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Ah, she is talking about her curse.
He tossed the idea of revealing what he had learned back and forth in his mind. He finally settled on telling her what he could, since it was apparent that she suspected he knew anyway. “I did hear more. But I daenae ken if I should tell ye.”
“Clearly if ye say that, ye will have nay choice now.”
He chuckled. “I suppose ye’re right. Well… it is rumored that ye have a curse, Jonet.”
She did not react to that the words. Nothing but a barely audible sigh. “And ye came here even though ye kent that?”
“Aye, I couldnae resist. To be honest, Jonet, as a merchant, I’ve grown accustomed to beautiful things. I couldnae resist comin’ to see ye when I heard of ye and now that I ken ye, I daenae think I can just walk away.”
“I see. That is very… kind of ye.”
Her obvious surprise at his words was taken as a good sign. Matthew went on without thinking, spurred on by how well it appeared to be going. “Could ye blame me? Ye grace is kent beyond the Highlands. I’ve traveled far and wide durin’ me trade and I have never met anyone with such lovely features, such a heavenly voice and—”
Jonet stopped and turned to him. Her face was utterly serious, and Matthew instantly knew he had done something wrong, though he was not aware what that was.
“Ye have such a silver-tongue, Matthew. Is that because ye are a merchant?”
For once, Matthew did not know what to say. “I daenae—”
“Forgive me, but I think we should cut this short. I’m sorry I couldnae give ye the hour ye were hopin’ for.”
He had done or said something that had completely ruined what little progress he had been making. He wanted to fight it, to convince her to allow them to continue their stroll, but there was something in her eyes that made him cave.
“As ye wish, Jonet. Let me walk with ye back to the Castle.”
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She said nothing, but offered a nod. As they started back the way they came, he ran their conversation through his mind, but no matter how much he thought about it, Matthew could not find the exact moment where things had gone wrong. Perhaps it was the mere mention of the rumor. It made sense that it would upset her mood, but why did it feel like it was his fault when she was the one who had brought it up in the first place?
The walk back felt much shorter and when they had made it up to the tall wooden doors of the Castle, she turned to face him. It was out of politeness, he knew, but Matthew clung to the slim chance just to say, “It was a pleasure, Jonet.”
“Aye,” she spoke, softly. “It was.”
Then he watched her go, feeling at odds with himself. There was something different in the way she moved now, as if weights of sadness settled on her shoulders. It… bothered him. Yet it would not stop him from coming to see her tomorrow. Nor the day after that. Not until he had finally won her heart.
Chapter 7
I definitely could have done better, but what is this? Why is he here again?
Jonet sighed. For the second time in two days, a maid stood at the door informing her that Matthew McDulaigh was here to visit and for the second time in two days, Jonet could not believe it.
Perhaps I hadnae been cold enough yesterday. Why is he here when I made sure to keep him at arm’s length the entire time we were walkin’ together?
The wheezy laugh from the bed Jonet sat next to drew her from her thoughts. She looked to see her mother smiling knowingly at her, while the maid excused herself and closed the door of her parent’s bedroom.
“Is somethin’ funny?” Jonet asked.
Rinalda nodded her head. She was weaker today, her breathing labored and her fatigue was overbearing. Jonet had been meaning to leave her to rest before the maid showed up. Now, Rinalda seemed to have recovered enough of her energy to give her daughter a smile.
“He seems to be quite persistent. And after all, ye’ve told me about how ye’ve chased him away yesterday too, only for him to come and prove ye wrong.”
“His persistence might just be the most annoyin’ thing about him,” Jonet grumbled, but followed it with a sigh. “Ma, ye ken I’m nae a mean person and yet I tried so hard to be cold to him yesterday. Why did he come back?”
“Perhaps he likes ye, Jonet?” Rinalda suggested.
“Nonsense,” Jonet rebutted instantly. “He hardly kens me.”
