“I ken men like their stories. I prefer proof.”
“Will ye get it?”
“I tend to.”
She let the words sink in. “What do ye want from me?”
“For now,” he said, “that ye keep to me side.”
“That is all?”
“Fornow.”
She could feel the earth under her boots, steady and solid. She could feel her pulse in her wrist. She did not look at the blood darkening the packed dirt nearby. She did not look at the faces.
“I daenae like being hustled, Laird MacMillan. Tell me what ye want from me, and tell me now,” she demanded.
He smiled, small and sure. “Lass, I’m saying I want to claim ye as well.”
She swallowed. “What?”
He cleared his throat and repeated himself, each word eliciting emotions she didn’t know she was capable of feeling.
“I want to make ye me wife.”
CHAPTER 4
Alex turned and walked.He did not look over his shoulder to check if she followed, and he did not slow down.
Erica came on his left, keeping a half pace back. The ground changed to rougher earth that pressed through the soles of her boots. The music thinned to a distant thrum, and laughter broke apart into stray notes, then faded.
They passed the outer ring of fires, where maids stood with their poles and ropes, and then a knot of women sharing bread. They passed a lad asleep on a cloak, his mouth open, his hand still clutching a wooden cup.
Beyond that, the meadow dipped slightly, then rose toward the boundary stones set low and plain. The dark beyond had no lanterns. It was not a threat. It was only night legs, but it didn’t stop her heart from beating rapidly.
He stopped near the stones, then folded his arms and lifted one brow.
He did not touch her.
He did not speak.
She didn’t know whether it was too early to assume he was different from other predatory men she had come across in just a span of weeks.
The silence had a weight that the crowd never did. In this part of the yard, no one pressed at her shoulders, and no cups brushed her arm. No easy excuse stood ready.
She saw the shape of it. There would be no slipping sideways into dancers, no calling a steward to recite rules and end the moment. She could run and get ten steps at most. She could plead and get nothing worth having.
This was not a menace. It was an expectation. His silence said,Show me who ye are.
“Ye want me to speak first?”
She swallowed. “I daenae ken what ye expect me to say.”
He folded his hands. “How about we start simple. Take it off,” he said at last.
Erica felt her heart skip a beat. “What?”
“Yer mask. I want to see the full face of the lass I just asked to marry me. I hope that isnae too much to ask.”
