"This is me keep. I can go where I please."
"Aye, but it's nae proper fer ye tae be in me chambers."
"From what I remember ye’re nae exactly proper, are ye, Lady Ada?” He saw her cheeks redden, but he continued without waiting for a response. “We're tae be married in a fortnight anyway. I think propriety is the least of our concerns." Magnus closed the door behind him, though he didn't move further into the room. "We need tae talk."
"About what? Yer refusal? Yer humiliation of me in front of the king's men?" Her chin lifted, pride stiffening her spine despite the tremor in her voice. "Or perhaps ye want tae explain why ye agreed to marry me if ye despise me so much?"
"I dinnae despise ye."
"Ye have a strange way of showin' it."
Magnus's jaw tightened. "I said we need tae talk. Will ye listen?"
Ada stared at him for a long moment, then moved away from the window. She didn't sit, didn't invite him to sit either. Just stood there with her arms still wrapped around herself, waiting.
"The festival at Arisaig Bay," Magnus said. "A year ago. That was ye."
It wasn't a question, but Ada nodded anyway. "Aye."
"Why?"
"I told ye then. It's better if ye dinnae ken."
"That's nae an answer." Magnus moved closer, though he kept distance between them. "Ye used me tae escape yer faither's men. Then ye disappeared. And now ye're here, and I'm meant tae trust ye? Tae bind meself tae ye fer the rest of me life?"
Ada's expression tightened. "I didnae ask fer this any more than ye did."
"But ye did ask fer me help. Ye came tae me, kissed me without permission, put me in the middle of whatever trouble ye were in. And now I find out ye're a MacTavish, the daughter of the very laird whose men I apparently knocked unconscious tae save ye." Magnus's voice remained level, but anger simmered beneath it. "So, I'll ask ye again. Why?"
"Because I was desperate." The words came out sharp, defensive. "Because me faither's men were huntin’ me, and ye were there, and I had nay other choice."
"What were ye runnin' from?"
"Him. Me faither. The marriage he'd arranged fer me."
"And how many other men did ye kiss tae escape him?" The question was out before Magnus could stop it, bitter and accusatory.
Ada's face flushed red. "How dare ye?"
"How many?" Magnus pressed. "One? Five? Ten? How am I meant tae ken what kind of woman I'm marryin' if ye willnae tell me the truth?"
"Ye're the only one!" Ada's voice rose, trembling with anger and humiliation. "Ye're the only man I've ever kissed." She stopped, pressed her lips together hard.
Magnus stared at her. "I dinnae believe ye."
"I dinnae care if ye believe me." Ada's hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Ye've already decided I'm some schemin’ harlot who goes around kissin' strangers fer sport. Naethin’ I say will change yer mind."
"Then make me believe ye. Tell me what happened. Tell me why ye ran, why ye needed me help, why ye disappeared."
"Because me faither is a monster!" The words burst from her like something that had been locked away too long. "Because he was going tae sell me tae a man I dinnae ken, a man who'd already buried two wives under suspicious circumstances. Because when I tried tae refuse, he locked me in a tower with nay food but bread and water, tellin’ me I'd learn obedience or I'd learn tae starve."
Magnus went still.
"When I finally escaped," Ada continued, her voice shaking now, "I had nowhere tae go. Nay family who'd take me in, nay friends who'd risk me faither's wrath. I survived by hidin' among healers and widows, moving from village tae village, prayin' he wouldnae find me. And when his men finally caught me trail at Arisaig, I saw ye, a tall stranger who looked like he could fight off an army, and I made a choice." She met his gaze directly, her hazel-green eyes bright with unshed tears. "I used ye. I'm nae proud of it. But I'd dae it again if it meant survivin’ another day."
The silence that followed felt heavy. Oppressive.
Magnus studied her face, the way her jaw trembled slightly despite her raised chin, the way her hands shook even as she kept them fisted. She was terrified. Angry. Defiant.
