5
Gretna stood by the dirtied window and watched as the lightning streaked across the sky, jumping as the thunder rattled the inn shortly after. She could still hear the ruckus, laughter, and squeals from the patrons below, but she didn’t dare go to satisfy her curiosity. The inn made her nervous, so nervous that she had already counted every dress in her trunk that Remy had ordered to be brought up half a dozen times, refolding her ribbons so that they were in the order she preferred, and tucked the blanket from the carriage around the sagging bed frame at least three times.
Nothing she did soothed her rattled nerves and Gretna worried if she would even get a wink of sleep tonight.
With a sigh, she turned away, finding Remy in the chair that he had occupied for the last hour, his sword resting across his lap. “Wot?” he asked, shifting his large frame against the creaking wood.
She shook her head, tapping her foot nervously. “I donna understand why we wouldna take the chance rather than stay here.”
“Because,” he said. “I only have three Scots with mah and the carriage has already seen the damage from the journey. Tis best tae wait til morning, lass.”
Gretna glared at him, her body restless and her mind exhausted. “Then why do ye have tae stay in here?” If she had to spend the evening in this horrid room, the least he could do was give her the privacy she sorely craved.
Remy arched a brow. “The lock is busted and I donna trust any of those men downstairs.”
His words were simple and honest, traits that she was rapidly learning about him. Though he had been around her family all her life, Gretna couldn’t remember ever wanting to study him as she did now. He had always seemed so jovial to her, his wide smile causing any lass in close distance to simper and blush. She had never seen him alone like he was now, without the companionship of a lass on his arm or jesting with her brothers.
That was Remy that she didn’t understand.
Huffing a breath, Gretna forced herself to sit on the bed, the straw poking up through the blanket.
“Ye might as well get some sleep,” Remy said after a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. “While ye can.”
She didn’t bother to remove any of her clothing, not even her boots as she rested her back on the wall and stretched her legs out before her. “Wot aboot ye? Donna ye need tae sleep?”
“Worried aboot mah, are ye, lass?”
Gretna looked away. “Nay, of course not.”
Remy’s chuckle slid through her body, warming her insides and calming the frazzled parts of her. “I’m fine. I’ve gone days without sleeping. Donna worry. I willna fall off mah horse come morning.”
Morning. There was little doubt that they would arrive at their destination by tomorrow. Gretna had to be refreshed and ready to meet her intended. What if he didn’t like her? Thethought had crossed her mind more than once. There was a great deal of things for her own clan riding on this marriage, but what would happen if it didn’t work the way they had all intended?
“Wot is going through that head of yers?”
Remy’s voice shattered her thoughts and Gretna looked at him, finding him watching her. “Wot?”
“Ye looked troubled,” he answered, shrugging one of his shoulders. “Donna worry aboot this place. I can protect ye.”
She knew that. She knew that Remy or any of his warriors would die protecting her. “I was thinking of tomorrow.”
“Ah,” Remy said. “Yer nervous.”
Gretna twisted her hands in her lap, avoiding his gaze. “I was wondering wot would happen if, never mind.” He was going to laugh at her stupid worries!
She heard Remy shift in the chair once more. “Go on, lass. Tell mah.”
Drawing in a breath, Gretna forced herself to look at him. There was no mirth about his face, only concern. “Wot if he doesna like mah? Wot if this entire journey was for naught and I have tae go back tae Ian a failure?”
Remy’s mouth worked and for a moment, Gretna thought he was going to laugh at her. “That is wot ye are worried about?” he asked.
She nodded and he let out a slow breath, his eyes boring into hers. “Lass, one look at ye and he will be dumbstruck as tae whether or nothe’sworthy ofye.”
His voice was low but Gretna heard every word, her lungs stilling in her chest. There was something about the way he said it that made her, for a moment, wonder if he had ever said the words to one of his lassies before. Surely not or he would be wed to her. They made her feel special.
He gave her a small smirk, the seriousness leaving his expression and another Remy took his place. “Go tae sleep, Gretna.”
The tension was high in the room and while she wanted to delve deeper into Remy, Gretna decided that it mattered not. There was nothing between them nor should be. So, she slid down onto the bed until she was lying down, tucking her hands under her head and turning away from him as she worked to slow her hectic breathing. Every move he made she heard, her mind telling her to take one more glance at the man she was starting to figure out.
