“Ewan, hello,” she said.
“Ailsa.”
Christ, this was uncomfortable.
He cleared his throat.
“Ah, I came to ask…” Well, perhaps it was repeating the past, but he didnae have any other plan in mind. “I came to ask if ye would care to join me for a walk.” A flash of inspiration struckhim, inspired by the sight of her on horseback the day prior. “Or perhaps a ride?”
Her expression brightened, and something inside Ewan unclenched.
This was the reaction he’d expected from her the first time their betrothal had been confirmed. He’d thought she would be pleased; they’d been friends, after all.
Noticing this change, remembering the past—it made the tightness in his chest resume.
She wasn’t pleased because of him. She was pleased because he had the tools at his disposal to save her people, to unseat her parents’ murderer.
And he couldn’t blame her for that, not really. If there was one thing that he and Ailsa Donaghey had in common, it was that they had both been raised to put their duty to their people above all else, even their personal wants.
That didn’t mean it didn’t sting, though. He might be a man ruled by duty, but he was still a man.
“I’d like a ride,” she said. “I want to see how Geal is doing, anyway, after yesterday’s flight. I pushed him hard, and he rose to it admirably.”
Ewan wanted to say that Ailsa, too, had risen admirably to the kind of challenge that nobody ought to bear, but he was uncertain if she would welcome the comment from anyone, let alone from him.
“Grand,” he said instead. “Shall we?”
She hesitated. He didn’t even flinch, which made him think that part of him had been preparing for her rejection.
But she didn’t reject him. Instead, she said, “I’m hesitant to leave my sisters alone. Davina and Eilidh are down in the parlor, so they’re fine, but Vaila is resting inside.” She tilted her head back toward the chamber. “Might she come with us?”
“Of course,” he said at once, pleased with himself for how quickly the words leapt to his lips. He didnotwant Vaila to accompany them, though he supposed it was worth it for the grateful smile that lit up her face.
“Thank you,” she said graciously. “If you’ll give me one moment…”
He nodded and she disappeared back inside the room. She didn’t close the door entirely, however, which meant that Ewan could hear everything clearly, notably when Vaila said, “Good Lord,no.”
“No?” That was Ailsa.
“Truly, I cannot think of anything that sounds less delightful than playing third to whatever the two of you have to discuss,” Vaila said, not bothering to lower her voice.
Despite himself, Ewan bit his lip against a smile. Vaila was not precisely like Mairi, his own sister, on the surface. Vaila struck him as being the kind of straightforward that brought everything to the surface, while Mairi was a master of strategy and diplomacy in such a way that meant she knew perfectly well how to keep a secret.
But this impatience for politesse and societal expectations? Vaila and Mairi were very alike in that regard.
The sisters’ voices lowered, and Ewan took the opportunity to rearrange his expression. By the time Ailsa returned to the doorway, he was doing a very good impression of a man who had heard nothing.
“Vaila would like to politely ask whether it would be possible for her to train with the soldiers, if it’s not too much trouble,” she said with extreme gentility.
Thatwas not something Ewan had anticipated. Mairi was not one for fighting her battles physically; she preferred to use her razor-sharp wit as her primary weapon.
“Politely ask?” he repeated skeptically. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
Ailsa’s cheeks pinkened.
“Those were her precise words.”
She wasnota good liar.
