Page 57 of Long Live the King

He looked like he was mulling it over.

I said, “...just so you know, I mean what I say... I’m fiercely loyal if...”

He said, “I ken ye are loyal, ye are named after the Ash tree. Tis the Tree of Life, ye ken, it carries all the best qualities, goodness, fertility, interconnectedness, ye couldna hae a bad quality with such a grand name.”

I squinted, his fingers rubbing back and forth on the back of my hand. “Are we dating?”

He grinned. “What does this mean? We are on a date, eatin’ a meal.”

“I mean, we’re talking like we’redating,like I’m waiting for you to get back and you’re holding my hand, are we... you know?”

“I daena ken much about the culture of Amelia Island, Florida, but ye hae allowed me tae hold yer hand. This is an honor and I am certain it means we are datin’.”

The waitress placed our pizza in the center of the table and I pulled a slice to my plate. Then because I had gotten a bit of cheese on my fingers and I figured I might as well continue, I picked up another slice. He raised his plate. I maneuvered the piece to his plate. He said, “Thank ye, Mistress Ash.”

It had been a little like serving him but the ‘Mistress Ash’ made it worth it.

I took a bite of pizza then asked, “Where does that come from, calling me Mistress?”

“Growin’ up we had tae use a title afore the name, tis habit, I suppose. Ye daena like it?”

“Oh I like it, it’s very... what would I call you?”

His brow raised, “I would be called Laird Lochinvar, but ye daena hae tae, we are already on a first name basis.”

“Laird Lochinvar... interesting.”

He smiled. “Yet most call me by a shortened name — only Lochie. Laird Lochinvar sounds as if I am much aulder.”

I said, “How old are you?”

He shrugged, then said, “I feel somedays as if I am hundreds of years auld.”

“Laird Lochinvar sounds like you’re hundreds of years old, so I will call you Lochie...”

He tilted his head back, “There is also a more personal way tae speak tae me...”

“What would that be?”

“M’laird.” When he said it, he was unmistakably saying My Laird, but putting it together with a bit of a long A sound in it.

“My laird...” I tried it out, “m’laird...? I would call you that if we were close?”

“Och aye, ye would call me that if we were close.”

“Good, m’laird.” I smiled.

He said, “Och aye, Mistress Ash, ye ken the way tae m’heart.”

I sighed, then shook my head as if coming out of a daze. “Hold on, now... Whatisthis? We barely know each other.”

He shrugged again. “We ken enough.”

“I know literally nothing about you.”

“Ye ken that ye like me, tis good enough, I like ye, that is verra fine, we will learn the rest over time.”

I laughed. “You are so odd sometimes... the things you say!”

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