Page 53 of When the Laird Claims
“Then ye are even more of a fool than I assumed ye were. I thought that ye had less of yer faither in ye than that.” Sophie placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. “Ye mean to tell me that ye are just fine with her leavin’?”
That wasn’t what he was saying at all, but he knew perfectly well that Victoria wasn’t ever going to look at him the same after he did what he knew that he was going to have to do.
Arran cut his mother a glance and then pushed fully off the wall. “I suppose that ye are right that we need to speak at least. If we are to be passable as a betrothed pair, then I suppose we cannae spend the night avoiding one another.”
Victoria didn’t turn around when he grew closer, but he knew from the way her chin dipped and how shealmostglanced over her shoulder that she felt him approaching. Kristin smiled and held her hands out to him.
“It has been such a long time since I’ve had both of me hands free that I almost forgot what it felt like,” Kristin said with a smile.
Arran nodded. She looked happy, as she used to before all of this happened.
“I convinced her to escort me,” Victoria said, concentrating solely on his sister.
Kristin laughed. “It didnae take much, in the end. I could hear the music and… I couldnae resist.”
“Aye, well, I came to see if the lass would honor me with a dance?” Arran said, leaving his intention vague. He meant Victoria, but if Kristin jumped in first, maybe that would be for the better.
He was overly conscious of Victoria’s every movement. He could see the way her pulse in her slender neck started to race, and the way that her breath hitched ever so slightly. He never should have indulged in the temptation of her, never should have learned what it was like to give her pleasure, to know her body that intimately; he was far too attuned to her movements and how she reacted to him.
“I think he means ye,” Kristin said, with a wink at her brother.
Victoria turned at last, but would not meet his eyes. She extended her hand out toward him, and he, of course, accepted it. “I thank you for the invitation, but I do not know how to dance like this…” She admitted in a small voice.
“Nay better time to learn than the present.”
“Everyone is moving so quickly, and I fear that I shall not be able to keep up.”
“Do ye nae dance in England?”
“Of course we do, but nothing like this!” Victoria said as her eyes widened slightly.
“Ye daenae have to be perfect. The point of the dance is to have fun. It’s mostly just a lot of jumpin’ around. I’m sure that ye can handle that,” Arran answered. “Besides, I’ll be there with ye. Ye have always been good at takin’ direction.”
Victoria flushed pink in the apples of her cheeks and kept her face focused anywhere other than him. He felt very much as if he were playing with fire.
“Ye look beautiful, by the way. Ye play the bride-to-be very well.”
Victoria shrugged before they started to take their places. “Well, I should hope so. It is not my first experience, after all… though this is markedly more pleasant than the last.”
Anger bristled within him, remembering. “All the more reason to enjoy the dance.”
They moved into position and slowly started to incorporate themselves into the dance. First on the edges of the dancing rings, and then slowly making their way toward the center, where the clansmen were dancing far more quickly. A whirlwindof movement that brought a wide-eyed panic to his face, one that made him more determined to keep her safe, whether it was in the midst of a reel or from the hands of her former betrothed.
If they had been speaking, he might have told her that dancing like this exhausted him more than battle ever had.
Though even if he wasn’t speaking to her, he was still enjoying himself a great deal more with her at his side than he would have been if she were not here.
Telling her that would only make things that much more difficult.
“Everybody seems to be very happy for us,” Victoria said after a while.
Arran nodded. “They all have accepted ye after all.”
The words felt bitter on his tongue if he was being honest. They weren’t even a lie. Everybody did seem to welcome her at breakfast now, telling her about the castle gossip and whatnot. Never mind that she was such fast friends with Kristin.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the servants coming back into the room with a fussing Ruby in her arms, searching for Kristin, who was deep in conversation with some other women. He frowned, certain that his sister was about to explode with fury, for his niece was not supposed to be down here.
“Do you think that the rumors have spread as far as we hoped? Have you heard at all from the men you sent searching for my sister?” Victoria asked as they moved together.
