Her dreams had been confusing, tangled images of Aiden here, or at the castle, or kneeling beside her in the courtyard, staringdown into her eyes. The location changed, but he never did. Not one bit.
And now he was here, and she could feel nothing but agitation.
This only leads to pain.
“Ye are angry with me,” Aiden said bluntly, watching her pace up and down. “I shouldnae have sent ye away. Would it make ye feel better to ken that I regret it?”
She closed her eyes. “Maybe a little.”
“Tell me.”
She blinked up at him. “Tell ye? Tell ye what?”
He shrugged, folding thick arms across his broad chest. “Tell me everything. Tell me why I have made ye angry. Explain what ye wished could have happened. And please,pleasetell me what ye want to do now.”
Silence hung between them. The air crackled with tension, a weight slowly but surely forming in Hannah’s chest. He watched her coolly, calmly, never moving forward or even speaking.
This is me moment,Hannah realized, a lump forming in her throat.Better make it count.
Clearing her throat, she glanced down at her hands, picking at the skin around her thumbs.
“When ye sent me away,” she said finally, “it made me feel small. Like a fleeting entertainment for ye.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “That wasnae me intention.”
“I ken, I ken.” She nodded tightly. “Ye didnae mean it. But even so, that’s how I felt.”
“I see.”
“I wish I could have stayed longer. I wish that we could have talked…”
“About what?”
She covered her face with her hands. “I daenae ken.”
He took a tentative step forward, placing his hands over hers and gently removing them from her face.
“I shouldnae have sent ye away,” he murmured, voice low. His eyes searched her face, looking for something. She wondered, just for an instant, what he was looking for and whether he found it. “I’m here to tell ye that, lass.”
“Th-Thank ye,” she whispered, staring up at him.
It seemed as though, if she looked away, her heart would break into a thousand pieces. Wasn’t that funny?
Gathering her strength, Hannah pulled her hands free and turned around.
“Would ye like a drink, me Laird?” she managed thickly. “We have mint tea. Or there’s milk, water…”
“Nay whiskey?”
She chuckled wryly. “Nay, actually, if ye can believe it. But ye are a guest, so if ye would like some, I can run over to a neighbor and ask…”
He took a step toward her, and the words faltered in her throat.
“I am nay guest,” he whispered, reaching out to cup her jaw and tilting her face up toward him. “I am here for ye, lassie. Here to tell ye that I regret sending ye away. And if ye let me, I will never send ye away again.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Ye daenae mean that.”
“Why would I nae mean that?”
