Page 46 of The Laird's Vengeful Desire
“I’m askin’, nae commandin’. There’s a difference.”
Is there?
But curiosity won over pride, and she found herself reaching for her cloak. “Where are we goin’?”
“Somewhere ye might actually be able tae sleep without nightmares.”
The words were an unexpected gift, hitting her deeply. He’d noticed her sleeplessness, remembered her struggles with the terrors that plagued her nights. The fact that he paid such close attention to her wellbeing sent a warm flutter through her that she tried desperately to ignore.
“Lead on, then,” she said, wrapping the cloak around her shoulders.
Ian guided her through corridors she’d never seen before, down servants’ stairs and through passages that seemed designed for discretion rather than ceremony. Finally, they emerged into the castle’s walled garden, where moonlight painted everything in shades of silver and shadow.
Rhona gasped at the sight that greeted her. In the center of the garden, Ian had spread a thick woolen blanket among the dormant rose bushes. Pillows had been arranged for comfort, and a small basket sat nearby, presumably containing refreshments.
“What is this?” she breathed.
“A place where ye can see the sky,” Ian replied simply. “I thought… if closed spaces seem tae be what’s troublin’ ye, perhaps the open air might help.”
The thoughtfulness of the gesture struck her speechless. When was the last time someone had gone to such trouble for her comfort? When had anyone ever paid such careful attention to her needs?
“Ian…” she began, but found herself unable to finish the thought.
“Lie down,” he said gently, settling onto the blanket himself. “Just look.”
Rhona hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered herself onto the soft wool. The moment she tilted her head back, her eyes grew wide with wonder.
The Highland sky stretched endlessly above them like a vast, velvet tapestry sewn with diamonds, each star brilliant and clear in the thin mountain air. The moon hung full and luminous,casting everything in ethereal beauty that made the garden feel almost magical, like something from a fairy tale.
“’Tis bonnie,” she whispered.
“Aye,” Ian agreed, though when she glanced at him, she found he was looking at her, rather than the sky.
They lay in comfortable silence for several minutes, the only sounds the whisper of wind through the bare branches and the distant call of a nightjar. Rhona felt her body gradually relaxing, the tension that had plagued her for days slowly melting away.
“Tell me about yer childhood,” Ian said out of the blue.
“What about it?”
“Anythin’. What ye loved, what ye feared, what made ye laugh.” His voice was low and warm in the darkness. “I want tae ken who ye were before all this.”
The request was so unexpectedly intimate that Rhona practically felt her defenses waver. “Why?”
“Because I’ve seen ye as a prisoner, as a healer and as a teacher, but not as just… Rhona.”
The simple honesty in his words undid something in her chest. “Ironically enough, I used tae sneak out tae watch the stars,”she admitted quietly. “Me maither would tell us tales about the constellations, and I’d lie in the garden fer hours, makin’ up me own tales.”
“What sort of tales?”
“Adventures, mostly. Stories where I was the hero instead of just the laird’s daughter waitin’ tae be married off.” She smiled at the memory. “I had this grand fantasy that I’d become a great healer, travelin’ the Highlands and savin’ lives as far as me feet could carry me.”
“It wasnae just fantasy,” Ian said quietly. “Ye did become a great healer.”
“I’m nae great at anythin’.” Rhona protested. “I just learned what I could from Margot.”
“Ye saved me eye.”
“Igaveye a black eye.”
