Rosstan’s tight smile told Quinn the man didn’t believe a word of it. “Then whoever banished ye did ye a favor by sending ye to spend the rest of yer days in God’s own paradise.”
“Yes.” Evie’s tensed smile revealed she had read Rosstan’s true feelings as well. “Paradise.”
Quinn gave Rosstan a pointed look, silently ordering the man to make himself scarce. He and Evie had much to discuss. “Perhaps, ye should see if Kendric still plans a visit to Kildary, ye ken? There was no time to speak with him yesterday.”
The shadow of a smile softened Rosstan’s suspiciousness as he lowered his chin in a submissive nod. “As ye wish, my chieftain.” After another tip of his head in Evie’s direction, he turned and strode away.
“He doesn’t like me,” Evie observed, her tone detached. Emotionless. “Or at the very least, doesn’t trust me because I am English.”
“Rosstan takes a while to warm to everyone.” Quinn tucked her arm in his and headed toward the orchard. “Did ye rest well? Are yer chambers suitable?”
“Yes. My chambers are quite lovely, and Lorna and Agnes see to my every need.” She kept her gaze lowered, as if unsure where to place her steps. After a moment of strained silence, she smiled and lifted her head. “I checked in on Fern and the babies before I came down. All are doing well. I am quite relieved that the little boy seems healthy despite the problems during his arrival.” Her smile brightened. “He has a bit of catching up to do. His sister is bigger. Definitely the dominate twin.”
“I dinna ken what names she has chosen.” Quinn steered them to the path through the fruit trees. “I feel sure she’ll allow Gilbert to name the boy. God help the child in that regard.” He reached up and plucked an apple, then handed it to her. With a tap on the bright red offering, he leaned toward her and winked. “Did ye know if ye halve it through the thickest part of its middle, ye’ll find a hidden star?”
She arched a sleek, dark brow and made no attempt to hide a disbelieving smirk. “No. I was not aware of that.”
Rather than convince her with words, he took out his dagger, sliced the fruit in two, and showed her. “Yer stars, m’lady.” He loved the way her eyes lit up at his proof.
“I stand corrected.” She handed the halves back to him and eased away. When she reached the next tree, she rested a hand on its trunk. “Why did you ask me to meet you here, Quinn? What do you wish to talk about?” She bowed her head. “As if I didn’t know.”
Her mannerisms set him on edge. Sank the same weight into the pit of his stomach that his first marriage had created. “So, ye regret yer choice?” His past union with a woman who despised him filled him with bitter memories and a resentment he would never escape. Wounded his pride. Made him question himself as a man. He’d be damned if he’d go through that again. “If ye wish release, Evie, all ye must do is tell me.”
She turned and stared at him for so long, he thought surely, she was about to do just that. After what seemed like forever, she gave the slightest shake of her head. “No, Quinn. I do not wish release, but I do request patience and understanding.” After an uncomfortable shifting of her shoulders, she ran a finger under and around her neckline as if her maids had laced her kirtle too tightly. “I have not done well with relationships in the past.” With a flustered flip of a hand, she continued. “And while I realize that what we are about to embark upon is an arrangement, I would hope we could find some middle ground somewhere. Where we can at least be friends and tolerate each other’s company without wanting to kill each other.”
He tossed away the apple and went to her. Ever so gently, he lifted her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. “There are verra few whom I will ever trust.” Sliding his fingertips along her jawline, he hesitantly cupped her cheek. “To find another, a friend and a helpmate, would please me more than ye could ever know.” The velvet of her cheek slid so perfectly along the side of his thumb as he brushed it back and forth. Mesmerized, he surrendered to the golden green of her eyes. “A wife I could trust…and cherish…would be the finest blessing indeed.”
When her lips parted as if to speak, he leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss that he couldn’t, nor wouldn’t stop. As urgency gave way to tender exploration, a silent plea for acceptance, she relaxed and welcomed him. Leaned into his embrace. Her soft mouth, flavored by the sweetness of morning mead, stoked his need for her. She slid a hand up his chest and teased a touch along his throat. The entire fit of her, mouth to mouth, curves to hard planes of muscle, all melded as though two long-lost halves had once again found each other to complete the whole. She shuddered in his arms, making him smile into the kiss. The consummation of this union would be no one-sided affair. Her passion begged to dance with his.
He lifted his head, kissed the tip of her nose, then pressed his brow to hers. “We will work this out between us,” he whispered. “I think us well matched. Do ye not agree?”
“A Brit and a Scot,” she murmured with a dryness that made him laugh.
“Aye, well, there is that.” He drew back, giving her the breathing room he sensed she needed. But he held tight to her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. He couldn’t give her too much space. To do so would leave him aching. Whenever the warmth of her, the enticing scent of her, drew too far away, he sorely missed it. “And ye asked why I wished ye to meet me in the garden?” He paused, struggling to temper his words and choose wisely so she would agree.
“Yes,” she prompted, her eyes flexing to slits. She read him too easily.
“We should speak our vows today.” There was no other way to put it. He excelled at bluntness and prayed she would agree.
“Today?” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Aye.” He returned her hand to the crook of his arm and led her deeper into the trees. “Ye have never spoken of kin, so I assumed ye didna have anyone who might wish to be here to see ye wed. Is there anyone?”
She stared off into space. Her jaw tightened, as if she braced herself against some sort of pain. “No. There is no one.”
So many troubles she bore. He hoped someday she would trust him enough to share what caused her suffering. “I am sorry, lass. I didna mean to rub salt into an old wound.”
Evie walked along beside him in silence for quite some time. So long, in fact, that he wondered if she would ever answer whether she would be willing to marry today or not.
“I don’t suppose there is any reason to wait,” she finally admitted. The despondency in her tone disappointed him. Did she find a union with him that difficult to accept?
She came to a halt and turned to him with a befuddled frown. “But don’t you need time to gather the rest of your people? It’s summer. I thought chiefs met with their clan during this time of year. Won’t they expect the opportunity to attend your wedding?”
“Some might feel so, but if there is anything I have learned over the past few days, it’s that there is nothing certain in this life.” He gave a slow shake of his head. “I will no longer live my life according to others’ expectations and put off ’til tomorrow what I should do today.”
“Fair point.” But she still looked troubled.
“What is it, lass? Tell me so I might help ye.”
