Madison's throat tightened."Why? What's happenin'?"
Boyd's expression softened slightly,but he didn't answer.
Terror rippled through her,starting as a small spark but growing with each passing moment. The trunk. Boyd tracking her down. Theodore nowhere to be seen. Something was wrong.
Every fiberof Madison’s body tingled. She moved quickly through the castle, her feet barely touching the cold stone floor. Each step felt even more unstable and unsure than the last. It wasn’t until she had reached the large oak door that she realized she had forgotten how to breath. Exhaling, Madison lifted her hand. The rapping of her knuckles on the door rattled through her like a bell through a kirk.
“Come in.”
Madison pulledin a long deep breath before pushing open the door. The sound of the wood moaning mimicked that of her heart. It was as if it spoke the sorrow she couldn’t express herself.
“Laird MacLeon,”she said as she entered.
“Madison,”he answered in a somber tone. “Sit.”
She glancedat the chair placed before his desk and shook her head. “I’ll stand.”
Silence lingeredbetween them and hung like a blade ready to drop. She couldn’t pry her eyes off him as her chest tightened as her stomach flipped. He rolled his eyes as he moved around hisdesk, clearly keeping some sort of distance between the two of them.
“I takeit ye want me to leave,” she muttered. Madison watched Theodore eye twitch.
“Want, nay. I daenae want that.”
“Then why didye have me things tossed out as if I’m banished from the castle?”
“Because ye are.Ye cannae stay here any longer.”
Confusion flickered through Madison.
“Wait,what? But ye just said ye dinnae want me to leave.”
“Aye,”he answered through gritted teeth. “If had me way…” his fist tightened at his side as he shook the thought from his head. Madison watched him wrestle against the intrusive thoughts. “But it doesnae matter. The truth remains, ye must leave.”
“If this is about last night,”she started. The words scraped off her tongue as she spoke.
“It is, and it’s nae,”he answered before she could continue. She stole a step closer to him, yearning to wrap her arms around him. She was looking for comfort but was only handed barbs and thistles.
“That makes nay sense.”
“I found yer family,”he blurted. Madison froze. She tilted her head as confusion and curiosity flickered through her.
“Come again?”she said, her heart racing.
“Yer family isin a little town nae too far from here. It took only half the day to get there and back. I see nay reason for ye to remain here any longer than ye must. I’ve taken the liberty to have the servants clear yer room.”
Madison glancedto the window as she noticed a carriage pulling around. She stiffened. She wasn’t ready to go. Not yet at least. Last night had changed everything for her. She wasn’t willing to accept that it meant nothing.
“And what ifI told ye I wasnae ready to leave?”
“Ye cannae stay here.The council will be expectin’ the date of our weddin’. I swore to give them a date and now I can say it has been called off.”
“What will happento yer title and lands? Will ye nae be forced to wed another?” she asked. She found the words clogging her throat. Every hair on her neck rose as she hung on every word to come out of his mouth.
“Perhaps.But that shouldnae matter to ye any longer. Ye played yer part well,” Theodore said with no emotion daring to touchhis words. It was as if he had the ability to turn off every emotion he had of her. “And for that, I will see ye home with coin for yer troubles. Ye certainly did offer me more than I had expected.”
“Did last night mean nothin’to ye?” she asked, regretting letting the question out the moment she heard it. Theodore flinched. It wasn’t something anyone but her could have noticed. His lip twitched at the right corner. Not enough to draw the eye, but like he was biting down the words he wanted to really say.
“Whether it did or nae,is beside the point,” he answered after a moment. “The agreement was until I found yer family. I found them. Last night was a happy mistake. One, I promise ye will be on me mind for some time. But what happened last night, it cannae happen again. Yer family will want to see ye married without a reputation followin’ ye.”
