Chapter 5
The music shifted again, this time to an even softer tune. The candlelight was slowly dying out, the first hint that the cèilidh would end soon.
Jack swallowed, looking around. He needed to make his offer clear very soon, or he might not get the opportunity to do it again. He kept Emma close because the dance required it, not because he had any claim to her.
Her palm was warm in his, and her breath had grown more even. She was still angry, but perhaps not as much as earlier. And that was a good sign.
His eyes drifted to the far side of the hall, where he spotted a familiar face—the same face, but in a different mood.
He had seen her twin sister on the day they were supposed to wed.
MacFinn had introduced them. He could tell Emma and Ava had the same fire, but Ava had more grit in her, at least more than Emma did.
Ava met his gaze with an expression that could freeze stone. Her arms were folded, and her chin was jutted, but there was nothing but bright curiosity in her eyes. He also noticed the protectiveness in her stance before looking away.
“Yer twin’s got very sharp eyes,” Jack noted coldly, his breath brushing Emma’s ear. “She’s been staring holes through me all night.”
“Ava is protective,” Emma said casually, a small smile at the corners of her mouth. “Ye couldnae handle her if ye tried.”
“I daenae want Ava.”
“Ye daenae say?”
He met her gaze. “I want ye, Emma.”
The word settled between them like a stone sinking in a river, and for a moment, the hall moved as if it was breathing under one chest. Emma did not look away or try to soften her expression.
Good. Perhaps this way, she would be able to have a rational conversation and actually hear him out this time. Let the truth land as it should.
“Ye have to understand. I wouldnae be making this request if I considered this—or ye—a game.”
She sighed into his shoulder before looking up at him. “I thought we both agreed in the woods that ye’d let me go. Ye do understand what the word means, do ye nae?”
“I thought the same,” he said. “But things have changed in the past month.”
“Changed how?”
He breathed once through the ache in his shoulder. “I daenae want to hurt ye if I can help it, but this is important.”
“Important enough for ye nae to leave me alone like ye have so far?”
“The thing is, lassie,” he murmured, “I cannae leave ye alone anymore.”
Her fingers tightened a fraction around his, and the candlelight put a soft edge on her anger. He felt weariness wash over him, the kind that came when a man admitted there was no other path he could walk. Perhaps he would manage to get through to her, after all.
“Ye only want me to boost yer ego,” she huffed.
“Nay,” he uttered. “At least nae anymore.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do ye want then?”
“Peace,” he said, his tone almost forlorn. “And for certain people to leave me alone.”
They reached the edge of the floor and paused with others who wanted air. However, not once did he let go of her hand. The smell of wool and wax filled his nostrils as they settled by a railing, feeling the night breeze caress their faces.
“Me council demands that I marry,” he revealed once he was certain she was settled enough to keep listening to him. “They want a male heir and a lady to manage the keep. And unfortunately, me daughter’s safety rests on that.”
A smirk tugged at her lips. “So, this is nay longer about ego.”
“I told ye.”
“Aye. ‘Tis about duty, Laird MacLeod. I daenae think it makes it any better.”
“‘Tis about survival,” he corrected, his voice sharp. “I daenae want a real marriage, nor a courtship. I want only peace. If the people start doubtin’ me because I daenae have a lady, it could lead to problems I have nay time to deal with.”
She studied him, her eyes trailing up and down his figure.
Something about her scrutiny stirred something within him. Something he didn’t want to explore.
“And ye think I’m best suited to such a plan?” she asked.
“Ye’re clever enough to make it work.”
“That isnae praise.”
“Ye’re a smart woman, Emma. Ye ken an arrangement when ye see one,” he said. “And a smart woman is what I need.”
Her mouth tightened, but then her demeanor softened a little. At that moment, he realized he respected her much more than he had initially thought.
“If I agree to this,” she asked, folding her arms across her chest, “what do I get?”
“Simple. Freedom.”
“What makes ye think I daenae have freedom?”
He gave her a look that seemed to say, Come on.
“Ye and I both ken ye would do anything to escape yer uncle.”
“What. Are. Ye. Offering?” she pressed, her voice sharper.
He kept his voice steady. “Rooms that are yers. Doors that shut and locks that answer to ye. The running of the hall and the quarter where the bairn sleeps. If ye set a rule, I will adhere to it. Ye will also stand beside me during important events of the clan, and nay one will put a hand on ye without facing me wrath.”
She twisted her lips, another short breath escaping them. “And in exchange, all I have to do is to be yer wife?”
“Nae me wife, but Lady MacLeod,” he clarified, his voice just as calm.
She tightened her arms. “Just to be clear, I daenae care for ye.”
“I daenae ask for it,” he assured her.
“And we daenae have other… duties toward each other?”
A brief moment of silence passed, but he kept his eyes narrowed.
“I am nae inviting ye to me bed,” she clarified.
“I daenae expect ye to. But we do have to keep up a facade if this is going to work. Which means we must spend the night together at least once a week.”
“Ye have really thought this through, have ye nae?”
“A lot.”
Another moment of silence passed between them, punctuated only by the music lingering in the air.
“Why me?” she asked suddenly.
