She shook her head, nonplussed. The woman clucked her tongue, not unkindly, against the roof of her mouth.
“Oh, I suppose I’ll have to show ye,” she remarked as she gestured for Isla to follow her. “And maybe I could help ye with yer hair, too.”
“Ye’re too kind. I didnae realize I needed help with it,” Isla replied, and the woman laughed.
She had a pleasant laugh, perhaps more pleasant than Isla deserved, and she found herself unwinding slightly, glad that there seemed to be someone here willing to put up with her.
The woman brushed her red hair out and took her down to the room where she was to meet Camron for dinner; she could see the flickering candles casting a warm glow over the doorway as she approached, and her heart skipped a beat—f not several—inside her chest.
Her husband sat at a large table in the middle of the room, which was framed with just two chairs. The entire space was filled with the scent of flowers; from the several wildflower bunches sitting in vases along the corners of the room; heather, myrtle, and even some jasmine. Her favorites. She stepped over the threshold, somewhat suspicious, as she locked eyes with him.
“What is all this for…”
He chuckled slightly and gestured for her to sit down.
“Come,” he ordered her. “Have dinner wi’ me.”
The way he said it, she sensed that she had little choice in the matter. She sank down into the chair opposite him, just as a pair of maids bustled into the room, carrying dishes. Familiar scents of some of her favorite foods wafting in the air.
“Is this…”
“Black pudding,” he replied, as the maid planted the plate down in front of her.
Her mouth watered at the smell of it, breathing it in deep. It had always been one of her favorites, but her sister had alwaysbalked at it, meaning she very rarely had the chance to enjoy it at home.
“And cranachan fer afters,” he continued, as he reached for the cutlery on either side of his own plate.
He seemed to be attempting to carry himself with a certain decency compared to his usual broodiness, like he was putting on the front of being an honorable man. She wasn’t sure she entirely believed it yet, but she would not pass up the chance to gorge herself on what she loved.
She tucked in as soon as the maids were out of the room. As she ate, she cast her eye around the room. It had been made up just as she would have liked it, the flowers her preferred kind, the food exactly as she enjoyed it. Had this been what he had written to her sister about? It would have been just like Catriona to try and help him out this way, to make it so that Isla settled in a little more comfortably.
“Ye cannae charm me with just some dinner, ye ken,” she warned him, once she had finished her first course.
He shrugged. “I didnae imagine I could,” he replied. “Perhaps ye’d care to open yer gift now, though.”
“Gift?”
Surprised, she turned her attention to a small package that was perched on another chair pressed up against the wall. She had been so taken by this table when she had walked in that she had not even noticed it was there. It was wrapped in green ribbon, which she swiftly untied and tossed aside as she lifted the lid of the box.
Her face lit up when she saw what waited inside for her; a handsome riding ensemble, a tweed jacket with a ribbon of the clan tartan to match. She lifted it up and could not help but let out a delighted gasp.
“Is this…”
“Well, since ye seemed so keen on learning to ride with Archie,” he remarked, with a shrug. “I thought you’d care for some proper clothes to do it in.”
“Ye…”
“I spoke wi’ the maids,” he explained. “And they told me what size ye were so I could be certain it fit. Do ye like it?”
“Of course I do,” she murmured, as she smoothed her hand along the edge of the tweed, admiring the high quality and the delicate detailing along the collar. But then, she lifted her gaze to his once more, a nag of doubt sounding at the back of her mind.
“What is the purpose of all this?”
“What do you mean?”
He reached across the table to pour some wine into her cup, meeting her gaze steadily, as though he had nothing to hide.
“Ye’ve hated every moment here since ye arrived," he reminded her. “I wanted to give ye something ye cannae despise quite as much, ‘tis all.”
