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“Aye, with His Lairdship, I’m surprised ye havenae broken yer neck, turnin’ yer blind eyes left and right.” Edwina’s heart hurt. Or, perhaps, it was merely her pride. She did not know which.
John cleared his throat. “Can I speak frankly?”
“I daenae ken. Can ye?”
He took a hesitant step forward. “I’ve kenned the Laird a long, long time, and in all that time, I havenae seen any evidence of him bein’ a disloyal or wayward man. But I daenae think that’s yer main concern. I think ye’re worried that he willnae love ye, and I’m here to tell ye that ye neednae be worried about that.”
Edwina eyed the Man-at-Arms, wondering if he was some sort of sage in disguise. He always seemed to know precisely what to say at the moment when it mattered most, giving comfort when all seemed lost.
“Well, I understand now why ye’re nae married,” she said with a sigh. “Nay lass wants a man who’s wiser to the ways of the world than she is, nor do they want someone who always says the right thing. Ye’re supposed to get it wrong from time to time, or it’s just annoyin’. Makes the rest of us mere mortals look daft.”
John chuckled. “Apologies, M’Lady.”
“Will I be hearin’ a repetition of what ye just said if I go to dinner? Have the two of ye hatched this wee plan to try and butter me up so ye daenae find this bed and this chamber empty in the mornin’?” She waited expectantly, still half dreaming of the beautiful wedding gown and the kiss that had held so much promise.
After all, there’s always the reason that he wanted to sabotage us before we even begin,she thought sadly.He could’ve made up the betrayal himself.
A flash of fear widened John’s eyes for a moment. “I hope ye daenae leave,” was all he said.
“I should like to keep my darlin’ future husband in suspense, if ye daenae mind. So, ye can go and tell him that he’ll be dinin’ alone, which I imagine he prefers.” She waved a dismissive hand, but John did not move.
“M’Laird thought ye might say that,” he murmured. “I was told to inform ye that ye can either dine with him in the tower, or he’ll come and dine with ye in yer chamber. It’s up to ye to decide whichyeprefer.”
Edwina tutted, half playful. “Well, well, well, usin’ my own jest against me. Ye really do keep surprisin’ me.”
“I’d suggest ye choose the tower,” he continued, with a smile. “It’ll save the servants’ backs, nae havin’ to carry a dinin’ table up here.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Did they teach ye persuasion when ye were trainin’ to be a Man-at-Arms? Are ye instructed on how to pick at a Lady’s sympathies so she’ll do as ye ask?”
“Nay, M’Lady, but I was taught how to carry a grown man across me shoulders if the situation calls for it. I daenae imagine ye’d be much bother, in comparison,” he replied.
“What is it with ye men and jumpin’ straight to throwin’ a lass over yer shoulder when she doesnae want to do somethin’?” Edwina muttered, though she was mostly certain that John, at least, was jesting.
He shrugged. “Must be the ancestral beast in us all.”
“I daenae think ye’ve got a beast hidin’ in ye, John,” Edwina replied. “It’s more of a soft, furry little creature that just wants cuddlin’, though ye probably have a nasty nip when ye need to. I’d wager ye have to be pushed quite hard to break the skin, though.”
John raised an eyebrow. “Thank ye… I think.”
“Very well,” Edwina conceded, considering the plight of the servants, “I’ll join him for dinner, but that doesnae mean I’ll be a pleasant dinner guest. And if ye think I’ll be changin’ my garments, ye neednae.”
John chuckled. “As ye wish, M’Lady.” He offered his arm. “If ye’ll follow me.”
Getting up and taking his arm, she could not help but feel soothed in John’s company. It was hard to pinpoint why, when he was such a formidable, severe-looking sort of fellow, who had no right to inspire comfort. Yet, there was something about him, an innate quality, that seemed to inform her very soul that he was no threat.
“So, ye daenae think his heart is so unreachable, then?” Edwina asked, as they made their way through the drafty hallways of the Castle.
Torchlight cast strange images on the flagstones, reminding her of the shadow puppets that her father used to delight her with, telling her grand tales of faeries and dragons, heroes and heroines, selkies and changelings. He kept a box of the puppets, and though he must have told her a story several evenings a week throughout her childhood, there always seemed to be new puppets and tales to make her smile.
I miss ye. I wish ye were here to guide me. Ye would tell me what to do. At the very least, ye’d knock Felix on his arse.Tears burned her eyes, every valiant blink like a battle to hold back the horde, so she would not arrive at Felix’s tower with the appearance of a crying waif. She did not want him to think that these tears were for him.
“I daenae,” John replied, though Edwina had almost forgotten what she had asked. “I ken His Lairdship. I’ve never seen him like this before, and I daenae think he kens what to do about it. Have patience, if ye can.”
Oh John, I have never been a patient woman.
Already, a plan was forming in Edwina’s mind. If Felix thought he could manipulate her into dining with him without consequence, he had underestimated her, for she intended to turn dinner into an interrogation. If he did not give answers she could accept, the pheasant would not be the only thing roasted that evening.
A short while later, they reached the tower and began to ascend. Halfway up the seemingly endless staircase, Edwina had to pause for breath, her lungs on fire.
