Page 24 of Craved By a Highland Beast

Alaric fell silent but that was all the response Evan needed to know the truth. Neither of them wanted to be forced into a marriage, but Alaric wouldn’t have to, at least not any time soon.It was only Evan, as the laird of the clan, who had to marry and produce heirs. He understood his duty, he did, but he wanted to choose for himself. If he had to marry, then he wanted it to happen on his own terms.

“Dinnae fash,” said Alaric. “Ye’ll surely have yer pick. The council will give ye plenty o’ options.”

Perhaps that much was true, Evan thought. They were a powerful clan and he had the reputation of being a just man, if a little terrifying to those who didn’t know him well. It didn’t hurt that many women found him handsome. With any luck, he would have his pick of noble girls.

And yet, even as this thought was supposed to bring him some relief, it did nothing to lift his mood. He could have been thinking about his future, with a beautiful and kind wife, with children he could raise and shape into the next generation of the clan. He could have been thinking about all the great moments he could have with such a family by his side.

And yet the only thing on his mind was Bonnie, the thought of her haunting him in all his waking moments.

CHAPTER TEN

The moment Bonnie stepped out of the warmth of the castle, she immediately regretted ever suggesting taking a walk. In the heat of the moment, she had said the first thing that popped to mind just to diffuse the tension between Laird Ruthven and Evan, but now that she was in the gardens with him, the two of them walking side by side as Bonnie desperately held her cloak around her shoulders in an attempt to remain warm, she wished she had never opened her mouth.

Evan could have dealt with the consequences of his actions. He was a grown man and he deserved what he would get, she thought.

And yet the prospect of allowing him to ruin his own plan when it had only just been set in motion was terrifying to Bonnie. Evan and Alaric were the only ones between her and this unwanted marriage, so if she had to suffer walking in the cold, then it was a small price to pay.

“Dae ye like the gardens, Miss MacLaren?” Ruthven asked, drawing her out of her thoughts. “I must admit it is a more pleasant sight in spring, when everythin’ blooms.”

Bonnie looked around at the trees and the bare bushes that were scattered around the gardens, trying to imagine the place in full bloom. There were plants there she recognized from what she knew about healing, plants that would paint the entire place in their vivid colors the moment the weather warmed.

She was certain it would be a majestic sight. Even now, though, all the greenery was enough to suffuse the place with the beauty of nature.

“It is lovely,” she said, giving Ruthven the most genuine smile, she could muster. In the short time she had spent there, she hadn’t seen him treat anyone the way he had treated that servant at the Hamilton feast, and he had been nothing but a gentleman to her, speaking politely and keeping his distance, but making his interest in her known.

Perhaps it had been only a drunken mistake. Perhaps he isnae as violent as I thought.

Bonnie still didn’t trust him, though, and she doubted she ever would, especially after Evan’s and Alaric’s warnings.

Evan . . . why must he act so strangely?

Could it be it was jealousy that drove him to speak such words to Ruthven? No, Bonnie thought, surely it couldn’t be anything as petty as that. It was no secret that Evan hated Ruthven. He must have lost his self-control upon seeing him, his anger getting the better of him. That was all it was; she doubted she had anything to do with it.

“What is yer favourite place in the castle, me laird?” Bonnie asked, trying to steer the conversation towards something that could get her information. “Surely, ye must spend a lot o’ time in yer study, aye?”

“Och aye,” said Ruthven. “Most o’ me days are spent there.”

The wind blew past Bonnie, pulling her hair out of its updo and stinging her eyes. She had half a mind to tell Ruthven to head back inside, but he was quick to notice her discomfort and placed a hand on her shoulder, steering her so that they were walking with the wind to their backs. He seemed to be in no rush to head back inside, and Bonnie convinced herself it was for the best. She had him all alone. It was the perfect chance to get something out of him, no matter how small.

“It must be lonely,” she said.

“It can be,” said Ruthven. “But once we wed, I will have ye tae keep me company.”

Bonnie forced her smile to remain on her lips, even as it trembled. “O’ course,” she said. “Though I doubt ye would wantme tae sit with ye in yer study. I’m sure ye have plenty tae dae every day.”

“I dinnae mind yer presence. Quite the opposite, in fact. I find that I am enjoyin’ it very much,” Ruthven said. “Besides, I am used tae havin’ several people in the study. There are always maids comin’ in an’ out, always some Chieftain who desires somethin’.”

“Maids?” Bonnie asked, remembering what Evan had said about Ruthven being a philanderer. She could see it; Ruthven was a handsome man and it wouldn’t surprise her if the maids who came to his study did more than just serve him food and drink.

“They are . . . curious,” said Ruthven, giving no further explanation. “So much so that I must keep everythin’ important in another room.”

Bonnie stumbled but quickly regained her footing, trying not to show the interest in her expression or her tone when she spoke. “Another room?”

Could this be what she needed? If there was a room where Ruthven kept all his important items, then the documents about him and Balliol would surely be there. She couldn’t show just how much she wanted him to keep talking, though, and so she had to tread carefully, making sure he suspected nothing.

“Aye,” said Ruthven. “I carry the key with me at all times so they cannae enter it. They an’ nae one else either.”

Ruthven offered no more information and Bonnie didn’t know how to ask for it. She couldn’t outright ask him for the location of that room or interrogate him on its contents without appearing suspicious, and so she decided to change the topic entirely. The little she had found out would have to do for now, she thought, and then she would try to gather more information as the days went by.

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