William drew to a stop beside her. He was close enough now, right where he had been earlier. Right where she could feel the heat of him even without him touching her.
She was looking at him, but he wasn’t. His eyes were assessing, and they were fixed on Keegan.
Keegan’s smile widened. “Well,” he drawled, glancing between them, “looks like I was right to wonder who invited such beauty to the fair.”
He fixed his gaze on William, confidence oozing from his pores.
“I was just saying that ye must’ve brought Lady Dunrath here in the hope of finding her a suitor.” He paused, his knowing smile widening further. “Surely ye wouldnae try to court yer late uncle’s wife.”
He laughed again, loud and pleased with himself, like a man savoring an old joke shared over too much drink.
Sorcha’s heart lurched.
Late uncle’s wife.
The words echoed cruelly. Was that all she was seen as?
She did not look at Keegan then. The man had displayed enough stupidity in one night. Rather, her gaze drifted to William.
Surely he wouldn’t agree. They were here to spend some time together and not to find her a suitor. Right?
His expression hadn’t changed. Well, not outwardly. But he fixed Keegan with a look that suggested he understood exactly what the man was trying to do.
And Sorcha… she could only hope that Keegan was wrong.
It could not be true. William had said nothing about suitors, nothing about duty or expectation, since they had arrived. He had laughed with her. Played games with her. Watched her like her joy mattered.
Had it all been a mistake?
The noise of the fair grew louder, but Sorcha barely paid attention. All she could feel was the tension in her chest.
Finally, William’s gaze slid to her, as if being dragged by something heavy.
In that fragile moment, Sorcha hoped foolishly that he would refute Keegan’s statement. That he would scoff. Correct him. End it. But then he turned back to Keegan.
“There’s something foolish in yer words,” William said quietly.
Sorcha was already pleased to hear that. But when he spoke again, her heart sank.
“Why would I engage in such?” He paused. “We’re here for one thing only: to find her a suitor.”
Those words struck her like cold water, splashing across her face mercilessly.
She wasn’t sure what to do or say at first. Her breath hitched sharply. She blinked once, twice, her lashes fluttering as if that would somehow change what she had heard.
So that’s all I am.A task. A duty. That’s what this is.
She felt pathetic for having raised her hopes too high.
Keegan laughed again. And this time, the sound scraped against her nerves more sharply than it ever had.
“Then I hope I make the count,” he said easily, his smug gaze flicking to her. “Wouldnae want to disappoint.”
Sorcha curled her fingers into her skirts. She watched Keegan walk away without looking back. His steps were easy with that careless confidence of his. God, how that man got under her skin.
But she did not have the time to hate him right now because William was still there.
Taking a deep breath, she turned to him slowly.
