded. “Aye,” she said. “James took me.” For the briefest moment, something tightened in Mairead’s expression, though it vanished just as quickly.
“How… thoughtful of him,” she said, her smile sharpening at the edges.
Beatrice glanced between them, sensing the shift. “It sounds excitin’,” she said brightly. “The weddin’ clothes and all the preparations.”
Mairead let out a soft breath that might have been a laugh. “Aye,” she said. “Though I imagine such things are best planned with care, nae… haste. Things that are going to last are usually mended with time, nae with haste.”
Eloise held her gaze. “Circumstances sometimes require haste,” she replied evenly.
“Of course they do,” Mairead said, her tone sweet but laced with something harder beneath. “Still, one would think a union of such importance might have been… long considered.”
Eloise felt the edge in the words but did not retreat.
“What matters is that it is decided now,” Beatrice said.
Mairead’s smile widened slightly, though it did not reach her eyes.
“Aye,” Mairead said softly. “What matters is what is decided.” She paused, then added, “I only hope such a sudden change proved… difficult to maintain.”
Eloise’s chin lifted slightly. “I adapt well,” she said.
“I’m sure ye do,” Mairead replied, her gaze lingering a moment longer before she stepped back. “Enjoy yer evenin’,” she added, then turned and walked away, her composure flawless.
Beatrice watched her go, her brows knitting together. “Well,” she said under her breath. “That was… somethin’.”
Eloise exhaled slowly, tension she hadn’t realized she held easing slightly. “She is… interestin’,” she said carefully.
Beatrice snorted softly. “That is one way to put it,” she said.
Eloise glanced at her. “What do ye mean?” she asked.
Beatrice shook her head, lowering her voice. “I cannae place it,” she admitted. “But there is somethin’ about her.”
Eloise frowned faintly. “Somethin’?” she pressed.
Beatrice nodded. “Aye,” she said. “She smiles, but it doesnae feel warm. It feels… measured.”
Eloise glanced across the hall where Mairead now spoke with others, her poise as perfect as ever. “She has been here a long time,” Eloise said. “Perhaps she is simply… careful.”
“Or perhaps she is somethin’ else entirely,” Beatrice murmured.
Eloise looked back at her cousin. “Ye think ill of her?” she asked.
Beatrice shrugged lightly. “I think she kens more than she says,” she replied.
Eloise’s looked at Mairead, who had her eyes glued across the hall. Eloise followed her stare and saw that it landed on James.
James stood at the far end, speaking with one of his men, his posture as controlled as ever. But she had seen the way he looked away from her. She had felt the shift between them. And now, with Mairead’s words echoing in her mind, a quiet unease settled deeper within her.
Is there somethin' between them? James so easily keeps our secret, so why nae keep another?
“Come,” Beatrice said, tugging her arm gently. “Let us find somethin’ sweet to nibble on.”
Eloise forced a smile and allowed herself to be led away, though her thoughts lingered behind. Because for all the warmth of the hall, something had changed, and she could not yet tell if it was within James… or within the walls of Calibroch itself.
I cannae bear to watch her and nae touch her.
James moved swiftly through the corridor, his fists tight at his sides, his thoughts still unsettled from the evening. He had no patience for the hall’s chatter, nor for the way his gaze kept straying toward Eloise despite himself.
