Erica shrugged. “Because every man within reach seemed terrified by ye, for some reason,” she said. “Because the stewards stood closer to ye. Something told me MacGee’s men would need to count their teeth after they tried ye.”
“And because ye thought me pride would like it,” he said.
“Aye,” she admitted. “A proud man hates being crossed in public. I hoped ye would rather take the claim than let him look like he had the jump on ye.”
“A fair read,” he said. “Ye counted well for a lass who says she came alone.”
“I did come alone,” she said. “I am nae foolish enough to come blind.”
“Good,” he said. “Keep saying what is true. It will get us somewhere faster than pretty words.”
“I have nay time for pretty words,” she said.
He let that sit. His gaze went to the mask still in her hand. “Tie it to yer belt,” he said. “Ye willnae need it again tonight.”
She looped the ribbon through her belt and tied a knot.
“Ye seem to ken me faither. Or at least kenofhim. Do ye believe the name they give him?”
“As I said earlier, I believe names change,” he said. “Or prove themselves. I prefer proof.”
“There ye go again, answering questions like a man setting a test.”
“I do,” he said.
He saw his words land, cold and steady. He had taken no pleasure in saying them. He had said them because they were the next stone on the road.
Erica drew a breath. “Me faither vanished first. Nay word. Nay body. Only silence. Me braither rode after him and didnae come back. Men who called themselves allies stopped sending rain, and doors closed all around. Many guards quit as well, and I kept the house on what I could count. Then Laird MacGee came and named us traitors, and every whisper grew teeth. I needed time. Just time to find the truth before the lie crushed us.”
She let it sit. No begging. No soft wrap. Only the shape of what pressed down on her chest day and night.
He listened and did not interrupt. When she finished, he was quiet long enough that doubt crept in at the edges. Perhaps she had read him wrong. Perhaps the cut had been a moment, not a measure.
“Then really become me betrothed,” he said.
The words struck harder than any blow. “Ye really mean that, do ye nae?”
“I daenae joke.”
Erica felt a wave of the cold night air suddenly settle around her, making her aware of the weather and how long she had been standing here.
“A month,” Alex continued. “In name only. It gives ye me shield while ye hunt the truth. It also buys me quiet from a council that kens me house but forgets me time.”
“They want ye married?”
“Aye. The last thing I want is a wife. I have to take care of me daughters?—”
Erica blinked. “Did ye say?—”
“Daughters, aye. Twins from me previous marriage. Will that be a problem?”
Erica swallowed, her voice leaving her for a second. “I just hadn’t expected a man like ye to have daughters, is all.”
Alex nodded. “Aye. ‘Tis part of why I daenae want another real marriage. I just want the council to stop asking me questions for a while.”
Her heart thudded. The danger was clear. So was the use. “One month.”
“Aye.”
