He studied her for another moment, then gave a brief order to the nearest man and stepped away from the yard with her.
They stopped at the edge of the training grounds. The sound of the men practicing was still present, but it had dulled.
Ava clasped her hands together to stop herself from fidgeting.
“Well?” he prompted.
“Ye told me last night that I might set conditions.”
“I did.”
“Then I shall.”
He folded his arms. “Now?”
Her eyes remained on his face. “Aye. Now. Why would I call ye here?”
“So ye have thought of these conditions?”
Ava narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “Are ye trying to confuse me?”
He blinked. “What?”
“Ye want to confuse me so I forget what rules they are?”
“It depends.” He took a step closer to her. “Are ye?”
He was so close that she could smell his sweat and feel the heat of him from where she stood. “Am I what?”
“Confused?” His voice dropped.
Keep yer eyes on his face, Ava. Keep. Yer. Eyes. On. His. Face.
“Nay, I am nae,” she responded, her voice sharper than she had intended.
A brief silence passed between them, in which Ava used to gather her strength. A while later, she exhaled through her nose.
“If I am to marry ye, then I willnae marry a stranger who means to remain one. I want one hour each day. At least. Supper, a walk, some shared activity—I daenae much care which. But I willnae live in yer castle as though I were a well-bred ghost.”
His left eyebrow rose. “One hour.”
“Aye.”
“That is yer first condition.”
“It is.”
He said nothing, so she pressed on before he could flatten the matter with silence.
“I also want companionship. Effort. I willnae stand quietly in the place assigned to me while ye do things that make people think ye daenae have a wife.”
That sharpened him slightly, though his expression did not change.
“And ye arenae to touch me unless I fall in love.”
This time, his reaction was immediate.
“I daenae want to fall in love, Ava. That is the last thing I want.”
