Her eyebrow arched as she gave him a coy look. “What were you thinking of, My Laird?”
He leaned closer to whisper in her ear, his breath brushing her skin. She had to suppress a shiver. “Nothing I can say amid company, I am afraid.”
Lilliana’s eyes went wide as she realized what he meant. Her face flamed, and she did not know where to look.
She took a deep breath and made an effort to meet his eyes. “I do not think this is an appropriate conversation,” she said as primly as she could.
To her disbelief, he laughed. “Appropriate? For whom, lass? It is only ye and I speaking.”
Lilliana cleared her throat and tried to think of something to say. He grinned, leaning in to study her face.
“Ye look well with that much color in yer face,” he whispered. “And yer doe eyes, so wide and startled like a fawn. Impossibly tempting.”
Despite her best efforts, she shivered, her chest tight as she looked up at his face, realizing that she was quite mesmerized by this version of him. She was also quite tongue-tied.
He picked up a plate of sliced bread liberally spread with butter and offered it to her. “I asked the kitchen to make ye some tea. I hope that is alright with ye?”
She took a deep breath, nodding jerkily. “Y-Yes, that is… that is quite fine.” She blinked a few times, her eyes flicking to his bowl of porridge.
She knew that they were not poor, but they were frugal, and for him to request a different breakfast for her when there was some perfectly good porridge on the table was unusual.
On the one hand, she hoped he was not mortified that she found one of their staple meals less than appetizing. On the other hand, she could not help but be gratified by his attention.
She shifted her gaze to him. “I want to thank you, Kayden,” she said.
He cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion. “For the tea? Ye need nae do that.”
“No. I mean, I appreciate the tea, but I want to thank you for allowing me to go to the village.”
He gave her a sardonic smile. “Ye would have gone anyway. One thing I ken about ye is that ye are stubborn.”
That coaxed a laugh from her. “Is that why you finally agreed?”
He shrugged. “It is one of the reasons, aye. Another is that if ye can really help me people, I should let ye.”
She nodded. “That is wise. You will make a great laird yet.”
His eyebrows rose so high they almost touched his hairline. “Is that so?”
She gave an impish grin. “It is.”
A maid appeared behind her and placed a cup of tea in front of her.
“Oh, thank you,” Lilliana said.
The maid smiled and nodded. “Ye are welcome, Me Lady.”
Kayden nodded to her, and she walked away.
Lilliana took a sip of tea. “Mmm. Very well made.”
“Ye sound surprised,” he said dryly.
She made a face. “I did not mean to. It is just that it is very easy to get the brewing wrong.”
“Especially for a connoisseur like yerself, is that so?”
She eyed him narrowly, trying to gauge whether he was mocking her. She shrugged. “Iamrather particular about my tea.”
