Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Ye’re bein’ quiet today.”
Louis’ voice grabbed Emilie out of her reverie. She blinked rapidly, clearing her mind of everything it had been preoccupied with and bringing her back firmly to the present.
She glanced at the small boy, cocking her eyebrow at him.
“What do ye mean?” Emilie asked, playing coy.
She knew exactly what the boy meant. It had been two days since she and Archer had kissed in their bedchambers. As with the first time that their lips had touched, Emilie had spent the following days trying her best to avoid her husband.
It had been easier than the first time, now that she knew the castle better. And now that she had the excuse of truly tending to the children.
But what had been different this time around was that there had been no shame.
Or, rather, there had not been as much shame as the first time she had kissed Archer.
Instead, Emilie found herself frequently fantasizing about the kiss, remembering the way it had felt as his hands had roved over her body, threatening to drive her mad.
Which meant that she was in a much more dangerous predicament than she had ever been within the halls of Castle McGregor.
I have to get back to me plan. Nay more meddlin’ in the business of this family. I need to figure out a way to secure me annulment and be back at the nunnery.
“Ye’ve hardly talked to us all mornin’,” it was Aurora who spoke now, her face quizzical and accusatory. “Ye ken we have studies with Meredith today, and usually ye’d be yappin’ our ears off about everythin’ we were goin’ to learn. But today, ye’ve hardly said a word.”
Emilie sighed, doing her very best to push the thoughts of Archer as far out of her mind as she possibly could.
The twins were entirely right. She had been preoccupied. And, while she might need to start work on annoying her husband again, that didn’t mean she wanted to neglect her duties to them. They deserved much better than that.
“Ye’re right,” Emilie said, giving the twins what she hoped was an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry that I’ve nae been talkin’ much. I dinnae sleep well last night, or the night before. And I suppose it’s gettin’ to me.”
That much, at least, was not a lie. She’d been haunting the castle like a ghost, staying up late into the night and hiding in different nooks and crannies within the castle walls, all to ensure by the time she returned to her bed chambers, her husband would be well and truly asleep.
“Well, what can we do to help?” Louis asked, steepling his small hands in front of his face and staring at her pensively.
“Ye can start by gettin’ off to yer lessons.”
Archer’s voice rang through the dining room, dragging them all out of their conversation. Emilie’s eyes flew to her husbands, looking directly at him for the first time in days.
The moment his gaze found hers, Emilie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She dipped her eyes back to her food, not wanting to look his way any longer than she had to.
Aurora made a noise of dissent, grumbling under her breath that she didn’t want to get to her lessons yet. But that didn’t stop her from pushing her chair away from the table and stepping away from it.
Emilie did not glance up, meaning she heard rather than saw the twins leaving the dining room and scampering away. She stayed sitting that way, eyes downcast and focused on her plate.
She prodded at a bit of egg with her fork, but her stomach had soured the moment her husband had walked in. So, Emilie did not take a bite.
“Get up,” Archer growled. “We’re goin’ off the grounds today.”
At that, Emilie’s head immediately snapped up. Her eyes found Archer’s quickly.
“What do ye mean we’re goin’ off grounds?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her. “Where are we goin’?”
“Thrums.”
The answer sent chills down Emilie’s spine.
“We’re goin’ to the port city?” she asked, her tone rising a bit of its own accord.
Archer cocked his head at her.
“Aye, is that goin’ to be a problem?”
Would it be a problem?
Emilie had never been into a city, and definitely not one with as bustling a port as Thrums. She had overheard the nuns talk about it on multiple occasions.
The nuns had not been fans of cities in general, as they often claimed that the more people you packed into one place, the more they ended up becoming nothing more than dens of sin.
To hear the nuns talk about it, Thrums was the worst of them all.
“I daenae think I want to go to the city,” Emilie said, shaking her head slightly in an effort to clear it.
When she’d begun speaking, she had hoped to make it high-pitched and grating. When she did that, she’d noticed that Archer seemed to shy away every time she spoke.
Her uncertainty had taken over, leeching its way into her voice and giving her little to no control over it. Instead, her words had come out as a hesitant rasp, telling Archer in no uncertain terms about the anxiety plaguing her.
“Too bad,” he growled, not giving Emilie any sympathy at all. “Ye’ll be goin’ with me. And that is final.”
Emilie gulped, goosebumps erupting over her skin. She didn’t have it in her to argue. It would be futile, and she knew that. She had heard the note of finality in his voice.
