She hadn’t even thought about how it might cause him to lose face if his betrothed didn’t show up for breakfast on her first morning in the castle. She had only been thinking about howhard it was going to be to think clearly, let alone to eat, sitting beside the man who had made her whole evening so restless.
“But,” Kaden continued, after glancing down the hall to ensure that they were still alone. “If ye only wish to tolerate me until we have to have children, and ye cannae stand to have me around, then…”
He spoke with such thinly veiled emotion, like she was getting a glimpse into the way he thought about himself, and something in her heart broke for him.
“I never said anything like that. But if our image is what concerns ye the most, then ye cannae pick and choose which manners ye wish to abide by! I willnae be like Maggie, following ye around all the time and begging for scraps of attention! First ye didnae come down to greet me—the Lord kens what me parents thought of that—and now ye come talking to me about the way things are done? Make up yer mind!”
He certainly didn’t care for the way she was snapping at him. That was very evident, but he didn’t say anything to the opposite.
“Very well,” he gritted out.
The steam left her sails, and she nodded once. If he was going to play by the rules, she supposed that she had no choice but to compromise with him as well, or else she would be the hypocrite.
“Fine,” she answered.
“Fine,” he echoed.
Emily had the very distinct feeling that neither of them was very happy with how the conversation was ending, but she didn’t know how to ease the tension.
“See ye at supper, then,” Kaden huffed and turned to leave.
“Aye! I reckon that ye will!” she snarked after him, now even more upset than she had been this morning.
20
Since Kaden didn’t expect her until dinner, she was going to just have to make the most of the time that she had been given.
The very last thing she wanted was to stand here and dwell on the near argument that they had had. No, she needed to keep herself on track, and she was in the middle of researching a very important chapter in her book.
Which made itveryinconvenient that all she seemed to be able to keep thinking about was Kaden and the look on his face when he had hinted at things from his past. She wanted to know more. If only she could open him like a book and read him, then perhaps it would make everything easier to understand. At least she wished it was that easy.
Nearly everything was just the way she had left it when she located her workspace once more. The same books were still open, and her notes were undisturbed. She settled back into herchair, but focusing was three times more difficult now that she was so distracted. Her writing was slower, and she struggled not to read the same paragraph three or four times over.
After an hour or so, she finally got back into the flow of things, or so she thought. The book she was reading through kept referencing a text that she couldn’t find in Kaden’s library, no matter how hard she looked. She spent some time searching for it, but ultimately decided that it might be best to just make a note of it and then look for it later in the village, if they had a suitable bookshop there. Otherwise, perhaps she could convince Kaden to order it for her.
She jotted a note in the corner of her journal and blew on the paper gently so that it would dry more quickly, but the moment she exhaled, a loud crash came from the other side of the library. She jumped right out of her chair and glanced around with wide eyes.
Oh no, if Maggie crashed into something and got hurt, she didn’t know what she was going to do! Maggie was the only familiar, friendly face from home in this place!
Emily made to move around a bookcase, when Maggie skidded right around the corner toward her, her short tail tucked firmly between her legs. The moment Maggie saw her, she ran right behind her, cowering.
That certainly was not the behavior of a puppy that had just been naughty, but Emily knew that she needed to investigate the sound anyway. She picked Maggie up and put her on the chairshe had been sitting on. Maggie promptly jumped back down and went to hide under the desk instead.
“Stay there, then,” Emily muttered, knowing full well that Maggie likely didn’t understand a single word she said.
She didn’t have the slightest clue where Ailis and her daughters had gotten off to, but she knew that since she hadn’t seen them leaving while she was in the hallway with Kaden, there had to be a second entrance to the library somewhere. It was quite large after all, so it made sense that there would be another space.
She didn’t want to call out and draw attention to herself if it was one of them, because she was unlikely to be allowed to get back to her work if she raised a fuss.
So she kept quiet, walking on silent feet as she rounded the corner to a warm, open space. There was a large hearth with a roaring fire, and a pot of tea sat above the flames to boil. Large armchairs and a sturdy table were pushed off to one side, leaving the comfortable rug in the middle to be the center of attention.
It was so inviting, like it begged somebody to sit or lie there and read the hours away. How had she not managed to find this place among the stacks of books when she had been exploring earlier? She would have chosen this to be her workspace straight away!
But the second entrance to the library was also very obviously next to the fireplace.
Even more important than that, Kaden was standing there, muttering curses to himself with his back turned toward her. She scurried back behind a shelf so she couldn’t see what he had obviously broken. She didn’t wish to be seen, but after a few moments that showed she hadn’t yet been caught, she chanced another glance.
The second door burst open, and in rushed a shockingly beautiful woman. She was focused on Kaden and him alone, clean linen and a jar of ointment in her hands. Whatever he had broken must have cut his palm.
