He glanced up at her, his cheeks red, though she pretended not to notice.
“I could help ye, if ye wanted.”
The words spilled out of her in a rush. She didn’t want him to think she thought him foolish or unintelligent, but she also didn’t want to stand by and watch him struggle endlessly. In the space that stretched between her offer and his reply, Charlotte held her breath. She couldn’t tell if she had just made a grave misstep or if it would be another opportunity to spend more time with him. She was surprised to find just how much she wanted it to be the later when a week ago, she would have done almost anything to get sent home again.
“I would appreciate that.”
He uttered the four simple words as if they were little more than a dinner invitation, but from the look on his face, she knew it meant more to him than that. Not wanting to cause him any embarrassment, she showed little reaction beyond a nod before she moved to sit beside him on the sofa.
“What book are ye reading?” she asked, easing into it.
He held up the cover for her to see. Her eyebrows shot up at the title, surprised to find he had chosen such a difficult text to start with.
“Well, nay wonder ye are having such troubles. That book would take me ages to get through.”
“Ye ken of it?”
“Aye. My father once punished my brother by making him read it. The punishment ended as soon as Blake had finished and could answer a few questions about it, but it took him almost two months to read all of it. He complained every night about how dreadfully boring and dull it was.”
Cameron turned his eyes back to the book as though he was seeing it for the first time. He thumbed through the pages, scanning them for proof that she was telling the truth. He must have found it as he closed the book and set it on the table before looking back to her expectantly.
“What do ye suggest then?”
She gave him a smile and made her way to the shelves.
“I dinnae ken how much ye ken yet,” she explained keeping her back to him to save them both the embarrassment of having this conversation. “If it is just the larger words ye get stuck on, then this might be a good fit,” she pulled a book, “but if there is more ye need to learn, I think we should start here.”
Holding out her two choices, she let him look at them.
“Fairy tales?” he questioned, the few images scattered throughout each of the stories giving their content away.
“I ken it may nae be what ye would rather read, but it will keep things interesting.”
He nodded slowly, not bothering to argue with her about it. A moment more of consideration and he handed her back the book he wanted to start with.
“Let’s begin here and if it is too simple then we can move to the harder book.”
“That is an excellent idea.”
And so, they began. She sat beside him once more, though with the book perched halfway on her lap and halfway on his, they were forced to sit much closer than she had anticipated. It took all of her concentration to focus on the words on the page rather than how he smelled of leather and oak trees and fresh grass.
“I think it is best if we begin with ye reading out loud. That is easier than trying to sound things out in yer head.”
Slowly, they worked through the pages until he was able to read the story, start to finish, without her help. She taught him all the same tips and tricks that she had been told when she was a girl. He picked it up almost as quickly as he had table manners earlier in the week; it certainly took him less time than it had taken her to learn to read.
Neither of them noticed the hours passing or the sunlight fading. They were both too engrossed in their task and in each other to pay it any attention. But when Charlotte did manage to look up and out towards the window, she couldn’t hide her surprise.
“We have been in here all afternoon,” she told him with a start.
He picked his head up from the book and followed her gaze.
“It seems we have.” He paused. “I cannae remember the last time I was so focused on what I was doing that I did nae pay attention to the time. Alastair is going to make a fuss when he discovers I did nae accomplish anything today.”
“I would argue that ye accomplished much. Learning a new skill is nay wee thing.”
He shrugged though she could see in his eyes that her words had had an effect.
“How is it that a man can become a Laird, but he does nae ken how to read? Or did nae ken,” she corrected with a proud smile.
