Emily nodded, and Kaden left before he could say something else that would get him in trouble. He was already drawn to her enough as it was. He was in a lot of trouble. Every time he encountered her, he liked her more and more.
If more feelings developed? Well, that would be bad for everyone.
14
“Ijust cannae tell ye how happy we are that ye are here with us.”
Emily forced herself to smile kindly. She didn’t wish to be unfriendly, but it was the fifth time that the young maid assigned to her had said the exact same thing.
While the maid had gentle fingers as she twisted Emily’s hair up into an updo for the evening, they kept tugging and jabbing her scalp with pins. It was hard to be polite and pleasant while she was in pain.
Nothing was going the way she had wanted it to go. Perhaps it was her own fault. After all, it wasn’t as if she had asked any questions about the other residents of the castle before she had agreed to this marriage. She hadn’t paid proper attention at the cèilidh, it seemed.
It was naive to think that she would have been allowed to come here and simply spend her first few days unpacking and spending time on her own. She desperately wished to write. She had been planning out the next chapter in her book on the entire ride here, and she had been so busy every moment of the day since that she hadn’t been allowed time to even fetch the inkpots from her trunk.
She had planned the opening lines so perfectly, and now they were starting to grow hazy, and she wasn’t certain that she was going to remember them after dinner. Never mind the exhaustion.
Even Maggie had run out of energy.
Emily had never been able to wear out a pup before, but Maggie was not even wagging her tail limply. She had stretched out on the rug near the foot of her bed and had been wagging her tail slowly, watching the women move about the bedroom for a good long while. But now her ears didn’t even perk up at new noises.
Hopefully, if Emily had any luck left, Maggie would stay asleep here throughout dinner until Emily returned and the two of them could pass back out into the plush bedding.
So far, she missed her old room and home less than she had thought she would. The other two times, she had had so much difficulty sleeping in strangers’ homes that dark circles had bloomed under her eyes and stayed there. Perhaps she had just been kept too busy to miss anything yet. It would likely hit her later.
But that was why wine was served at dinner, was it not?
“There. Ye look lovely, me Lady,” the maid gushed, her hands resting softly on Emily’s shoulders for only a moment, before stepping back so that she could see herself better in the mirror.
The maid had chosen one of the dresses from the wardrobe instead of Emily’s clothes. Given that she didn’t know who they had belonged to before, Emily wasn’t sure how she felt about wearing them. It was obvious that they were dated in fashion, but softer and more flattering than any of her own dresses were.
Would Kaden like it?
Emily balked, shaking the thought out of her head. She shouldn’t care what he did or didn’t like. Never mind that she had spent a good amount of time after he had left cursing her own stubbornness for not asking him to kiss her.
It was for the best. It had to be.
“If ye need anything else, me Lady, just ask. Everyone is most pleased to have a new lady in the castle.” The maid bowed deeply at the waist, somewhat awkwardly, but not without charm.
Emily wasn’t used to being the shy one in any situation. Then again, she had never had to be on the defensive before. Everyone here was so… nice.
Could she truly trust it?
She wanted to. She wanted to believe that everything was as it seemed so desperately. But it had seemed that way with her first fiancé as well. And then things had gone horribly wrong.
“Perhaps… if ye daenae mind showing me the easiest way to the Great Hall?” she asked somewhat sheepishly.
The maid seemed thrilled to have been given a task and reached for Emily’s hand.
Emily slipped her hand from the girl’s gently, not wanting to offend her, but not wanting to be overly personal either. She tried her best to learn the route they took and hesitated only a moment at the entrance to the hall.
Sounds of lively conversation drifted out, and she could see everybody enjoying themselves as the first course was brought out to the table. It smelled incredible. There was no denying that.
She entered the hall slowly, her hands loosely clasped in front of her. The conversation in the hall dimmed as so many eyes turned to her at once. But she couldn’t look at them. She was focused on Kaden and the intimidating image that he posed.
How could one person manage to look so wrathful at absolutely nothing?
If they were alone, she would have teased him for it.
