She laughed aloud. ‘Then I believe I shall get on with him quite well.’
Truly, she hoped she would too. She had many questions about this mysterious uncle and what his claim might be for the lairdship. Could he be as kind and driven to serve his nephew as he appeared to be, especially when he could just seize the lairdship himself with Rory being so ill? Would it matter if he was illegitimate if no other heirs remained?
‘I will give you a grand tour of the grounds tomorrow once you have rested. You can also begin thinking of where you would like your guests to stay.’ He nodded to the bag that held her beloved plants.
‘I would like that. And Enora? Will she be joining me?’
‘Aye. I took the liberty of extending an invitation to her and a handful of other servants who seemed less than eager to continue their employ with your father. They shall be joining us on the morrow. Angus has arranged for their transportation.’
‘What?’ she stammered. Father would not be pleased. ‘Did you bribe them?’
‘Nay.’ His brow furrowed. ‘They were eager to help us in our ploy to aid our escape and I wanted to ensure they had employ afterwards. I had a suspicion they would be cast out as soon as your father discovered their role in your hasty departure.’
‘Aye. They would have been. Thank you for looking after them.’ Rory was unlike any laird she had ever met, and it confused her beyond measure. He was worried about servants he’d never met.
‘I also hoped seeing a few familiar faces might bring you some comfort. If it unsettles you, I’m sure we could make other arrangements for them.’
Another unexpected kindness. She worried her hands along the closure of the bag. ‘Nay. I am pleased they will be joining us. I am just surprised.’
‘Oh? By what?’
Why was he being so nice? So kind? Was he like Peter and this was a trick? Had she merely traded the past for an identical future of uncertainty?
‘What has you worried? I can actually see the thoughts moving across your brow.’ He made a line across his forehead with his finger, teasing her.
‘Your kindness is, well, unsettling to be honest. It makes me worry that there are more expectations involved in this marriage than I was aware of.’
Or that you have a changefulness like Peter. One I cannot see just yet.
‘Nay. Only those we discussed before. Nothing has changed. I would not deceive you, Moira. Despite what you might believe, women are not tripping over one another in haste to marry me.’
She nodded and chuckled at his self-defacing humour, but she still wasn’t sure. She wanted to believe him, but she’d believed once before and been very, very mistaken.
‘Although we should discusswhenyou wish to marry. I know a more formal wedding similar to the one you had in the past is no longer possible, but I do wish to make it a happy day for you. What is it that you would like? And is there anyone you wish to invite? I know your family may not wish to attend, but if there are friends you have that might wish to come.’
Her throat dried and she fidgeted with the closure on the bag once more.Fool.Of course he would want to know when, so they could begin that task of...begetting an heir, but she’d had less than a moment to think upon it. She shrugged and risked the truth once more. ‘Since we have been engaged less than a day, I suppose I have not given it much thought. And I lost touch with most of my friends after I married years ago.’
He studied her. Heat flushed her face. She was grateful he did not ask as to why that was, so she didn’t have to explain.
He nodded. ‘You make a fair point. Well, have a think upon it and let me know.’ He settled back deeper into the seat, his boot sliding forward on the floor and up against her own. The slight friction a welcome anchoring to the present to remind her she was really here with him embarking on a new future.
One of her own choosing, and the realisation of it made her heady with excitement. She smiled and tied back the small curtains on the windows further, and the warm, bright sun streamed in the windows.
‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ he murmured, staring out along the rolling hillside. They were travelling northwest towards the coast, the hillsides climbing higher with each passing minute. It was gorgeous. Even in the autumn, the hillsides were alive with heady greens, golds and shades of auburn. She’d forgotten the beauty that lived outside the walls of Glenhaven. It had seemed the only beauty within those walls had resided in her plants.
‘Aye. Odd, really. I just realised I have not been this far from Glenhaven since I returned over a year ago. I have no idea why.’
Why had she never left?
‘Grief has an odd way of wrapping its tentacles around you. I would not question it too much.’
Grief?She almost laughed aloud at his suggestion. She squirmed in her seat instead. If Laird McKenna only knew. She had shed tears ofjoyat the escape Peter’s death had granted her, not tears of sorrow at his passing. Perhaps that madeherthe devil, rather than her late husband?
She rubbed her forearm and studied a tiny pull on her cloak. She fiddled with the thread and wondered if her cloak would unravel completely if she tugged upon it, much like the truth of her relationship with Peter if she were to share one morsel of the real aspects of her sordid marriage with her future husband, Laird McKenna.
Glancing up, she was startled by the full, assessing gaze of her soon-to-be husband and felt the flush of heat rise once more from her neck into her cheeks. She said nothing but held his pensive stare. He wished to say something, ask something. She sat frozen like a deer awaiting his words, hoping they wouldn’t smite her in two.
‘As a man with my own secrets, I want you to know that I respect yours. But I also want you to know that I would not judge you if you chose to share them with me.’
