The corners of his mouth lifted. ‘You’re nervous about putting on a dress?’
‘Have you seen high fashion nowadays? It’s very showy.’
He watched her for a moment. ‘You’re not allowed to be nervous with me at your side. That’s the whole point of me.’
She wanted to reach up and touch his mouth, but she did not. ‘I was also thinking about how inconveniently lovely your family is.’
‘Inconvenientlylovely?’
‘Inconvenient in that your devotion to them is completely justified.’
He continued to stare down at her, his expression giving nothing away.
Wetting her lips, she said, ‘Can I ask you something?’
He nodded.
‘Did you ever think about bringing Hildred here?’
‘For what purpose?’
‘You know what purpose.’
He exhaled. ‘Why would you ask me that?’
She bit her lip. ‘You know why.’
He drew a breath. ‘No. I’ve never thought about bringing Hildred here. It’s not that kind of relationship.’
His answer made her feel guilty. It was unfair to expect him to return to Carno alone when she would likely marry in the time it took him to travel there. ‘Did you ever think about bringing me here?’ The question spilled out of her.
‘I did bring you here.’
‘You know what I mean.’
His eyebrows came together in a hard, disapproving line. ‘What sort of man takes a woman he cares about from her loving family and brings her to a mostly abandoned village, where thieves come and go as they please and people live in a constant state of fear and starvation?’
He made some valid points. ‘So you thought about it, then?’
‘Eda.’ He chuckled and shook his head. ‘If I ever did, I quickly dismissed it.’
She stared straight ahead at his chest now. ‘When we get back, I don’t want you to visit Hildred anymore. Does that make me a horrible person?’
He shook his head. ‘No. That doesn’t make you a horrible person. It makes you human. And here I was believing you to be immortal.’
‘Well, don’t tell Blackmane. You know he views me as some sort of war god.’
Roul laughed quietly, then fell silent. ‘Are you warm?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then I’m going to leave.’
Disappointment filled her. ‘Why?’
‘Because if I stay, I might kiss you again.’
‘You’ve never kissed me. We’ve kissed twice, and both times were me. I’m the impulsive one. You have far too much self-control for such things.’
