Cecilia rounded her horse to face him slightly, her chin tilted defiantly. “And stubbornness is going to get us nowhere, Your Grace. We’re not going to find our quarry waiting here arguing.”
Alistair felt a rush of warmth at her snarky response, “You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Fancy yourself some siren for the beasts of the field ?” he challenged, crossing his arms over his chest, trying to project an air of indifference.
She smirked, a glimmer of boastfulness in her eyes. “I know I am. And you shall find this to be true as well soon, Your Grace.”
He opened his mouth to retort but paused, frowning as she turned her horse again and pushed forward.
“Cecilia,” he called, his voice softer, almost hesitant. “This isn’t just a game. We’re not going after the stag , we’re here for your brothers. We’re in the woods, and it’s easy to get lost.”
“Perhaps you’re the one who’s lost, Your Grace, I’m well and fine,” she called back.
Frustrated, Alistair pushed forward his steed, falling in step with her, his breath hitching slightly as she gasped at his sudden proximity.
Alistair felt a pang of worry. How had they ended up alone like this? He glanced around, half-expecting Nathaniel or Tristan to return, but the woods were silent, leaving him with only Cecilia’s gaze.
He struggled to keep his composure, battling the urge to get caught up in another argument with this stubborn woman.
“Why can’t you just do as is expected of you for once, Miss Everton?” He growled, his frustration steaming as they were mere inches apart.
“What is expected of me? Which would be what? Again, a relentless pursuit of an animal while ignoring the beauty around me?” she shot back, her voice sharp yet melodic.
She placed her hands on her hips, drawing his attention to them and he clenched his jaw, determined not to let the movement distract him from the argument again.
“You’re not to be out here in the first place!” he gritted his teeth, struggling to maintain his composure.
“Perhaps if you weren’t so content on remaining uptight, you’d finally see that there’s more to life for women, Your Grace,” she replied, never breaking eye contact, her breath mingling with his in the frosty air.
“Uptight? Is that how you see me?” incredulity lacing his tone.
“In all honesty? Yes. Would I be wrong?”
She was daring, all too daring. Alistair glared her down yet it did not work. Men would cower simply from his gaze and yet she stood there unfazed.
He felt his heart race with a mixture of his anger and this other dangerous feeling he always had when she was around. “You are terribly infuriating, you know that?”
He could feel the heat radiating off her, and it took every ounce of willpower not to lean in and close the distance that felt unbearable.
“This is not the time for this, Cecilia,” he groaned, his voice strained.
“Then perhaps we should split up,” she suggested, her expression suddenly serious. “Do not allow me to bother you any further, Your Grace. I arrived here by my own choices, so I shall find my way out and to my brothers by myself.”
Why are you staring past me like that?
Alistair felt an anger he could not explain. His thoughts and emotions were completely a mess. Worried about what he would do next, he nodded without another thought.
“Fine,” he replied, halting his steed and making a sharp turn, the cool air rushing in to fill the space between them. “You head that way, and I’ll head this way.”
As they turned to follow their separate paths, Alistair couldn’t shake the feeling of her presence lingering in the air, the argument the familiar spark that left him both frustrated and inexplicably drawn to her.
He urged his horse forward, the biting winter wind stinging his face as he scanned the desolate landscape. Panic gnawed at him before he could head any further forward, an unsettling feeling that something was amiss with Cecilia.
Each beat of his heart echoed the worry. He clenched his jaw, self accusation boiling over—why couldn’t he just let her be?
As he galloped, a rustle in the underbrush caught his attention. His instincts kicked in, adrenaline surging as a loud sound echoed the woods, a large animal stumbling suddenly unto his path.
Alistair drew in a breath. There it was, a massive stag, its majestic antlers rising like a crown against the pale sunlight. The creature snorted and stomped, a fearsome sight, its coat shimmering with a rich, earthy hue as it moved gracefully through the snow.
Alistair’s heart raced, a primal urge to hunt coursing through him, but his thoughts flickered back to Cecilia, and he felt even more panic, hoping she had not come across this animal as he had.
