“So, do you,” Tessa added.
He felt the blood drain from his face. Apparently, shedidintend tae send him away. “I…dinnae ken.”
“Earlier, you asked for a job. I’ll hire you to take the boards off all the windows. On the ground floor, at least.” She glanced at the sunlit window. “It’s so light in here without the coverings. I can’t believe how much the sun has warmed this room, just since I entered.” She turned back to Darach. “I’m tired of using flashlights and not being able to get a clear picture of what’s here. If Emily and I are going to make a decision about staying, we need a better understanding of what we have to work with.”
She gave him an odd look when he dinnae answer. “You did say you wanted work, right?”
“Oh, aye!” he said when he got his voice back. “I do, indeed.”
She wasnae angry with him, then?
Tess took another glance around the room. “If we like what we find downstairs, maybe we’ll even take the covers off all the windows on this floor, as well.” She shrugged and gave him a small smile. “Assuming we can conjure up a ladder, of course.”
His relief at no’ being sent away was so great he could barely contain the urge to pull Tess into his arms. Instead, he bowed before Emily, took her hand and twirled her in a pirouette. “My lady. The work on your castle, begins.”
Emily giggled and curled her finger to signal him to lean down. “If we stay,” she whispered, “I get to have a puppy.”
“Och!” he replied in a most serious tone. “Then we must do everything we can tae make that possible!”
He glanced over his shoulder to scour the room again, as he followed Tessa and Emily through the door. “Everything!”