He exhaled. He could think of a million reasons. Because he felt captivated since the first time he had laid eyes on her. Because he saw the fire in her eyes. Because, in a way, she had a spirit just like him.
“Because ye seem like a nice business partner.”
Her chest rose and fell along with the silence before she eventually broke it. “I will think about it.”
“Daenae think too long, Emma. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
A laugh escaped her lips. “Ye’re nae selling this short, are ye?”
“Think about it. Ye’d do whatever ye please, protected by me name. All I ask is that ye act the part of me wife.”
“Aye. I got that part?”
“Ye would be untouchable.”
The last word left him and settled between them like a blade. He did not fill the silence. Instead, he let it work. She did not look away from him either.
Ava laughed from across the room with two lads he didn’t recognize. Emma’s eyes flickered to her sister before returning to him.
“Untouchable,” she repeated.
“Aye.”
“Say I agree,” she said. “What does untouchable look like to ye?”
Jack exhaled. He wasn’t sure if this was taking longer than he thought or if he genuinely enjoyed talking to her. Either way, he wasn’t leaving until the deal was sealed.
“To me, it means ye get to keep yer pen and yer hours. Ye choose where ye walk and who ye see. Ye spend coin without asking for me permission, and ye pursue poetry without the need to hide it.”
She blinked once. He pressed on while the door was open.
“Ye could even admit what ye are,” he said, his voice low. “A poet, a brilliant one. They’d praise ye for fulfilling yer duty and nae condemn ye for being bold.”
Her mouth twisted at one corner. “Is that why ye thought me poem was the perfect way to get me attention?”
“It worked, did it nae?”
She looked down at her hands.
The bow of her ribbon had shifted, and one end had slipped. He had a foolish urge to fix it, but he kept his hands still. This was a very important moment.
“Protected by yer name,” she murmured. “And in return, I act as yer wife.”
“Aye.”
“Without the rest of it?” she asked again, almost like this was the most important part of the deal.
“Without the rest of it,” he confirmed, making certain he sounded reassuring.
She drew in a long breath and then exhaled. The music shifted, and the dancers near them clapped along. She did not move. Her eyes were bright and wary. She set one palm flat on the stone and tapped a slow beat with her thumb, as if she were testing the wall for hollow spots.
“Ye make a fair argument, Jack Barkley,” she said at last. “But I still want to be sure ye’re the right choice, given yer… reputation.”
Jack exhaled. This was progress, but it was too slow for his liking. The council was breathing down his neck. He needed an immediate answer and not thoughts.
“Ye will allow me to think about it, will ye nae?”
He raised a hand. “Five days.”
“Five days?”
He let the corner of his mouth lift. “Five days to truly convince ye that this is the right choice. How about that?”
“One thing I admire is yer confidence. What if I daenae make up me mind in five days?”
“Oh, trust me, ye will.”
Emma smiled, perhaps the first genuine smile that night. “Aye. Five days. And if I am nae convinced, I will go back to me original plan.”
“Which is?”
“Staying as far away from ye as possible.”
“Very well, lassie. We’ll stay betrothed for five nights before we marry.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And if I run again?”
“Ye willnae,” he insisted.
“What do ye mean?”
“Ye’re comin’ to stay with me.”
Her shoulders stiffened. He felt the objections gather behind her teeth, and he watched her measure them, and he saw her let most of them fall.
That surprised him more than it should have. She was not usually this reasonable.
“In yer castle,” she said.
“Aye.” He nodded once. “Ye can come with Ava if that is the only way ye will come.”
“What if I want to come with me maither instead? Will ye let her stay?” she asked.
“Aye. Why nae? For five days,” he said. “If it proves to ye I mean what I say.”
“And why should I come?”
“I will show ye the parts of me life that arenae rumors,” he replied. “Ye will see me council and me child. Ye will see how a castle runs when pride doesnae choke it. I willnae hide from ye. Ye may ask what ye like.”
“And ye expect I will say aye at the end.”
“I expect ye will ken what answer to give,” he countered. “If it is nay, I will take ye back to yer uncle, and I will take whatever follows. If it is aye, we will speak to a priest, and we will set a date.”
She looked at his mouth, as if the shape of the words might betray him. She looked into his eyes and searched them for the lie. He let her look. He had learned in war that some battles were won by standing still.
“Untouchable,” she repeated, quieter now.
“Aye.”
“And free,” she added.
“As far as a title can make ye,” he said. “The rest is yers to claim.”
She glanced toward Ava one more time. Her twin sister had found a step that pleased her and a partner who could keep it.
Emma lifted her face to Jack. “Five days,” she relented. “Nay longer.”
“Five,” he confirmed.
“And if ye press me,” she warned, “I will leave.”
“I willnae press ye,” he said. “I will persuade ye.”
“That is worse,” she huffed, but a small spark had kindled where caution had stood.
“Then we have a bargain?” he asked.
“We have a wager,” she responded, her voice clear. “The bargain comes after.”
A smile tugged at Jack’s lips. It might have taken him forever to get to this conclusion, but he was fine with it. She had given him five days to convince her, and that was what he intended to do.
In five days, she would be his. And he would be free from the council’s pestering.