“It is the same color as yer eyes,” he told her, his head tilted.
Though her mouth was open, she couldn’t find the words to answer him. It was the most beautiful hairpin she had ever seen. On one end sat a cluster of emeralds and diamonds in a circle, dancing around each other. Strands of gold were woven throughout and stretched out to form two brackets to catch hair in. She had never seen a piece quite like it.
“Nay,” she whispered. “It is the same color as yer eyes.”
She thought that would get some kind of response from him, but when he said nothing, she managed to pry her eyes away from the hairpin and back to where he stood behind her. Or at least, where he had been standing. But he had vanished, disappearing into the crowd. Her head swiveled around as she tried to find him in the throng of people. It wasn’t until she turned back to the hairpin that she found him.
Her mouth hung open as she watched him approach the booth, pointing to the hairpin. For a moment, he and the woman selling the jewelry talked and then he reached into his cloak and pulled out a handful of coins. He didn’t even bother to count it before he dropped it into the old woman’s hand and plucked the hairpin off the table.
By the time he was back by her side, she had only just managed to hinge her mouth closed.
“Cameron, ye did nae have to do that,” she told him, her words full of reproach that she didn’t really mean.
“I ken that I did nae have to do that. I wanted to and there are so few things that I want to do and am actually able to do. Please dinnae deny me this one.”
She swallowed, suddenly realizing just how close he had gotten to her. Between both of their hoods, there was no room for the world around them to creep in. It was just the two of them, eyes locked on each other as he cradled the hairpin in his hand.
“May I?”
The words barely registered though she found herself nodding anyway. He stepped even closer and slipped both of his hands beneath the hood of her cloak. With one hand holding the side of her face he used the other to tuck the pin in just above her ear, sliding the gold through her strands ever so gently.
She didn’t think she breathed the entire time he did it. Her lungs burned until he let go of her face and stepped away again.
Sunlight hit the side of her face, pulling her back into the reality of where they were standing. People still rushed around them, too focused on their own tasks to pay attention to what she and Cameron were doing. But for her, that moment had meant everything.
Never before had someone noticed what she wanted and given it to her without her having to say anything. Her father had always paid more attention to the clan and to her brother to care much for what she wanted. And Alec was always consumed with what he wanted from her to notice such a simple thing. But Cameron had seen her stare, he had paid attention to her every move. And he had acted on it before she had even realized he left her side. Emotions welled up in her chest that she had no idea how to process them. What he said next only made things harder for her.
“Charlotte, I ken that I am nae what ye expected.”
His words were heavy with his own emotions that made her want to cut him off and reassure him that everything would be fine. She opened her mouth to do just that but he reached out to grab her hand and stopped her.
“Please, let me finish.”
She nodded, staying quiet so he could say whatever was on his mind. He took in a deep breath to start again, keeping his grip on her hand the entire time.
“I ken that yer father promised ye a Laird, a true Laird. Ye expected a man who could do so many things that I can nae. Ye were promised a clan that was nae on the brink of falling apart or jumping into war with half of the highlands. Ye were promised so much more than someone like me.” He looked down, took in another breath, and then found her eyes again. “I want ye to ken that I might nae be what ye were promised, but those were the promises someone else gave ye. Now, I want to give ye mine. Charlotte, I will give ye all ye might ever want, whether it be an afternoon together or a simple bauble. I will nae give up on ye, on us, nay matter what the future might hold. I will spend the rest of my life trying my best, doing everything in my power to make ye happy. I promise that yer life with me will be a life well spent and I—”
The thunder of horses’ hooves cut off whatever he was going to say next. He tugged on her arm, pulling her to stand behind him while his eyes searched wildly for where they were coming from. People shouted at the intrusion, doing their best to protect their wares from the group of guards as they infiltrated the market.
Charlotte’s heart pounded in her chest, though she couldn’t tell if it was from the sudden appearance of all the heavily armed men or everything Cameron had just said. She didn’t have time to figure it out either as Cameron twisted back to her and started shuffling them through the crowd.
“It must be men Alastair sent for us,” he told her over her shoulder. “We have been here longer than I thought.”
She willed her feet to carry her as quickly as possible, not wanting to get Cameron into any kind of trouble. When they rounded the corner, leaving the chaos of the market behind them, they both took off into a run.
Cameron never let go of her hand, nor did he leave her side, though she knew he could easily outrun her. They didn’t stop running until they got back to the spot in the forest where they had tied their horses. It was only then that he let go of her. She instantly missed his touch.
“How much trouble do ye think we will be in with Alastair when we get back to the castle?” she asked, her chest heaving from their run, though she still wore a smile.
When Cameron didn’t answer, she turned around to find him hunched over, leaning against the tree for support. She didn’t notice at first, over the sound of her own breathing, but his chest was moving so quickly and shallowly that she knew something was wrong. His eyes were squinted shut, a hand rubbing over his chest forcefully as he tried to get air back into his lungs.
“Cameron,” she knelt in front of him. “Everything is all right. We are safe. Besides, those men would only take us back to Alastair. Everything is well. Just focus on yer breathing.”
His eyes opened to find hers, wild and glazed over a bit. Though she tried to soothe him with her words, things were only growing worse. She hated feeling so helpless, so unable to do anything for him. Noise from the village drifted up the hill and gave her an idea.
“Ye stay here. I will run back to the village to find a healer. They will ken what to do.”
She had barely pushed herself to standing when his hand shot out and grabbed hers. In surprise, she looked down at him, hating the desperate image he presented.
