“Open this door,” he said, his voice firm as he tried the handle.
“Go away!” her voice came sharp from within.
“Ye misunderstand…” he began.
“I understand perfectly,” she snapped. “Just leave me be.”
His jaw clenched. “Eloise, open the door,” he said again, more forcefully.
“Nay!” she shouted. “I willnae be made a fool of.”
He pressed his hand against the wood, frustration twisting within him. “It isnae what ye think,” he said, though his voice had lost some of its edge.
There was a pause, then her voice came quieter, but no less firm. “I daenae care what it is. Why should I?” she said. “Just go.”
The finality in her tone stilled him. For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then, with a sharp exhale, he stepped back. “Fine,” he muttered, turning away.
The next morning dawned cold and gray, matching James’s mood perfectly. He rode out with Callum at his side, his expression set and unreadable. The usual ease between them was gone, replaced with a heavy silence.
“Ye look like ye swallowed a wasp,” Callum said after a time.
James did not respond. Callum smirked slightly. “Was it the lass, then?”
James shot him a sharp look. “Enough,” he said.
“Aye, as ye wish,” Callum said, though his amusement lingered. They rode on in silence for a while longer before Callum tried again. “Ye ken, bottlin’ it up willnae help.”
“I said enough,” James snapped.
James stared ahead, his thoughts a storm he could not escape, Eloise’s expression, the look in her eyes, the way she had turned from him.
Why do I care so much that she is hurt? She is nae mine. She will leave when she is done with me and me protection.
His grip tightened on the reins. Whatever control he had thought he possessed was slipping, piece by piece. And for the first time in a long while, James had no idea how to regain it.
James rode in tense silence beside Callum, his jaw set, his thoughts dark and unyielding. At last, he spoke, his voice clipped.
“Tomorrow, we’ll ride east. We'll inspect the villages on the eastern borders,” he said.
Callum frowned slightly. “East?” he repeated. “We are nae due to inspect those villages for another month.”
James did not look at him. “We go at dawn,” he said.
Callum studied him a moment longer, then gave a slow nod. “Aye,” he said. “If that is what ye wish, me Laird.”
The next morning, he prepared to depart. Though he had one last task before leaving.
He stood outside Eloise’s chamber once more, his hand lifted to knock. He hesitated only a fraction before striking the wood firmly.
“Who is it?” her voice called from within, sharp and guarded.
“It is James,” he replied.
There was a pause, then, “Go away.”
“Ye promised to obey me while ye were under me roof,” he said, his voice hardening. “I command that ye open this door, or ye will nae longer be under me protection.”
