A test,she realized.I’ll see what he chooses to tell me. Let’s see if I have remembered correctly.
He nodded. “Aye, a dance. There was to be a cèilidh, of course, and ye were excited about it. We had planned to dance ourselves before the others joined in. Nae to me taste, but I was pleased that ye were excited about it.”
Her breath hitched. “I had gone to me room for some reason. I was looking forward to the dance. But I never made it, did I?”
Evander remained where he was, sprawled on the floor, but his body tensed up, like a pulled bowstring ready to let an arrow fly.
“Aye,” he whispered, so quietly he might have been talking to himself. “I waited for close to an hour, kicking me heels on the bloody dance floor. People had begun to worry, me among them. Hunter had already begun to search for ye. I went up to our room and found ye gone. Still, we thought that ye might be somewhere else in the keep. Gone to the kitchens, perhaps. We searched and searched…” he trailed off, his voice cracking, and shook his head.
Silence fell between them. Skye took a moment to absorb it all.
At last, Evander broke the silence.
“And what else?”
“Nae much,” she admitted. “But this is a good sign, aye? Me memories are returning.”
“It is a good sign. Do ye feel more relieved?”
“I feel more confused. I have more questions. But at least some questions have been answered. For example,” she breathed, glancing down at him, “I ken that I wasnae fleeing from ye. I wanted to wed ye. I hadnae been coerced in any way.”
His expression remained unreadable. “We would have been happy. Ye said that ye thought we could be friends, good friends. I agreed with that.”
“And were we? Friends, that is? Before we wed, I mean.”
He sighed. “We hardly kent each other.”
She deflated a little. “Oh.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “There was never a chance for us.”
“Nay, I suppose nae. And it’s easier now, is it nae? Ye and I. We are wed, but nobody would expect us to be properly man and wife, eh?”
She punctuated this with a little half-laugh, meeting his eyes and waiting for his smile. It didn’t come.
He stared back at her, a crease between his eyebrows.
“Easier,” he murmured softly, as if testing out the word. “Easier for whom?”
“For… For both of us, of course.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “For both of us. Well, can ye get back to sleep now?”
He changed the subject,she thought with a frown, but chose not to say anything.
“I cannae stop thinking about the nightmare,” she admitted. “I dreamt of the man who took me.”
Evander’s eyes widened, and he sat forward. “What? Tell me about him. Quickly, before ye forget. Every detail matters.”
“There’s nae much to tell. He was masked.”
“So? How tall was he? How broad? Did he speak? How did he move? What did he wear?”
“I… I cannae remember,” Skye stammered, the memory already fading. She grabbed at it in a panic.
How could the details slip away already?
Abruptly, Evander rose to his feet. Tentatively, he laid large hands on her shoulders, the warmth of his palms seeping through the thin nightdress.
“Steady, lass. Steady,” he warned. “All is well. Ye are safe. I shouldnae have pressured ye. Shall I get ye paper and ink to write it down, to remember?”
She closed her eyes momentarily. “Nay, I… I’m cold. And tired. I want to go back inside.”
He let his hands drop from her shoulders. “As ye like, lass.”
She opened her eyes, glancing up at him. “And I want ye to come with me,” she added in a rush.
