She smiled wistfully. She only had good memories when it came to her parents. “My father. When I was young, he wanted me to be able to keep track of the household I would one day beresponsible for.” Thoughts of Victor entered her mind, but she quickly willed them away.
“And did ye?” Lizzie asked.
“Did I what?”
“Keep your eye on the books? Or have ye no household to oversee yet?”
Jocelyn shifted in her seat, and took a sip of sherry as she pondered her answer. “I did have a household, yes. However, I was not allowed access to the books.”
Lizzie frowned. “Why e’er no’? ’Twas your house, aye?”
Jocelyn pressed her lips together as she stared into the flames, watching them twist and turn violently together. It reminded her of the violent fights she would have with Victor.
Leaning over, Lizzie patted her arm. “I’m sorry. Ye have no need to answer my prying questions.” She laughed. “Malcolm says I get carried away and ask too much.”
Jocelyn smiled. “It’s not that. I-I’m just not ready to talk about some things yet.”
“Say no more. Let’s move to more pleasant conversation. “What do ye think of Gunn?”
Jocelyn choked on the sip of sherry she just took, making her cough and sputter, as she tried to catch her breath.
Lizzie hurried over to her, patting her on the back. “Are ye well? Gunn will no’ be happy if he finds out I killed ye from choking.”
Jocelyn heaved in a shaky breath and smirked. “Excuse me for that. I must have swallowed wrong.”
“Hmmm. I think it had more to do with the question I asked. I saw the stolen looks between ye two o’er dinner.”
Jocelyn scoffed. “Whatever are you talking about?” But she knew what Lizzie asked about. Though she didn’t think they were being obvious. Apparently, they were.
“Ye ken exactly what I speak of, but ’tis fine. I will leave the subject alone for now. Though, he is handsome, is he no’?”
“You have a husband,” Jocelyn said quietly, looking around the room to make sure no one had entered and overheard their conversation.
“I do. And I must say, in his group of friends, there isna an unattractive one in the bunch. All five of them are handsome. Caring. And love hard. Gunn is no exception.”
She did agree that Malcolm was handsome. Not as much as Gunn. Gunn’s gruff exterior and teddy bear interior appealed to her. For what reason, she couldn’t comprehend. Someone who looked perpetually irked wasn’t someone that she would normally find attractive, but for Gunn, it worked. Mayhap because she kept seeing glimpses of the kind and caring man break through his gruffness.
Lizzie waggled a finger at her. “I see ye thinking about it. I canna blame ye one bit. Gunn is a great man. He deserves a great woman in his life. He’s long overdue.”
With a sigh, Jocelyn crossed her legs. “I don’t think I can be the woman that he needs.”
“Balderdash,” Lizzie blurted. “As I said, I saw the looks. Malcolm, too. If he had no interest in ye, he wouldna have invited ye to join us for dinner. One thing about Gunn, he’s pig-headed. Stubborn. Ne’er wants to admit to aught. No’ e’en to himself. His tell is in his gestures. So him asking ye to dinner? That was a big step for him.”
“I, I don’t know what to say.”
“Ye needna say aught. Just keep watching him and the things he does. That will tell ye e’erything ye need to ken.”
Would it? Jocelyn wasn’t sure. Of course, Gunn had been nothing but kind to her, but kindness didn’t mean anything more than that. Lizzie herself said he was a nice man. A caringman. His actions so far just seemed to fall in line with his personality.
“Och, has he asked ye to join him on holiday?” Lizzie asked. “Gunn handed us an invite to spend some time at his home. He invited his other friends and their families as well.”
“Gunn doesn’t live here?” She was confused.
Lizzie laughed. “Nay, of course no’. He has a home. A castle actually.” She cocked her head to the side. “Has he not been back home since ye’ve arrived?” She nodded her head slowly. “See, I told ye. He has his own way of showing his feelings.”
“I don’t know where he has been staying at night. Just that I have seen him every day since I came to town. Both early in the morn and late at night. So, I just assumed he lived here.”
“He owns multiple houses. He has a country house as well.”
