He inclined his head. “I’d be grateful.”
He couldn’t help but notice how practiced and fluid her movements were. Duncan watched her for a moment, then spoke again, unable to keep quiet around her.
“I thought ye were avoiding me… especially after last night.”
Her hand stilled.
Color rose swiftly in her cheeks as she busied herself with the pot. “I was nae avoiding ye,” she said too quickly. “I’ve simply been busy.”
“Aye,” he said gently. “So have I.”
She turned away from him, clearly intending to end the subject, but Duncan stepped closer. His aim was not to crowd her. He just wanted to be close enough that she could not quite retreat into the task. He reached out slowly, giving her time to pull back, and lifted her chin with two fingers.
She froze.
“Look at me,” he said softly.
Her eyes met his at last. They were wide, uncertain, and bright with something she had not yet learned how to hide. The firelight caught in them, and he felt again that dangerous pull, stronger now for being restrained.
“Ye’ve nothing tae be shy about,” he continued in that same soft and tender manner. “And naething tae apologize fer. What happened was nae a failing.”
Her breath caught.
“And ye can trust me,” he added, not as laird, not as protector, but as a man offering truth. “I will nae force ye intae anything, be that answers, confessions, or comfort. I only want ye tae ken that.”
For a long moment, she said nothing. The pot bubbled softly between them, while the night pressed close around the hearth.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
For a moment, for one fragile, trembling moment, Elaina considered telling him the truth… the whole of it.
He stood so close she could feel the warmth of him, steady and real, his fingers still beneath her chin, not demanding or restraining, only there. He had shown her nothing but patience since arriving at this castle. He had shown her kindness, and protection offered without cruelty. And he was right, whether she liked it or not. Shewasa stranger he had brought into his home, and she had met his care with sharp words and distance.
Guilt twisted through her chest.
I am nae ungrateful.I am terrified.
Her thoughts raced, tumbling over one another. She wanted to tell him that fear ruled her nights, that it followed her even here, that discovery would not mean embarrassment or discomfortbut something far worse. She wanted to tell him she did not know what would happen to her if she were found, only that it would be irrevocable.
But the words lodged in her throat.
Because once spoken, they could not be taken back. And secrets, once shared, could become weapons in the wrong hands.
She was acutely aware of his gaze, of the quiet intensity in it, the way he waited without pressing. It made her chest ache. It made her want foolish, dangerous things.
She wanted him to pull her into his arms, to wrap that steadiness around her and hold fast. She wanted to feel his strength not as a distant promise, but as something tangible and sheltering. She wanted him to tell her that everything would be all right.
The want startled her with its force. She had learned long ago not to want things she could not keep.
The scent reached her a moment too late.
“Oh!” Elaina turned sharply, pulling away from him as she rushed back to the cauldron.
She stirred quickly, lifting the pot from the heat before it could turn bitter. The sudden movement broke the fragile stillness between them as decisively as if a door had been shut.
She set the pot aside with a small sigh. “It’s overdone,” she said, more briskly than necessary. “Yer milk will have tae suffice tonight.”
Duncan watched her for a moment, then nodded. “I doubt anything would help much, truth be told.”
