Chapter 8 #2
She stiffened at his touch, but then cleared her throat and turned back to face him, nearly stumbling back from how close he was. She felt her face redden and was glad most of her body was submerged in the water, or else he would have seen how her flush had spread down her neck.
“Since you insist on laughing at me, I’d much prefer another teacher,” she insisted.
“I can teach ye to swim,” he assured with a firm look, “and I promise nae to laugh at ye.”
She didn’t trust him but nodded anyway, submitting herself to his tutoring.
True to his word, he kept from laughing at her mistakes, and their lesson progressed without much of a hitch, but she couldn’t deny that the touch of his hands on her waist or legs had her warm at the scandal of it all.
If her father or any of the ton were to see them in such a state, her reputation would be ruined beyond what she could hope to repair through marriage.
“That will be all for today,” Ruaridh announced suddenly, helping her to her feet. “The sun is almost out, and ye need to return to the castle before anyone sees ye.”
She nodded in agreement and moved to the water’s edge, heaving herself out. A cold draft blew by, but she wanted to wring out her hair and clothes before donning the robe.
She turned and noticed him ogling her. She looked down to see her nightdress clinging to her every curve, but rather than feel annoyed, she felt the urge to stand up straighter. When their eyes met again, his darkened as he swallowed. Her mouth went dry at the hunger in his gaze.
She cleared her throat and turned away from him, moving to don her robe. She kept her gaze averted, but heard a splash as he made his way out, forcing herself to swallow past the lump in her throat.
“Do you think us getting married is the best way to save my reputation?” she asked suddenly.
She heard him pause behind her and turned to look at him. He was holding his shirt in his hands as though he had been about to dress, and she cursed herself for not waiting longer to ask the question.
Looking at him, bare from the waist up in the light of the rising sun, was almost too much for her eyes to handle, and she didn’t think she could be sane of mind to have the ensuing conversation when he looked as handsome as he did.
She lowered her eyes, but that proved to be a mistake as well, as she noticed how tightly his breeches clung to his thighs.
She lifted her face to his, choosing that as a safer option for the conversation she needed them to have. If she didn’t, she might never speak as clearly as she should.
“What do ye mean?” His eyebrows lowered in a questioning frown.
She swallowed thickly, squaring her shoulders. “I worry for more than just my reputation. I worry for my father’s as well.”
“Why?” he asked, almost incredulously. “He left ye with me and hasnae even bothered to write to ye. I daenae think he worries for ye as much as ye worry for him.”
He wasn’t wrong, but hearing it from him made her feel worse than she liked to admit.
“You know nothing about my father, Laird McLeod,” she snapped. “So you have no right to speak of him as derisively as you do.”
He stepped closer to her, folding his arms. Her eyes strayed momentarily to his muscled forearms and the dusting of hair on them, but then she swallowed and forced her eyes back to his face.
“I daenae need to ken much, but I can see he is naught but a coward,” he huffed. “The fact that he agreed to a match with a man like Westall shows he isnae just a coward, but he has no concern for yer future.”
“And you’re a better match?” she sneered. “I do not care for your protection, Laird McLeod. I seem to recall it was you who put me in this predicament in the first place. I will return to London promptly, so I may help my father. Perhaps I may be able to prove my innocence as well.”
He scoffed, and she felt instantly insulted.
“I didnae think ye so na?ve,” he said with a dark look. “If it were so easy to prove yer innocence, surely yer faither would have found a way to restore it without needin’ yer input.”
“How dare you?” she gasped. “You’re absolutely infuriating!”
“I am only being honest,” he said, his voice softer. “Do ye actually want to return home?”
She didn’t. Not in the least bit.
She dreaded facing the judgmental stares of the ton, which would no doubt be worse now that Lord Westall had made sure everyone knew of her predicament.
Even if she were to reveal the truth about the entire ordeal, it would be her word against his, and with no one powerful to back her, it would be entirely to her detriment.
“I don’t, but…” She sighed. “I won’t be able to do anything by just hiding here with you. The life you’ve promised me is beautiful, but it would always be marred by worry for my father. I will return and tell them the truth of what happened. Surely they will listen.”
“Ye ken as well as I do that it cannae be that simple,” he argued. “They will do naught but ostracize ye for a crime ye didnae commit. What if yer faither insists on seeing ye wed to someone else? What will ye do, then?”
“You cannot presume to know what my father will do, Laird McLeod,” she snapped. “I have made up my mind, and I will do what I please.”
“Violet, I cannae allow ye leave like—”
“You do not have to allow me to do anything!” she cried. “I am not yours to control!”
“Why do ye insist on challengin’ me at every turn?” he growled.
“Because you keep refusing to listen to me!” she growled back, feeling frustrated.
His eyes looked wild, as though he didn’t know what to do with her—whether to throttle or kiss her. Well, she didn’t know what to do with him either.
On the one hand, she wanted to kiss him just to see if there was any other look he could have on his face beyond rage and boredom. On the other hand, she wanted to scream at and hit him.
He stepped closer till there was barely any space between them, his eyes burning with a heat she felt low in her belly.
“I will listen to ye,” he muttered, voice as deep and rich as wine, “only when ye speak sense.”
“I speak sense, Laird McLeod,” she forced out past the lump in her throat. “My wanting to save my father is the only thing I can do as a loyal daughter. Surely such value should be esteemed by you.”
“He arranged a match to Lord Westall and abandoned ye once he deemed ye defiled,” he reminded her. “Surely such a man is undeserving of such loyalty from ye.”
“And if ye were to abandon me in the future?” she challenged. “Should I immediately switch loyalties?”
His nostrils flared, as though her words offended him.
“I will never abandon ye, Violet,” he vowed. “I swore to protect ye, and I will.”
His words, said with such fervor, filled her with confidence that she could trust him. But having been betrayed so many times by the man who should have protected her, she couldn’t allow herself to be deluded so easily.
“That remains yet to be seen, doesn’t it, my Laird?” she pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
He growled, and she half expected him to throttle her, but when his lips landed on hers, all rational thought flew out of her mind.