The warmth left his voice. It became the voice she had heard in her mind when his response had arrived weeks before the wedding.
“Rules?” she echoed.
He nodded once. “In public, ye daenae talk back to me. Nae in the hall. Nae in the yard. If I say the last word, it is the last word. If I call for silence, ye keep it.”
Her chest tightened. “That is not a partnership.”
“It is order. There is room for debate when the door is shut. Beyond it, there is a single line, andIhold it.”
“Because you are the Laird.”
“Exactly.”
She opened her mouth to speak again, but he cut her off.
“This is very important, Emma. Ye are never to talk back to me like that again. I agreed to help ye; I would appreciate a little more gratitude.”
“Gratitude.”
“Aye. I daenae think I stuttered.”
“Well, ye might as well have. What do you mean by gratitude, when all you have shown me so far is how much of an arrogant man you are?”
“An arrogant man doesnae have the strength to back up his claims.Ido. ‘Tis why I’m still standing after the battle that ravaged me castle.”
“What does any of this mean anyway? Your rules. This was never part of the agreement.”
“It would have been if ye had waited for me to come to London.”
The silence between them felt crippling and charged at the same time. He was close enough that she could feel the heat of his skin. It took every shred of her will not to look below his chest at the blood staining his shirt.
Eventually, she took a step back and felt the chair against her calves.“It is funny, but I could have sworn I thought we were helping each other.”
“‘Tis exactly what we’re doing.”
“Is it? Because all I see from my end is a laird who thinks he is doing me a favor.”
He shrugged. “Well, who needs a marriage more? The Pirate Laird, or a lassie that nay man in town wants her?”
Heat crept up her neck. “It is only because they cannot handle me.”
A smirk tugged at his lips. “Well, I can. And I expect respect. Or else I will force it. I can forgive ye this once because we got off on the wrong foot. There willnae be a second time. If ye disrespect me again, I will send ye back to London. Am I clear?”
Emma lifted her chin. Words pressed hard against her teeth, bold and bright. She saw the map on the desk and the pins setting it in place. She saw the knot of linen under his shirt where the bandages held. She knew the shape of the room andwhere she stood inside it. Power lived here in clean lines. Pride would not keep her warm at night in a cold country.
She clamped her mouth shut. The sound was loud to her and probably to him as well. She nodded once.
His lips curled into a smile. “Good lass.”
4
“Good lass.”
The words hung heavy between them.
Emma stayed where she was, the chair pressing against her calves, her hand still on the carved armrest.
Was this the most insufferable man she had ever met?
