“Insufferable man,” she ground out to herself. “If I daenae see him again for the rest of the year, I’ll consider meself lucky. Lucky!”
She hoped he heard her. Judging by the low, almost inaudible laughter coming from the room beside hers, it was possible that he did.
It’s nay good,Nora thought miserably.I willnae sleep.
Judging by the silvery moonlight streaming in through the window, it was probably around midnight, maybe just before. No noise came from the hall outside.
Her meal had been brought earlier, with dishes and plates of food still half-eaten, scattered around her room. The maids who had delivered them, the same surly-faced women as before, hadn’t bothered to return to collect the dirty dishes. Nora had thought about piling the plates outside her door on the ground, but that seemed likely to attract rats.
The room sweltered. Too hot, it was too hot.Shewas too hot. The sheets tangled around her, drenched in sweat, and she couldnotfind a comfortable spot, despite sleeping in the softest, springiest bed she had ever encountered.
It was allhisfault.
The kiss replayed in her mind again and again. Nora, of course, had never been kissed before. There hadn’t been enough time. Besides, no one had ever appealed to her in that way. If you kissed someone, you should feel drawn to them so strongly that resisting would be impossible. Nobody had ever made Nora feel like that. She had seen it happen among her friends. People seemed to be pulled toward each other, wide-eyed and curious. Nora never once felt that attraction.
Well, she was feeling it now. She’d felt it long before Creighton’s lips touched hers.
It’s just attraction. Just desire. He’s a handsome man, and it’s natural to feel drawn to him that way,she told herself sternly, ignoring the fact that she had met plenty of handsome men in her lifetime but never once felt the same tug of attraction.
No,tugwasn’t the right word. It was like somebody had jammed a fishhook in her guts, twisting it around to make the point stay, then tied the end of the line around Creighton. Then he’d walked away.
She shivered, turning onto her other side in an attempt to find a comfortable spot. There was already a damp patch on the pillow where she had sweat in the hot room.
She could still feel the heat of his lips pressed against hers, the swipe of his tongue against her lower lip. It was just a touch, nothing more, but whenever he touched it now, it seemed toburn. The ache in her gut remained. A pulsingwant, demanding that she get up anddosomething, anything about it.
Turning over again, Nora found herself staring at the wall where the adjoining doorway stood. Dark and silent, it was little more than a shadow in the gloom. A double-locked shadow. He was probably in his room at that very moment, trying to sleep amongst the herby scent of his sheets, probably trying to figure out a way to avoid her tomorrow.
If he wanted to avoid me, he shouldnae have put me in the room adjoinin’ his. Or perhaps hehadto do that, what with me bein’ his betrothed.
Nora rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. Outside, an owl hooted somewhere. Judging by the quality of the moonlight, it was a clear night, with scarcely a cloud in the sky to obscure the full moon.
I’m nae going to get to sleep, am I?
She rolled out of bed and placed her bare feet on the floor. The cold stone was a pleasant contrast to her body’s heat. She sat there for a moment, eyes closed, letting the sweat dry on her skin. It was an unseasonably hot night. The maids who brought her food had discussed it among themselves—never with Nora. They talked about the heat bringing out sicknesses from the bogs and valleys, with bad things crawling out of the undergrowth, excited by the heat. People certainly did get sicker in the hot weather, when fleas jumped in the hedgerows, and bad smells lingered too long.
Enough. I’m nae lyin’ here, thinkin’ of Creighton and various plagues. I need air.
She rose to her feet, not bothering to light a candle. Her nightdress billowed around her, sticking to her skin in occasional damp patches. She swung a robe around her shoulders, more for modesty than for warmth, and slipped out into the hall.
She half expected to find guards there, ready to herd her back into her room, but the hall was empty. Torches burned at intervals in the wall, illuminating her way.
The hall led back down to a circular crossroads, the kind that seemed to fill the Keep. Pausing, she looked down each corridor in turn. Which route would be the best? She needed to make sure she could get back to her room.
At that moment, a cool draft of air circled her ankles. Almost without thinking, Nora followed that hallway.
It was a short hallway that ended in a dead end. No, not a dead end. A small door was set deep in the wall, half-open, letting in the fresh night air. She caught a glimpse of the sky through the door.
She stepped through the door and found herself on a short parapet, curving around the outside of the wall. The breeze was stiffer outside, and the air was not as hot and stuffy as she had expected. Itwaswarmer than it should be for this time of year, but sudden bursts of hot and cold weather, almost at random, were common for this part of the world. Generally speaking, the Highlands were cold, but when the heat came, it came unstoppably.
No guards? Me luck is in,she thought, moving over to the stone wall. The breeze tugged at her hair, blowing it back from her clammy neck. Closing her eyes, she rested her elbows on the rough, cold stone and tilted back her head. Oh, it felt so good to be out in the open air.
This is the longest I’ve been without goin’ outside.
Generally, healers spend their time in one of two ways. Either out in the open air, crawling through forests in search of rare herbs or on their way to visit a patient, or they spend their time hunched over a chopping board, pestle and mortar at the ready, preparing endless pastes, teas, and tinctures.
There’s a reason a healer like me can go so long without bein’ kissed,she thought mournfully, biting her lower lip.Perhaps all kisses feel as good as that.
No, that couldn’t be right. She’d overheard her friends talking about men and kisses, and sometimes it sounded like a thing that was just endured. Something that wasfine, but not… notmeltinglyso. Not in the way she’d felt when Creighton touched her.
