“I think that should fix it. At least for now. Once we get back to the castle, have yer maid send it off to the cobbler. If he cannae fix it, he will ken where we can buy another pair.”
“That really is nae necessary. I have several other pairs of shoes to replace these,” she told him, blustering at his offer.
He didn’t argue with her as he gently set her foot back on the gravel. She tested it out, rolling her foot and putting weight on it, unsurprised to find that the shoe gave her no more problems.
Pleased with his work, Laird Knox rose from where he had been crouched, standing directly in front of her again. Their eyes met again, but this time, he didn’t let them linger. He quickly stepped to the side and offered her his arm again, ready to resume their walk.
“Thank ye, Laird Knox.” Her voice was quiet and shy, but she still felt the need to speak up. “Ye are a verra kind man.”
“Cameron. Please, call me Cameron,” he insisted. “And truly, it was nae difficult. I spent several years working with a cobbler, practicing shoe makin’ and mendin’—yer little shoe gave me nae trouble at all.”
She nodded, trying not to look too confused as to why he would have spent any time at all working with a shoemaker.
“Well, thank ye anyway. I would have hated to end our walk so soon.”
As soon as she realized what she said, she braced for the feelings of embarrassment to rush in. She had just admitted to him that she was enjoying their time together. But a few seconds passed and the feelings never came.
Perhaps it was because he had admitted to enjoying their walk first or perhaps it was because this was the first time she had spent a morning with anyone where she didn’t feel like any demands were being made on her. Cameron was content just to be in her presence.
While there was a constant underlying pressure that their budding relationship bloom into a marriage, it was a pressure that came from everyone except for Cameron. In her estimations, he was just as unsure about the arrangement as she was. So when he suggested they go for a walk or when he asked her a question about herself or when he did something kind for her, it wasn’t because he was trying to gain something from her. He offered and asked things because he wanted to. It was the most refreshing realization.
And luckily for her, they both seemed just as ready to forgive the social faux pas the other one made. She wouldn’t comment on how he claimed to work with shoes for years or how his sun-kissed skin didn’t match the description of a Laird. She would turn the other way when he couldn’t figure out how to hold a knife correctly or when he insisted on her calling him by his given name much too soon. And he, in turn, would stay silent when she confessed that she was enjoying spending time with him.
She had been told it was much better to appear mysterious and never over eager with a suitor, but Cameron was different. He wasn’t just any suitor, he was her betrothed according to her father. And her honesty seemed vital to their still unfamiliar relationship.
A loud bang from over the hedge infiltrated their walk once more, making her jump. Her fingers squeezed his arm in surprise, garnering a playfully sympathetic look from Cameron.
“It appears as though the men have started their training for the day,” he said by way of explanation. “They can make such a ruckus.”
“Will ye nae be joining them? Alastair mentioned ye had training today. I dinnae want to keep ye from anything important.”
She spoke sincerely, though she couldn’t keep the hint of disappointment out of her voice. She wasn’t ready to leave his side just yet. He was the only friendly face she had seen around the castle, besides her own maid. And Alec, of course. She knew that as soon as they parted, she would be spending the rest of the afternoon in her chambers, waiting for the dinner bell to be rung.
“Och, nay. I think I can forgo the trainin’ today. Alastair will bluster, of course, but what is the point of bein’ the Laird if I dinnae have a bit of say so in my day? Besides, what I am doing now is certainly important enough for it to take my time.”
She smiled up at his response, her cheeks flushing once more.
“It is only going to get louder, though. Perhaps there is another part of the castle ye would like to see that is away from all the noise?”
Charlotte chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to think of where she wanted to go. She considered the portrait gallery or the Great Hall, but neither of those places interested her enough. After another moment, she looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes and a shy smile.
“Do ye have a library?”
He nodded, giving her a smile of his own, before turning them around and heading back towards the entrance of the castle.
“I am surprised ye have nae seen it already,” he told her as their heels clicked against the stone floor. “It sits verra close to the study and only a few doors down from the dining room where we ate last night and this mornin’.”
“I must admit, yer maids are verra efficient, which is a wonderful thing when it comes to running a castle,” she hedged. “But they walked so quickly that I hardly knew where I was before they walked off again. I was nae able to ask them any questions about the castle, unfortunately.”
He chuckled at her admission. It was a warm, musical sound that she hadn’t expected but couldn’t be any morehim. His laugh was deep with just the slightest hint of rasp. It sent shivers down her spine, that she hoped he didn’t notice. They had spent only an hour or two together and he was already affecting her.
“Aye, I ken how ye feel. I find it is best to stay out of their way, let them do their jobs, and find the answers I want on my own.”
“And ye were going to leave me to one of them to show me around the castle,” she gasped in mock horror, teasing him.
“Ye must think I am just awful,” he joked right back. “Perhaps this will make up for it.”
They stopped walking and he lowered his shoulders until he was only a few inches away from her face. Her breath froze in her lungs as she waited to see what he would do next. He dropped his arm, letting her hand fall from his elbow. In one smooth motion, he caught her fingers and wrapped them up with his own. Her heart hammered in her chest, loud enough that she was sure the entire castle could hear it. He shifted just a little bit closer, closing the already small gap between them.
