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“Me maither never taught me about the stars, but she taught me about plants,” Chrisdean continued, and that information surprised Nimue. He didn’t seem to her like the kind of man who had the patience or the delicate hands needed for plants. Indeed, he seemed like a man who would simply trample over all of them in frustration if one of them withered and died. “And me faither taught me how to use a sword. I think that everyone’s faither should teach them how to use a sword, ye ken. Even ye.”
“Even me?” Nimue asked, unimpressed. “What do ye mean, even me?”
“I mean . . . ye ken . . . ye’re a lass,” Chrisdean said with a small shrug, as though that explained anything to her.
“I ken that I’m a lass,” Nimue said. “So what if I’m a lass? What does that matter?”
“It doesna!” Chrisdean was quick to say, lifting his palms up in surrender. “Forgive me, I didna mean to offend ye. I just meant that . . . weel . . . ye’re a wee lassie—”
“A wee lassie?”
“And I dinna think that ye could handle a sword—”
“Dinna think that I—”
“But I still think that it’s important to learn.”
Nimue was fuming, not only because Chrisdean was assuming things about her that he didn’t truly know, but also because he kept interrupting her. With a huff, she crossed her arms over her chest, turning to face him.
“Listen to me, Laird MacIntosh,” she said in a stern tone. “Ye’re right. I was never taught how to use a sword, and I may be a wee lassie, as ye said, but trust me, ye dinna want to underestimate me.”
The wide-eyed look that Chrisdean gave her was enough to placate her a little, only because he looked like he truly regretted his words. She was still furious, though, and she had half a mind to go back to the fire and try to sleep, even though she knew that her efforts would be to no avail.
“Forgive me,” Chrisdean said, and, once more, he sounded sincere. “I certainly willna make the mistake of underestimatin’ ye. Dinna forget that ye fought me bravely at the loch. Anyone else wouldna have put up such a fight, and I ken that.”
Wasted effort. It didn’t matter in the end. He still managed to take me.
The fight drained out of Nimue, and she let her arms fall by her sides as she regarded Chrisdean with a curious gaze. She didn’t know what it was about him that drew her to him so much, even after everything. His looks didn’t hurt, she knew; he was a handsome man, and she would have gladly accepted his courtship, but it was more than that. Perhaps it was that, despite the mystery that surrounded him and his actions, he always sounded earnest and as though he were telling Nimue the truth.
She didn’t notice how close the two of them had gotten, slowly leaning closer and closer to each other until their noses were almost touching. Once she did, though, the realization startled her, and she quickly pulled back as though the mere proximity between them had burned her.
Her cheeks were flaming, and she could hardly stand to be around Chrisdean anymore. What had gotten into her, she wondered? How could she have allowed him to come so close to her? Her own body was betraying her, and she didn’t like to think about what could have happened had she not put a stop to it.
Nimue tried to speak, but no words came out at first. She stammered and stumbled over the sounds, trying to find something to say, and, in the end, she settled for a curt and awkward “Goodnight” before she made her way back to the spot where she had been sleeping. Lying down, Nimue didn’t dare to take another glance at Chrisdean, fearing that if she did, her resolve would crumble.
This is ridiculous. I dinna even ken what I’m doin’ anymore. I dinna want him, na at all.
She hated him, she reminded herself. No, she didn’t hate him; she despised him and everything about him. His charm and his good looks weren’t enough to change her mind about him.
Her mind troubled, Nimue closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep, knowing that once she was asleep, she wouldn’t have to think about Chrisdean and the effect that he had on her anymore.
By the time she managed to sleep, it was almost dawn, the sun peeking through the horizon, and the men around her beginning to stir.
