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By now, Keir knew every delicate freckle upon her nose, every shade of blue in her eyes, every minuscule wrinkle that showed in the corners of her mouth when she smiled and laughed. He knew how to read every expression, every sweep of her lashes, every tug upon her lips. He knewher.
And yet, Keir found he did not tire of looking at her. Every spark of joy upon her face echoed within his own heart, and every tear to escape her eyes weighed heavily upon his shoulders as well. He marveled at these sensations. Never had he been so attuned to another person before. As well as he knew Sarah, still every day he discovered a hundred new little things about her. Would this ever stop? He rather doubted it.
Aye, I could look at her forever!
In that moment, Sarah lifted her gaze and their eyes met, and Keir could feel the effects of that gentle smile that tugged upon her lips in every fiber of his being. It made him rock back on his heels. It stole the breath from his lungs. It made him want to rush across the room and pull her into his arms. It made him want to stand here and look at her forever.
“Will ye be needing an anvil priest, then?”
Keir stilled at the sound of the innkeeper’s voice, turning to look at the man. Middle-aged with a balding head, the innkeeper still possessed a bit of an impish quality, his eyes glittering with amusement.
Caught off guard, Keir could not reply, his mind slow to catch up, to understand and find appropriate words. After all, he found himself across from a stranger who did not need to hear the story of his life. Yet, Keir felt as though a simplenowould not suffice. Would it not be a lie? Because deep down, Keir knew why he was bringing Sarah to Scotland.
Why he found himself unable to leave her side.
Why even a single look into her wide blue eyes changed everything for him.
He knew, and yet the time for open words had not yet come.
The innkeeper chuckled good-naturedly. “If ye require anything, please dunna hesitate to ask.” He glanced past Keir’s shoulder at Sarah. “I’m always more than happy to assist a young couple.” And with that, he handed Keir the keys to their rooms.
Keir thanked the man and heard his father’s voice echo through his head a moment later. ‘There’s no use running from the truth, lad. It’ll catch up with ye, sure as daylight.’
Keir grinned. “I’m not running,” he murmured quietly to himself. “I know what I want, and when the time is right…”
Aye, when the time is right!
* * *
Like a caress, Sarah could feel Keir’s gaze upon her. It chased teasing shivers over her skin and made her catch her breath. Unable to deny herself, she lifted her gaze, and their eyes met.
The look in Keir’s eyes chased an instant blush onto her cheeks, and Sarah quickly averted her gaze. Always had she marveled at the way she could feel him, sense him, even when he stood across the room. What did that mean?
Again, Sarah lifted her eyes, Keir’s own gaze now directed at the innkeeper, his lips moving as he spoke. Sarah sighed, enjoying the chance to look at him, to watch without being watched. She loved the self-assured way he stood in this world, the way he addressed others with kindness and respect but also with determination. He would not cower, but neither would he bully. He was the kind of man Sarah had always imagined in her dreams, honorable in the truest meaning of the word. Not like the gentlemen of theton, who had twisted the meaning of the word into something utterly grotesque.
“I never thought I’d ever find myself at an inn in Gretna Green,” Kate remarked with a disbelieving chuckle.
Sarah resettled her gaze upon her sister, seeing her look around and take in their surroundings. “It does not feel quite real, does it?”
Kate nodded. “Sometimes I feel as though I strayed into a dream and that any moment now, I’ll awaken. Only… I do not.” She shrugged, looked down at Frederica as the girl began to stir and then back at Sarah. “Is this life? Is this real?” Again, she shrugged, then rocked Frederica gently as her daughter started to fuss. “There are moments when I cannot tell.”
“I remember feeling like that when I left our parents’ house that night,” Sarah admitted in a whisper, quickly glancing at the girls to ensure that they were quite occupied seated in front of the large fireplace, Loki in their laps. “Perhaps it is something that simply happens when life takes an unexpected turn.”
Kate chuckled, and Sarah savored the sound, happy to see that Frederica had calmed again. “There have been quite a few unexpected turns lately, have there not?” Again, she flicked her gaze around the taproom. “It does feel strange to be here.” Then a sudden grin stole onto her face, and she met Sarah’s eyes. “Do you remember how Mother warned us of gentlemen with dubious intentions, seeking to secure an heiress’s fortune by luring her away to Gretna Green?” She chuckled, and the sound was even more powerful than before.
Sarah laughed, relieved to see that the Kate she had known all her life once again shone through, fighting her way back to the surface after years of cowering under her husband’s rule. “Well, since we are not heiresses and have no fortunes to speak of, I suppose that means we are safe from such dubious gentlemen.” Her gaze drifted across the taproom to where Keir still stood at the innkeeper’s desk.
“Is this the place where Harriet was taken by her kidnapper?” Kate suddenly asked, her green eyes wide and curious. “Do you know?”
Sarah shrugged, looking around the taproom as though a clue might materialize out of thin air and answer that question for her. “I do not. Is this the only inn in Gretna Green?” She shrugged, then laughed. “Oh, I wish I could’ve seen Harriet challenge Lord Burnham to a duel!”
Kate nodded her head vigorously. “Yes, Harriet has always been one of a kind, and she has not changed a bit.” A shadow suddenly crossed over Kate’s face, and Sarah wondered what her sister could be thinking. Indeed, many of the young women she had known had been forced to grow up as time passed, forced to abandon childish fantasies and become the people society demanded. Yet somehow, Harriet had not. Did Kate perhaps regretshehad bowed her head and not fought harder to remain who she was? Sarah knew that she herself did.
“If you wish, I could ask Keir if this was indeed the inn,” Sarah suggested, hoping to draw Kate’s thoughts away from the past and back to the present, to where hope still existed.
Kate blinked, and her chin rose, her eyes meeting Sarah’s. “He was here when it happened?”
Sarah nodded. “He told me he stopped here on his way down from Scotland and ran into the Duke of Clements, who had followed Harriet’s trail to an inn in Gretna Green, determined to save her from her vile kidnapper.” Chuckling, Sarah shook her head. “Of course, Harriet was grateful for his help; however, she has always been the kind of girl who saves herself.”
