“How do we move forward?” Greer prayed he didn’t say they keep their distance in public.
“We are going to have to tell Rose at least some of our past. She deserves to ken, and we’re hurting her by refusing to confide in her. I will never ask her to keep aught from Blaine. Are ye all right with him learning at least a little of our past?”
“He was in ma chamber, wasna he? He saw what ye did.”
“Aye.”
“Then he must have some idea.”
“He and Rose believe Edgar restrained ye as a punishment. I dinna think either of them ken it was worse than that.”
“Would ye have kenned if I hadnae hinted?”
“Aye. I think I would have. When ye arrived so badly beaten, I feared Edgar wasna the only one to attack ye. I thought he might have turned a blind eye to his men. I never imagined he would have nae only allowed it but encouraged it.”
“I dinna want Rose to ever find out aboot that. She will blame herself for nae guessing, especially if she ever learns ye did. She will never forgive herself for letting me go back there after every time we met at the loch.”
“I ken.”
“That’s another secret I’m asking ye to keep from yer twin.”
“This isnae a secret she needs to ken. This is something between a mon and his wife. The entire world doesnae need to ken what happens between married people.”
“We arenae married—anymore.”
“Do ye still believe that we were, Greer?”
“Vera much.” She held up her hand, reminding him she wore her ring once more. “Do ye?”
He held up his hand. “Aye. We may nae be right now, but ye ken I wish us to be again. And nae just a handfast.”
“Can we consider starting with that? I dinna want ye bound to me and then realize ye made a mistake if I canna be a true wife to ye. A year and a day or until one of us repudiates it. That is long enough to discover what we want.”
Thor pulled her against him, and for a moment, he worried he should be far gentler. But when she pressed her body against his, he wondered if her body already knew what her mind struggled to accept.
“If ye love me and say I do, then ye are a true wife to me. Dinna ever doubt that. As far as I’m concerned, the moment ye decide ye wish to marry, then we’re betrothed. If we’re betrothed, then we’re as good as married. I willna ask to make love to ye until we marry, but ye will be ma wife in every other way.”
Until. He sounds so certain. I hope ma mind doesnae forsake me. I want to believe we’ll marry, and we’ll be a regular couple that finds joy with each other through intimacy. But what if I canna?
“Dinna fash aboot it until there’s a reason to.”
“Hmm?” Greer’s brow furrowed.
“I ken what ye are thinking. Dinna fash aboot whether ye’re ready or nae for more. I’ve told ye more than once where I stand. I think ye ken how I feel aboot ye and our future. We dinna have to rush.”
She nodded before glancing at the door. “What aboot in front of everyone else?”
“What do ye wish? That we’ve been courting but thought we needed to pretend otherwise? That we resolved our differences and realized we’re more alike than we thought?”
“Both? We resolved them a while ago, but then we thought that because of our clans’ pasts we needed to pretend.”
“And why are we now willing to let others ken?”
“Ye came back here to talk, but I also saw how worried ye were for me. People will ken a snake bit me, so why nay say we’re tired of pretending? That we dinna want to hide our concern for each other anymore and that we dinna want to waste any more time keeping our distance. It’s all true, even if nae directly.”
“Vera well. Will ye let me court ye properly?”
Greer beamed and nodded. She went onto her toes but winced. Thor swept her into his arms and sat in the chair he’d occupied before. He pulled her chemise up and looked at her feet. Her toe was a little swollen, but it wasn’t red. The rest of her foot and leg appeared fine.
