Paisley chuckled, letting herself be spun back around to thump against Dominic's chest. It seemed the right place for her to be. She glanced up at him and noticed, for the first time, that he had flecks of gold in his gray eyes. The gold glittered in the candlelight, making him look otherworldly and fascinating.
The man doesn't need gold flecks in his eyes to fascinate me,she thought dizzily. Was this what being drunk was like? Paisley hadn't had so much of a sip of anything since she arrived – apparently the custom for English gentlemen to fetch their partners endless cups of punch and lemonade hadn't reached the Highlands – and she was somewhat thirsty.
So, she wasn't drunk, then, not in the least. But something had gone to her head, and Paisley strongly suspected that thesomethingwas Dominic.
"We aren't really betrothed, though. Are we?"
She could have bitten off her tongue. The smile dropped from Dominic's face like a stone. Paisley felt her throat clench. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and hold him close, to tell him that everything was all right, that she wasn'tgoinganywhere, that she truly cared for him, even if he wasn't as polite as English gentlemen and didn't smile very often.
In fact, she thought that was one of the reasons shedidlike him. After all, winning one of Dominic's smiles was a thing of pride.
"I'm sorry," Paisley added, when the dance slowed down enough for her to breathe. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"Ye didn't, ye only spoke the truth," he said levelly. "I cannae fault ye for that. It's true, we aren't really betrothed. I made that clear, didn't I? Very clear."
There was something in his voice, some tinge of... was it regret? Paisley licked her lips nervously, sliding her hands up to cup his shoulders again. She was fairly sure that she should have been doing something else in the dance – the other dancers were skipping around each other, elbows hooked together, while she and Dominic had almost slowed to a stop – but for once, Paisley really didn't care what was happening in the dance around her.
"I've hurt your feelings," she said flatly.
He gave a forced laugh. "Nay, ye have nae. I have nay feelings to hurt, ye see."
Paisley didn't laugh. "That's not true. You don't need to pretend that it is. Do you think that it's unmanly to have your feelings hurt?"
He blinked. "What? Well, doesnae everyone think that?"
"I don't think that."
He stared at her for a moment more, then a slow smile spread over his face. He slipped his hands into Paisley's, lacing their fingers together, and moved them on with the tide of other dancers.
"I think yer opinion is the most important to me out of everyone," Dominic said carefully. "And that's the truth of it. Me faither thought it was unmanly to talk about his feelings, but I've made it me goal not to become like him."
"Your mother says that you're like her."
"Perhaps I am. It's a compliment."
"Oh, yes," Paisley laughed. "She's an excellent woman. Terrifying, but excellent."
"She's certainly taken a likin' to ye, that's for sure."
"You said that before, and I'm not sure I agree. What makes you think your mother has taken alikingto me?"
Dominic threw back his head and laughed. "Because she took yer arm, she had a chair put out for ye, and she talked politely to ye. Most of all, though, the two of ye parted ways without ye bursting into tears. If I had a coin for every man or woman me maither brought to tears, I'd have a fortune."
Paisley had to smile at that, shaking her head.
"Well, that's a fair point. I do hope she won't be disappointed when she finds out that our betrothal isn't real. And she will have to find out sooner or later, won't she?"
There was a lilt of a question at the end of that sentence. Paisley hadn't intended it to come out that way, but there it was. She glanced anxiously up at Dominic, whose expression was thoughtful.
Won't she?
"Perhaps not," Dominic said, his voice low and slow. "Paisley, there's something I must talk to ye about. It's a strange subject, but an important one. The truth is..."
On cue, the music came to a flourishing halt, and whatever Dominic was going to say was drowned out by the enthusiastic cheers and applause of the other dancers and the spectators. Dominic and Paisley were forced to stop dancing, and she tried her best not to feel too annoyed at the interruption.
"What were you going to say?" she asked eagerly, as soon as the noise had died down somewhat.
Dominic opened his mouth, but a voice cut across the chaos, summoning him.
