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She kept her glance on his face. Now and again it slipped to his chest though she quickly retrieved it. “William of Longee was his name, with little manners, a foul stench, and large in size.”
He felt his anger mount and wondered how she was able to defend herself against such a man. He didn’t ask; he waited for her to continue.
“He thought me and this cottage a welcoming sight. Once I told him I was a seer, he changed his opinion and drew a dirk.”
A low growl rumbled in Trey’s chest.
Bliss hurried her tale. “I sensed potential trouble—”
“Potential? The dirk made his intentions perfectly clear. He intended to do you harm.”
She shook her head. “Nay, he feared me and only tried to protect himself.”
“You defend him?”
“As I learned more about him, I felt sorry for him. He was a man who misunderstood fate, and so he labored under misconceptions. He believed love treated him badly when in essence he had failed love.”
“You talk in riddles.”
She stood and walked around the table, her eyes on his face the whole time and remaining so while she tucked the blanket around his waist.
Trey didn’t object. He was chilled as she had warned, and he worried that his body would soon react not only to her lovely features but more so to her courage.
“That’s better,” she said with a pat to his chest. “Now where was I?”
He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up to sit on the edge of the table in front of him, planting his hands on either side of her, restricting her movement.
“Love,” he reminded.
“Aye, love,” she said. “Poor William didn’t believe strongly enough in it. If he had, he would not have suffered so senselessly. You see, he believed the woman he loved stopped loving him, when it was her family who kept her locked away from him, not thinking he was suited for their daughter. Her love, however, was strong, and she waits these many months for him to rescue her ... shebelievesin their love.” She grinned. “And now he does too. He’s gone to rescue her.”
“In a rainstorm when night is nearing?” He shook his head. “Insane, and only someone in love would do something insane.”
“You understand,” she said, her grin growing.
“I do; I loved strongly once and would have done the same.”
“But are you ready to love again?”
Chapter 8
Bliss regretted asking the question, his hesitancy and the dazed look in his eyes having answered it for her. And she regretted being trapped, unable to maneuver herself away. She would have preferred some distance from him right now.
She wasn’t surprised when he turned the question on her. What better way not to answer.
“What of you? Are you ready to love?”
“Aye, I am,” she said, and with the need to step away from him so great, she gently pushed his arm out of her way, jumped down off the table, and walked around to stand in front of the fire, “though I don’t know if love is ready for me.”
“It eludes you?” he asked.
She turned with a flourish to face him. If he would not answer her question, she would no longer answer his. “What eludes me is that fish.”
He seemed reluctant to end their conversation, but he did, turning his attention to cleaning the fish. Love was discussed no more, and well it shouldn’t be. Times were difficult enough in the Highlands and would grow worse before they settled, and Trey was an intricate part of it all. There was no time for love, only survival, the most likely reason fate had brought Trey to her. And hadn’t fate let her know that he would eventual leave her. Their marriage was not a marriage at all, and what a folly to allow herself to think that her situation was anything other than what it was.
If she would stop these foolish musings and concentrate, there was a good chance she would learn what fate truly intended her to know.
Bliss was relieved when Trey stepped outside to discard the fish scraps and rinse the stench of fish off him. The cottage was small, and it felt like they were on top of each other most of the time. Or was it that his presence dominated the snug room?
