“Tomorrow morning, wear one of yer comfortable dresses, and bring that with ye,” Kaden said, with a nod to her journal.
With that, he left the room.
22
For most of his life, Kaden was aware that people made snap judgments about him or the things he chose to do.
It was a big part of the reason why he had become so closed off. He didn’t like having to explain himself. He didn’t really like being asked questions after the years of torture for information that he didn’t have and didn’t know anything about.
If Emily had decided that she didn’t want to hear the truth from him and would much rather make her own assumptions, he wasn’t going to force anything otherwise. But since she had become important to him, he would give it one last shot. As Shona said, he could make a gesture and prove just how important she was to him.
Even if it was uncomfortable.
Kaden did feel rather foolish sitting atop his horse like this in the early morning hours. Emily had started coming down for breakfast to uphold her end of the bargain, but she would rush off directly after. It wasn’t presenting the right front for them.
There was no telling if she was even going to come to him after he had invited her, and the sun was already starting to rise higher in the sky.
Just when he was about to give up, she walked out of the castle. Her journal was clutched safely against her chest. She wore her wariness in every inch of her face, butmercy, she was a vision. It had become rather impossible to tear his eyes away from her when they shared a space.
Even yesterday afternoon, when she had been so cross with him, he hadn’t wanted to leave her room. It wasn’t in his nature to leave an argument half finished either. He had spent far too many years of his life being uncomfortable to continue.
The knot in his chest slowly started to loosen. He took this to mean that at least he had a chance at resolving the issue.
“I am still angry with ye.” It was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
“Does that affect yer ability to ride a horse?” he asked.
Her eyebrow rose. “With ye? It might.”
“If ye prefer to walk, just say the word.” Kaden sat back in the saddle, waiting for her answer.
Emily cast a long look down the road that he clearly intended for them to take. Trees as far as the eye could see. He doubted very much that she knew her way through the forest, as she had only made that ride a couple of times.
He watched her make her stubborn calculations, and when she was finished, he patted the saddle in front of him. She passed her journal to him, as if she was going to mount on her own. But Kaden swung down from his horse and lifted her easily up into the saddle.
He wished that he could say he was enough of a gentleman to ignore the flashes of leg that he got as a result, but he wasn’t. He admired every inch of skin that he saw with relish. Memories of her taste and her little moans flooded him, and suddenly, he doubted this was the best way to make things better with her.
No, he had a mission.
He mounted behind her and might have enjoyed wrapping his arms around her a little bit more than he otherwise ought to, but he wasn’t going to apologize for it either.
Their journey to the village was short but silent. She made no complaints about their proximity, and every attempt at conversation that he made fell short.
This must be the version of her that most people got, and he had to say that he wasn’t exactly fond of it.
The moment the village came into view, Emily gasped, as if the sight in front of her was something novel that she hadn’t seen before.
From the limited interactions that he had with her father, Kaden supposed that it wasn’t all that surprising that she hadn’t gotten out of her home often. She didn’t ask any questions, but he slowed down as they rode down the streets with the shops that seemed to catch her attention the most. Dressmakers and apothecaries, the village square, and then finally the reason for their visit—the bookshop.
Kaden dismounted and tethered his horse before reaching for Emily’s hand. She hesitated for a moment before accepting it.
“Where have ye brought me?”
Kaden glanced up at the very obvious sign above the bookshop and raised an eyebrow instead of answering what he assumed was a redundant question.
“What are we doing here?” Emily asked.
Kaden moved to the door and pulled it open for her to walk in, which she did, albeit anxiously.
