Page 36 of A Laird and a Fugitive

“I hae a lot of emotion,” he replied.

Caroline choked on a laugh. She turned her head slightly, showing him the profile of her face. He followed the shape of her dainty nose, the bow of her lips.

“Aye, anger. That is all ye are; a demon creature made of fire and brimstone. There’s nae mercy tae ye.”

“There was mercy when I saved ye and yer sisters.”

“Because I promised ye what ye wanted. Either ye are playing hard and hiding yer true nature, or ye are really devoid of emotion, and the more I get tae know ye, the more I fear the latter is true. Why dae ye even want a child? What love dae ye hae tae give tae it?”

“More than ye know,” he growled, and pushed himself up from the bed.

He noticed how she tensed as he took a step forward, but he only took one step. He angled his shoulder towards her, and the rest of the room fell away as he focused on her.

“Ye speak sae freely, as if ye know me, but what dae ye know?”

“I know that for some reason the people of this land trust and respect ye. Perhaps ye are a good Laird, but I dinnae know if that makes ye a good man.”

“Oh aye, and yer Da was both, I assume?”

Caroline flinched as he mentioned her father. Ryan curled his lip in a sneer and nodded.

“Aye, that’s right. Ye dinnae like tae think about him and what he did. I bet ye never asked him the questions. He could dae nae wrong in yer eyes. I’d wager that ye thought him a hero.”

“He was,” Caroline blurted out, wiping her eyes.

“Perhaps tae ye and yer clan, but tae me, he is a villain. Did ye ever give any thought tae the people he attacked? Did ye think that they deserved it?”

“He would only hae attacked people who were threatening him.”

“We were protecting our land.”

“Sae was he!” she turned fully towards him now, eyes blazing, arms stretched beside her.

Caroline’s entire body rose and fell with heavy breaths. Her skin was flushed. Ryan felt heat surging through his limbs. His blood moved swiftly through his body, like wind that was agitated by a storm. This situation would have been much better had Caroline accepted her position meekly, but then she would have been a shadow of herself. They stared at each other for a few moments. Then, Ryan waved his hand through the air and sank back to the bed.

“Bah, ye are never gaeing tae understand.”

“Then help me tae understand. Tell me what’s gaeing on. Tell me why ye think Da was murdered.”

Ryan sucked in his lower lip. For a moment, he considered it, but then shook his head. “For all I know, ye are a viper sent here tae poison me.”

Caroline threw her hands in the air and flung her head back. Her hands came to rest on her hips.

“Oh aye, Ryan, there are enemies all around. Ye cannae trust anyone. It must be a hard life tae live, viewing everyone with suspicion.”

“Only when I hae just cause,” he replied through gritted teeth.

“Ye brought me here. Ye captured me. Ye came after me when I escaped. Ye made me yer bride. All of this is yer daeing. How can I be the viper?”

Ryan turned his head to the side. “Perhaps it was all by design. Ye were found in my territory. Ye must hae known ye would hae been brought tae me.”

“I dinnae mean tae be captured. I wanted tae keep moving, but Nessa saw a camp and got greedy. She pushed her luck and alerted yer patrol. That’s why we were captured, nae because of some grand ploy, but just because of dumb luck. What am I even supposed tae dae here? Kill ye? With what?”

Her question was met with silence. Ryan had much to think about.

“I dinnae lie when I told ye why I came here. My uncle wanted tae marry me, and only the gods know what he hae planned for my sisters. I wanted tae escape him, nae work for him. I hae never liked him, and I want tae know the reasons ye hae for believing that he killed Da.”

“I cannae trust ye like that.”