Page 37 of Love Beyond Words
I couldn’t tell from his expression whether he knew about what had happened or not. He was totally unreadable.
“Aye. We doona expect that he will return.”
“Oh.” It felt as if a weight had lifted from my chest. I was beyond glad that I wouldn’t have to see him again.
He offered me his arm and I took it as we made our way downstairs.
“Do ye still wish to know the truth of this place?”
I nodded as I looked up into his dark brown eyes.
“Of course, I do.”
“After dinner, come and wait for me on the stairs. I must make certain that Nicol is out of the castle before I show ye. Once he is gone, I’ll come to get ye.”
I couldn’t wait for dinner to be over.
Chapter 21
Seeing her now, laughing at one of Ludo’s very unfunny jokes, her blue eyes twinkling in the candlelight, he knew one thing with certainty: he wasn’t the one with unwell eyes, Calder was as blind as a bat.
Raudrich already knew he thought her beautiful, but with his sight fully restored, Laurel truly did take his breath away.
She seemed to be having a similar effect on Maddock, and Raudrich didn’t care for it at all. The man stared at her with doe-like eyes as he laughed and smiled right along with her. For a group of men who were supposedly so weak from using their magic on him, not a one of them was having a problem conversing with her.
He and Marcus seemed to be the only one’s not enjoying dinner with the same joyous abandon as the rest of them. They sat awkwardly next to one another, neither of them saying a word until Marcus finally leaned over to speak halfway through dinner.
“Uh…I suppose it’s time that I introduce myself to you. I’m Marcus.”
Raudrich gladly took the man’s hand. He needed a distraction from watching the other men fawn all over Laurel.
“Raudrich. I am sorry I was not here to greet the two of ye when ye arrived.”
Marcus snorted and withdrew his hand.
“I’m sorry you weren’t here, too. If you had been, I wouldn’t have had reason to punch you in the nose. By the way, I really am sorry about that. I mean, if it had been how it appeared, I wouldn’t be sorry at all, but seeing that it wasn’t, I do regret breaking your nose.”
Raudrich pointed to his nose and smiled. “No worries, lad. As ye can see, ’tis fixed well enough now.”
Marcus nodded. “Good. I’m glad there are no hard feelings.”
“None at all. Ye were right to defend Laurel in such a way.” He looked across the table and glared as Maddock reached out to touch Laurel’s hand as he spoke to her. “I can assure ye, I would do the same if I saw anyone place an unwanted hand on her.”
He was tempted to smash Maddock’s nose in right this second.
Marcus followed his gaze and laughed.
“She’s oblivious to it, you know. She knows so much about love in her writing and so little about it in real life. I’ve watched grown men trip over themselves trying to get her attention, and she doesn’t notice.”
Marcus’ insight into Laurel was enough to pull his attention away from the soon-to-be-sorry Maddock.
“Love in her writing? Does she write poetry?”
“No. She writes romance novels.”
He’d never heard of such a thing.
“Romance novels?”
