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“Ye ken that I can never love ye, do ye nae?” he said abruptly. “I’ll marry ye and I’ll provide for ye and treat ye well, but our marriage will never be one of love. I’m nae capable of it.”
Edwina’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Och, such romance.”
“I mean it,” he murmured, more forcefully. “I will do my duty by marryin’ ye, but our lives will be separate afterward. I’ll do as I please around the Castle, and ye can do the same. Ye daenae even have to stay at the Castle if ye daenae want to.”
It pained him to have to say it like that, so coldly, but it was better to be cruel in the moment in order to be kind later.
To his surprise, Edwina laughed. “Thank Heaven, my husband willallowme to do as I please. Of course, I wouldnae dare to step a toe out of line!” she taunted. “Shall I also call ye “M’Laird” so ye can feel powerful? Shall I bow my head and stay quiet as a mouse? Och, and how nice of ye to hoof me out of the Castle before I’ve even moved in. I am ever so grateful to ye, M’Laird.”
He knew she was making fun of him, but the mockery prickled his irritation. It was her expression, he realized. She was not teasing him as she had done before; she was goading him.
Before he could stop himself, he was biting back. “It ismy Castle, Edwina, and ye will be my wife. As yer husband, I can and will forbid ye from doing somethin’ if I want.”
Swaying her hips, Edwina walked the short distance between them, coming so close to his face that they were almost nose-to-nose. They might have been, if she had been taller, but the top of her head barely reached the top of his chest. Still, even with her height, she cut a defiant figure.
He swallowed thickly, uncertain of what she was about to do. As he waited, a delicious scent bombarded his senses. Sweet and potent, it made him think of sun-warmed honeysuckles, and it was wafting up from her skin. A perfume as intoxicating as the woman who wore it. Was this part of her spell, to make him relent?
Raising up on tiptoe, she brought her lips close to his ear and whispered, “Watch me disobey, M’Laird.”
Her breath tingled against his skin, his heart pounding with the desire to pull her against him and steal that disobedience from her lips. It took all the willpower he possessed not to wrap his arm around her narrow waist or slide his hand over the rise of her buttocks to urge her closer. But if she stayed there a moment longer, he did not know if he would be able to keep resisting.
Flashing him a smile, she turned on her heel and stalked off toward the horses.
“Stop!” Felix shouted after her, but she kept right on walking.
Frustrated in more ways than one, he took off after her.
* * *
Breathless from the thrill of her boldness, Edwina could not believe she had dared to get so close to Felix and whisper such things in his ear.
She hid a grin, thinking of his surprise. Nor did she think he was aware that he had been breathing rather hard. Remembering the shallow sound made her stomach feel strange, as if there were butterflies trapped within, fluttering their wings frantically.
“Stop where ye are!” Felix called a second time: his footfalls thudding behind her.
Excited by the prospect of him running after her, she marched on.
However, being as tall and athletic as he was, he caught up easily. One of his strides, even without running, covered twice the ground of hers. But what could he do? After the trouble he had caused, caressing her bruised ankle, he would not dare to touch her again.
A pity…her wayward mind jumped in, bringing some warmth to her cheeks. Through all the fear and upset that last night had caused, sealing her fate without her permission, she had not stopped thinking of the way that he had touched her, nor the rush of nerves it had sparked inside her. The good kind of nerves.
“I ken ye heard me,” Felix said, appearing in front of her.
Stubbornly, she concentrated on the horses, determined to hide her secret delight. Putting on what she hoped was a blank expression, she continued to walk briskly across the grass to the right of the pebbled shore.
“Och, ye daenae care to speak now?” He smiled, turning around and walking backward. “Ye can disobey my orders as ye please, but that doesnae mean I’ll permit it. I can always just carry ye like a bag of potatoes to wherever I want ye.”
To wherever ye want me?It seemed a strange turn of phrase to Edwina, reminding her of all the rumors she had heard about him. Yet, their earlier conversation cast some doubt over the legitimacy of those rumors—“Half the country thinks I’m a rake, while the rest think I’m a ruthless brute, because I thought I was doin’ the right thing and ended up doin’ wrong.” She did not know what he had meant by that, and she wished she had asked.
Instead, she met his gaze with defiance. “Are ye threatenin’ me, M’Laird?”
“Nay, I’m just observin’ the truth,” he replied, not even breaking a sweat though he walked so quickly. Edwina, on the other hand, was already panting. “Ye’re smaller in stature, and it wouldnae take much to throw ye over my shoulder.”
She smirked. “I might be small, M’Laird, but I can throw a mean punch.”
He laughed at that, no doubt assuming she was not serious. Many gentlemen, over the years, had made the mistake of thinking that, just because she was small and appeared adorable, she lacked toughness. But her father had ensured that she knew how to defend herself.
They had hurried on for a minute longer before Felix spoke again, apparently feeling somewhat chatty.
