Page 55 of A Highland Duke to Claim Her Heart

“It is like a shovel, but smaller. Hand sized.”

Cassandra dug around in the bag for several seconds until she located the trowel. The hand was made of lacquered wood that had been worn down over years of use, and the metal end was rusted but sharp. She handed it to Ewan, and he began to dig into the dirt around the pipe.

She said nothing as she watched. It was fascinating to watch him work. He was in his shirtsleeves, which he had rolled up, his coat and cravat cast aside on a bush behind him.

As she gazed at him, she saw his arms flex, and suddenly became aware of how muscular and tanned his arms were. Insanely, she found herself wondering what he looked like with his shirt fully off.

Her mouth went very dry.

Ewan glanced over his shoulder at her, then frowned.

“What?” he grunted.

She blinked, then stammered, “N-nothing!”

“You are staring at me,” Ewan said.

“No, I am not!”

“You are.” He glowered at her. “Am I doing something wrong, in your expert opinion?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know I am no expert. I was simply watching you work. I had not actually seen you out in the fields before.”

“It is unglamorous work,” he said.

“On the contrary! I was just thinking that it is the noblest work.” The passion in her voice surprised her, and Ewan stilled, watching her with slightly parted lips. She flushed, but did not break her gaze. “You are so connected to the land you own. You do not expect others to simply work it for you. You take responsibility for it yourself. I do not think many dukes are like you.”

Ewan’s shoulders seemed to relax a little, and then, to her surprise, he smiled. It was a brief smile, but still, it had been there.

“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate that more than I can say.”

She smiled back. “Well, I mean it.”

He held out his hand again. “Now I need the screwdriver and the nails.”

She laughed. “Very well. Give me a minute.”

They continued like that for another hour, until at last Ewan insisted that she return to the castle.

“I will not be responsible for you getting overtired from the heat,” he told her grumpily. “Or dehydrated.”

“Fine, I will return,” she said, wiping the sheen of sweat from her brow. In truth, it was hot. “But there is something I must say to you first.” She gave him a long, levelling look. “I am not going to allow you to decide my fate for me.”

Ewan frowned. “Decide your fate?”

“To keep me as your wife, to give me back to your brother,” she said, her face burning. “Whatever it is you have planned. I deserve to know.”

A flash of fury crossed Ewan’s face, and he stared at her thunderously. She stared back, willing him to say something, anything, to reassure her. When he did not, she turned away and returned to the castle in frustration.

When Lillian saw her approaching, she immediately stood up. “Your Grace,” she murmured. “Is everything well?”

“I do not know,” Cassandra said, sitting down on the bench. Her friend slowly lowered herself back onto it. “The duke has been in the strangest mood ever since the return of his brother, and I still cannot get a word out of him about our marriage. Those walls you mentioned… They are not coming down easily.”

Lillian sighed and closed her book. “I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings when you are already so distraught, but I confess I must tell you something.”

“What is it?” Cassandra asked, her stomach jolting.

“I have been offered a position at another estate,” she said, her eyes misting slightly as they met Cassandra’s. “It is better wages, the household is larger, and the children are younger, meaning I will have many more years of work ahead of me. But it is far from the Highlands…”