Erik gave her his arm to hold and to lean on. She had been on her feet for too long after a shocking and trying day. The fact that he noticed and felt concern for her warmed her. She hoped it was a sign of the kind of husband he would be, rather than the one she feared after the way he replied to the laird’s threat.
The scents of roasted meats, breads, and other treats filled her as soon as the keep’s door opened to admit them, and her stomach rumbled. She hoped no one heard, but Mary’s grin told her she had. Erik seemed to be looking anywhere but at her, so he probably had, too.
Embarrassed heat rose in Fiona’s face, but she soon forgot it as they were escorted to the high table, an honor she had never experienced before, to sit with the Rose laird, Mary, and her youngest sister Catherine, called Cat by almost everyone in the clan. Their middle sister, Annie, had recently wed the Brodie chief, Iain, and gone to live with her husband.
Fiona was torn between excitement at the honor and dread that she would be in view of the entire clan, scrutinized, and somehow found wanting. Yet she must learn to adapt. This would be her future at Ross, always being watched and measured. She also had to be respectful of the role she had been thrust into, and interact with people differently. Erik’s half-dozen men sat just below, looking up at their laird and new lady. She wanted to sink beneath the table and into the floor.
At that moment, she caught sight of one of her childhood rivals, Callia, who gazed at her with a tight frown marring her forehead.Ye’ll make wrinkles,Fiona thought, not unkindly, until she recalled how Callia had bullied her and others as a child, always ordering the other lasses around and pushing or hitting them if she didn’t get her way. If another lass complained and got Callia punished, the harassment only got worse. As she got older, she became more subtle, ruining friendships. Even romances.Ye’ll no’ ruin this one, Fiona thought.He doesna want ye. He wants me.Calliawould never wed a laird. With her sour disposition, she’d be lucky to catch the eye of a stablehand. At least, Fiona thought as she hid a smile behind her hand and let her gaze sweep past her former nemesis, Callia had provided a potent lesson in hownotto deal with others. Fiona should thank her for that, but Callia would not understand.
“What amuses ye?”
Erik’s question startled Fiona into turning to him. He’d noticed what she was doing? Heat climbed her throat and into her face again. “’Tis naught.”
“Ye hid a smile. I’m glad to see it. I ken today has been hard for ye.”
This man was too perceptive by far. “Thank ye.”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Shall we make all the lasses of Rose jealous of yer good fortune? Ye must have some small chance before ye leave Rose to assume the mantle of a clan’s lady.”
Before she left Rose. The words stole the mirth from her chest and the smile from her face. And of course, Erik noticed that, too.
“I’m sorry, Fiona. I didna mean to?—”
“Nay,” she told him, shaking her head. “Ye are right. We are leaving as soon as ’tis safe to cross the firth. I ken it, and yet when ye put it into words, they pierced me. But I understand the need, and have agreed with all of it. Dinna fash over me.”
“’Tis my job to care for my wife, no’ to hurt yer feelings.”
“Ye have more important things waiting for ye at Ross.”
He shook his head. “Nay. Different perhaps, but nay more important than ensuring ye find a home there. With me.”
That earned him a smile. If he truly meant those words, and if his actions reflected them in the future, she could be confident she’d made the right decision in agreeing to this match.
CHAPTER 4
Fiona pulled her cream-colored woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders as she paced before the fire, second-guessing herself as she waited for Erik to join her in their chamber. Save for the absence of her two charges from Inverness, the rest of dinner and the celebration after had gone well, but then Mary and Cat had risen and taken her arms to escort her to her chamber to await her husband.
Tonight was for her husband. And for her.
Mary had loaned Fiona a nightshift. Most of the few belongings, clothes, boots, and Arabella’s jewelry that she’d brought from Inverness, along with a few things she’d left behind at Rose many years ago were already sorted, ready to be packed for the journey to Ross. If the weather favored the crossing, in the morning, they would sail on the Rossbirlinnacross the firth and land in the cove below the Ross clan’s settlement. Fiona looked forward to her first view of it, but that was for tomorrow. For tonight, none of her own gowns, Mary had opined, were lovely enough for a wedding night. Fiona worried that somehow she—or he—would ruin it, but even so, she would make a lovelier replacement to send to her friend.
How long until Erik arrived? Was he downstairs drinking his fill, and if so, how would he behave toward her? Would he stumble into bed and fall immediately asleep? Or force himself on her first? She shuddered at the idea of it. He was so big, so strong, she’d not be able to defend herself against him. If he pushed her down and lay on her, he’d crush the breath from her body.
She shook her head, dispelling the image. Why did she seem determined to assume the worst of her husband? She’d heard the stories about his predecessor, but Erik was not that man. He’d been solicitous toward her. Even kind. Surely on their wedding night, he would treat her with the care and respect any new bride deserved.
A sound at the door had her pausing in mid-step. Her heartbeat jolted from a canter to a gallop, threatening to bring her to her knees. She fought for air, for calm. Was it him? Was Erik here?
The latch lifted and the door opened slowly. Carefully.
She stood still, waiting to see what faced her.
Erik slipped quietly into the room and turned his back to close the door softly, then locked it. He took a breath and turned to where she stood, giving her a beguiling smile.
So he had seen her before he turned away to secure the door. She hadn’t been certain.
“I thought ye might be asleep by now, and I didna wish to disturb ye,” he explained. “’Twas a tiring day for ye, aye?” He took a step toward her.
Fiona held her ground and found her voice. “I have waited for ye. I didna ken…” She let her voice trail off. The list of things she didn’t know about what came next was too long to go into.
