Isla reached across the table to pour Camron a drink, noticing that his cup was low. When she took to her seat once more, the two of them exchanged a glance, something shifting between them as he chose her, undeniably, over the memory of whatever past the walls of this Keep held.
Archie had been stunned into silence, too shocked to say anything to the sudden excitement that had exploded around him. Camron glanced at him, cocking an eyebrow, prompting some kind of response.
“And ye, Archie,” he remarked. “Perhaps it’s time fer ye to find some new lodgings for a while. A change of scenery would do ye good.”
His words were not quite barbed, but close to it. Archie did not move a muscle, except to smile slightly.
“Make no mistake, my Laird,” he remarked, glancing towards Isla. “I have no problem with how yer wife chooses to conduct herself. Ye dinnae need to cast me out along wi’ Robert.”
Camron eyed him for a long moment, clearly trying to make sense of whether or not he believed what he was being told. But, instead of battling him on the matter, he just nodded.
“Then ye’ll join us fer dinner?” he remarked, casting his hand across the food laid out before them. “We’ve quite a lot to get through, given that we’re down a guest.”
And, as they began to eat, Isla found herself falling into a comfortable pattern at his side; the two of them running in unison for what felt like the first time, at least when there were others here to see it. He filled her plate with generous portions, and she made sure his cup was always filled. When dinner was over and the plates were cleared, he offered her a hand, helping her rise to her feet. His touch, even as gentle as it was now, answered the very questions that she had posed to herself and her sister in her letter the day before.
She might not have known exactly what love looked like when it came from him. But the way he touched her, the way he cared for her, the way he stood up for her… she was starting to make sense of it.
And, as the two of them made their way to their chambers together, she knew that, with Robert finally gone, they had all the more time to spend together. And she got the feeling that he intended to make the very most of it.
Chapter Eighteen
Isla groaned theatricallyas she slumped back on the bed, her hands clasped to her stomach to soothe some of the twisting discomfort within.
She wasn’t sure what it was that had triggered it, but, for the last few days, she had been feeling restless and decidedly uncomfortable. Not in the way she had been when she had first arrived. Νo, it was not that same urge she had felt to flee for the hills and never look back. But rather as though there was something inside of her she could not quite contain, and she had no idea how to make herself feel better.
It had been nearly a week since Robert had left the Keep, and it was all the better for his absence. Archie had not made any effort to move on, as Camron had suggested, but he seemed to have been keeping to himself for the last few days, perhaps aware that he was lucky to still have a home here after all that had happened. He had been nothing but polite to Isla, but she noticed that he suddenly did not have as much to say to her—at least not as much as he had before.
In fact, he seemed to be keeping his distance as best he could. A few times, she had caught his eye across the courtyard, and offered him a nervous smile, hoping that he would notjudge her too harshly for what had happened at the dinner they had shared with Robert. But he did not return her attempts at connection. His eyes seemed blank, distant, as though his mind were somewhere else entirely—calculating something, perhaps how best to ingratiate himself with Robert after what she had done. He spoke not a word to her, though occasionally, she would catch him looking in her direction.
A relief that he did not try to confront her, because she wasn’t sure she could have withstood all his attention the way he had offered it before. Camron had been so attentive with her, but he seemed not to have noticed how uncomfortable she had been these last few days. Yes, she had to admit that she had not exactly been forthcoming in telling him about how she felt, not wanting to shatter the peaceful comfort that had risen between them since he had defended her the way he had against Robert, but still… should he not have noticed?
She felt as though she noticed every little thing about him, every change in how he moved or talked, every inch of tension that wracked his body at any given moment. She supposed that was what it meant to care for someone deeply, to want to make life easier for them in any way you were able to, even when things were hard.
She curled up in a ball on their bed, burying her face into his pillow and inhaling what was left of his scent from the night before. He had left early, riding out to meet with some villagers who had been struggling with a land dispute, and he had only arrived back an hour or so ago. She had seen him draw his horse into the stables before he had retreated to his study, and she supposed that it must have been serious for him to not even take the time to check on her first.
Though, she quickly reminded herself that she had been the one to try and prove to him that she was entirely capable of going without the support of anyone other than herself. Perhapsshe was asking too much of him, for him to attend to her every whim when he had so many people to take care of. She had to remember that he was a Laird, not just her husband, and that there were demands placed on him the likes of which she could only imagine. Ever since he had been a child, in fact.
That thought stuttered her racing mind to a halt in an instant.Child.A child. Could that be why she was feeling the way she was? She tried to cast her memory back to the last time she’d had her monthlies, but she could not recall. She had been in such distress, she had not thought to keep track of such a thing, but now, it seemed ridiculous, dangerous even, to let such a thing slip her mind.
Her hands clamped down on her belly, as if she could feel whatever was inside her through the skin. She had been with her husband enough times now that it might have happened, and now that they were husband and wife not just in name, perhaps some part of her was prepared for such an eventuality, even if she could not quite imagine it.
She sprang to her feet. This was not the kind of thing she could manage on her own. She needed to speak with him about it, and soon. Just then a wave of dizziness coursed through her as she tried to get her feet underneath her, her head swimming, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the state of her physical condition or just the shock of what she felt she had just found out.
She hurried down the corridor towards his study and threw open the door without thinking to knock. His head snapped up at once, and she saw the flash of frustration in his eyes.
“Isla, I’m in the midst of something important?—”
“I’m sorry, Camron, but I need to speak wi’ ye,” she told him.
She did her best to keep her voice steady, though she was sure he could sense the terror that she was doing her best to contain. He pressed his lips together and rose to his feet.
“Can it wait till I’ve dealt wi’ this land dispute?” he demanded, waving a hand towards the weathered papers laid out across his desk.
“No, Camron I don’t think it can wait?—”
“I have matters to deal with, Isla. I’ll see ye afterwards, I promise”
“Camron let me just?—”
