Page 6 of The Laird's Secret Bairn

Emily blinked at her, shocked by her boldness. “Skye…”

Well, itwasunusual for Skye to say such things. One would expect it from Freya but never Skye. But the boldness settled in her chest, refusing to leave.

“It wasnae. Nobody ever found?—”

“Why are ye defending him?”

Skye didn’t have an answer, not one she could say aloud anyway. Something about the way the man stood at the edge of the room, surrounded by people and entirely alone, had loosened something in her chest before she’d thought better of it.

She fell quiet, avoiding Emily’s gaze. She grew aware, with sudden and utter certainty, that he’d heard her.

His eyes found hers across the room, dark, assessing, unreadable. He held her gaze for longer than she thought he would. It made her cheeks heat up.

Even with half his face hidden, he was handsome in a way the pamphlet sketches had never managed to capture. More handsome than she’d let herself imagine while writing about him.

Not that she had ever thought about it.

Much.

Her cheeks burned.

Emily noticed, raising an eyebrow. “Ye’re staring,” she whispered.

“I am nae.”

“Ye absolutely are,” she insisted. “I daenae think ye have even blinked since he walked into the room.”

Skye gasped. “Surely I have!”

“Nay, ye havenae.”

She forced her gaze down to her cup, her heart hammering too fast for a woman who’d done nothing more than speak two sentences in a crowded room.

A man like that, she thought, would be the death of any girl foolish enough to be curious about him. She couldn’t decide yet if his gaze was a warning or an invitation.

Part of her wanted it to be an invitation, if she was being honest with herself.

Across the room, the whispers hadn’t quieted. A cluster of older women drew their shawls tighter, as though proximity alone might invite misfortune. One man muttered something to his companion that made him snicker.

Skye felt an unreasonable urge to cross the room and tell them all to hold their tongues.

“Ye’re doing it again,” Emily murmured.

“Doing what?”

“Looking like ye want to fight someone on his behalf.”

“I daenae.”

“Skye.” Emily’s voice softened. “Ye daenae even ken the man.”

“I ken enough,” Skye said before she could stop herself.

She wasn’t entirely sure if that was true.

“Do ye?” Emily challenged. “Did ye learn it by staring at him?”

“I…”