“I should nae have done that,” Creighton muttered, half turning away. “That was foolish. Beyond foolish.”
Nora came crashing down to earth with that simple statement.
“Aye,” she managed weakly. “It was foolish. But ye cannae simply blame yerself.”
“Can I nae? I am older and wiser, am I nae?”
She bristled. “Nae by much, surely.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow. “Oh, nay? What age are ye, then?”
She considered lying, but there was something about his unflinching, steely stare that made her think twice.
“Four-and-twenty,” she muttered, tossing back her hair.
He chuckled. “I am almost thirty.”
“Well, then, we are both adults.”
“Aye, adults who ken exactly what rests on this betrothal. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. This betrothal is nothin’ of the sort. We are nae goin’ to be wed; we are nae friends. We arenae even allies, nae yet. So, I will do better in the future. We’ll keep our distance from each other. That wasnaemeant to happen, and I’ll take care that it does nae happen again.”
Well. That was reassuring, wasn’t it? She should be relieved. Shewasdefinitely relieved, although at the moment, it was fair thatshe only felt confused and a little uneasy. Very fair. More than fair.
The tightness in her core had not gone away. It ached, a constant pulse that refused to let her entirely settle.
Perhaps if I ignore it entirely, it will go away. Perhaps.
“As I said before, I did nae sleep in yer bed, me Laird,” she managed.
He eyed her for a long moment. “I suppose it is pointless to ask why ye were in me room in the first place. I’ll nae get a straight answer.”
She tightened her jaw. “Am I in trouble? Do ye plan to toss me in the dungeons?”
Maybe if he sent me to the dungeons, I could search for Margaret. The circumstances would be less than ideal, but…
He rolled his eyes. “Of course, I willnae be sendin’ ye to the dungeons. How I treat ye here is the model yer laird will follow when it comes to how he treats me cousin.”
Nora drew herself up. “Laird Bryden is a man of honor. He will treat yer cousin well.”
“Aye, but me cousin is nae awomanof honor, and therein lies the problem,” he muttered darkly. “But nay matter. We’ll keep apart from now on. I’m sure ye agree that is the best thing to do, aye?”
“Aye,” she echoed, wondering why her own voice sounded so tense and taut in her head. Of course, he was right. It seemed pointless now to deny that shedidfind him attractive, not that it meant anything. And he kissed her, so that must mean…
Best nae to complete that thought. She cleared her throat, resisting the urge to lift her fingers to her mouth and chew her nails. Instead, she stood still, staring at him. He stared back, his eyes dark and his face unreadable.
What am I missin’? What is it about him that prevents me fromunderstandin’? Why does he make me feel as though I am slowly going mad? In a good way, that is. If a personcango mad in a good way.
“I should go,” he said abruptly, turning away. At once, he strode back around the bed to the center of the room. With more distance between them, Nora felt strangely breathless. Lightheaded.
“If ye wish,” she managed. “I hope ye daenae blame yerself for this, though.”
He gave a short laugh, rounding on her. “Nay, lass, I blameye.Stay out of me room. And while I never imagined I’d have to tell ye this too, stay out of mebed, do ye understand?”
She bridled, glowering at him. “Ye daenae have to tell me twice.”
He met her gaze, scowling. “Fine words for a lass who apparently just spent some time rolling about on me bed, of all things. When ye feel up to tellin’ mewhyye chose to do that, I’ll be glad to hear it. Good day to ye, lass. And needless to say, I’ll be lockin’ the adjoinin’ door frommeside from now on.”
Leaving her with a red face and the inevitable feeling of looking foolish, he turned on his heel and stomped back through the adjoining door, leaving her door swinging open. She heard his door slam, and the bolt scrape into place. Furious, Nora hurried over to her door, slammed it, and shot the bolt back in place.
