Page 82 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
“The only reason ye have refused to talk about her is either because ye hate her—which is nae the case, since she is still in the castle—or because ye want with her.”
Evander swallowed hard, unable to form words.
“So, ‘tis the latter,” Arthur whispered, laughing. “Ye have to do something about that, Evander.”
“’Tis nae that simple.”
“’Tis incredibly simple to me, from where I stand. Ye ask her to marry ye, and she will. I ken she would’ve found a way out of the castle if she dinnae care for ye as well,” Arthur continued.
“Nay. she’s only here because she has nowhere to go,” Evander retorted.
A slight smirk tugged at Arthur’s lips. “Shewouldhave found a way out of the castle if she dinnae have feelings forye,” he insisted, his voice clearer.
Evander swallowed. “I dinnae ken what to do.”
Arthur leaned closer. “Ask her to marry ye at the cèilidh.”
“She’s nae coming.”
“Oh, she is.”
“Nay, she told me that she wouldnae be there.”
“Evander, trust me,” Arthur urged, his voice drowned out by the multiple conversations around them. “She will be there.”
The slow dance was only a few minutes away from starting when she walked in. Evander had searched the room for her for hours earlier, hoping—no,prayingthat she didn’t make good on her promise not to attend. His hopes were, in fact, about to get dashed when she walked in. His eyes found her almost immediately.
She stood at the entrance, her fingers intertwined, her eyes sweeping over the room. At that moment, it felt to Evander as if everything had stopped. The music, the murmurs, the footsteps of the guests milling around. Everything suddenly faded into the background, and all he could see was her.
She was wearing a deep blue dress that seemed to catch the flickering firelight. Her bodice was intricately designed and embroidered with crystals and jewels. A string of white pearls rested around her neck, and her hair had been swept up into an elegant updo.
He felt like he was staring at a completely different person, someone he would not be able to resist, no matter how hard he tried when it came down to it. Her eyes, on the other hand, continued to search the hall until they landed on him.
A long look passed between them. Like they were the only ones in the room, communicating with nothing but their eyes. Then,she smiled at him. Not the wide, mischievous smile that she usually gave, not the kind he could paint from memory, but a wane smile. One that didn’t reach her eyes.
A hand on his arm jolted him back to the present, and he turned to find Arthur, who had a smile on his face.
“I told ye she would come, did I nae?”
Evander didn’t respond. He looked back at the doorway. She was no longer there. His eyes found her almost immediately as she mingled with the other guests.
“Are ye going to keep staring at her, or are ye going to do something about it?”
Evander raised his glass to his lips and took a sip of his drink. “’Tis nae that easy.”
“’Tis the easiest thing in the world. Ye would walk up to her and ask for a dance.”
Hector, who seemed to be listening in on their conversation, joined them, the same knowing smile on his face. “Is this about Lady Blythe?”
“Aye,” Arthur responded. “And our courageous friend here, who has refused to talk to her.”
“’Tis nae that easy, Arthur.”
“Why? Ye just walk up to her and ask her to dance,” Hector pointed out.
“Look, I already informed her that she could find a husband here—that was before we had an altercation. Now that she’s here, I ken she’s trying to find a husband.”
Arthur sighed. “Ach. Well, if ye plan nae to do anything about it, perhaps I will.”