And so, instead, she would focus her efforts on steadying herself.
Mayhaps some time, just the two of us, away from the castle, will present me with more opportunities to annoy him.
Pushing herself away from the table, Emilie walked toward her husband.
He turned on his heel, immediately walking toward the front of the castle, not sparing her another glance to ensure that she was following.
“What will we be doin’?” she asked, trotting along once she reached him.
Archer just grunted, not giving her any further answer as they made their way to the front of the castle.
A carriage waited for them, sitting on the gravel drive at the foot of the steps. The door was being held open by a valet, his expression friendly as he watched them climb down the stairs and head in his direction.
“Me Laird,” the man said as Archer walked past him, climbing up the small steps and into the interior of the carriage.
The footman turned his gaze to Emilie.
“Me Lady,” he greeted with another friendly smile.
The man extended a hand, offering it to her as she climbed into the carriage along with her husband. She glanced up, noticing Archer’s eyes lingering on her hand, the one that was holding onto the valet’s.
She couldn’t be entirely sure, but she thought she saw something like jealousy, or maybe it was protectiveness, lingering in his steel gray eyes.
Whatever the emotion was, it sent a small thrill dancing through her as she climbed into the carriage and situated herself on the bench seat across from Archer.
There was a scuffling of feet and the huffing of horses from beyond the windows, and then the carriage lurched as it started on its journey.
Emilie glanced at Archer, wondering if he would be providing any conversation at all on the drive to Thrums. But it appeared that her husband would not be speaking any time soon.
He was leaning back against the seat, his head tipped back and his eyes closed. So, Emilie turned her attention to the window, watching the lush green landscape go by as they made their way toward the port city.
Despite her nerves, the ride went quickly. And, before Emilie knew it, the tops of the buildings that made up the city could be seen in the distance.
The noise reached her much sooner than she thought it would. The cries of gulls and the low hum of people floating to her on a breeze.
The carriage rode into the town, and Emilie all but pressed herself against the wall of the carriage to take it all in.
The nuns hadnae known what they were talkin’ about. Nae about this place.
It was a thought that ran through her mind on repeat as she looked out over the expansive town. People bustled to and fro, fat babies on their hips and laundry balanced on their heads.
Fishermen stalked the streets, carrying baskets filled with their catch of the day, hocking their wares to vendors.
The carriage rolled to a stop, apparently meeting their destination, and Archer wasted no time throwing the door open. Emilie was too busy trying to drink in every bit of the scenery to care much when he climbed out of the carriage and then extended his hand to help her out as well.
Now is as good a time as any to try to annoy me husband.
“It’s all so bonnie,” she exclaimed, and she hadn’t even had to pretend to add the breathiness to her tone. “I cannae believe it. The nuns always said that cities did nothin’ but breed sin. But this? This is so lovely.”
“Of course, the nuns would see sin everywhere they look,” Archer chimed.
She had expected his words to be harsh and gruff, as they so often were. But instead, they had been more placating than anything. She glanced at him, finding him watching her with a more open expression than she had ever seen.
Of course, he was still glowering. Emilie doubted that expression ever truly left his face. But his eyes were shining with what appeared to be amusement rather than annoyance.
I have to do better.
“Why shouldnae they?” she asked, driving her voice up an octave. “The world is full of sin. And the more people there are, the more sin to be had.”
Quickly, Emilie scanned the crowd. Her eyes landed on a building, a sign swinging slightly in the breeze, and she had to fight back a smile.
“I mean, just look,” she pointed at the building. “A tavern that’s full to the brim, and it’s nae even midday yet. Those men should be out workin’ or home with their families, and yet, there they are, fillin’ their bellies with drink.”
Archer, surprising Emilie entirely, chuckled darkly.
“Ye have a lot to learn about the world, wife. Now, follow after me.”
Emilie glanced at him in surprise, but did as she was told as he turned and walked away.
It was hard for her to keep up her prattling, but she tried to the best of her abilities. Words flew out of Emilie’s mouth, high-pitched and grating, about everything that she saw and everything that she could think of.
But still, Archer never once seemed annoyed. If anything, his tone only seemed to grow more and more patient as they made it farther into the city.
“Where are we headin’?” Emilie finally wailed, hoping that if babbling about nothing hadn’t done the trick, then maybe whining would.
“We’re goin’ to…” Archer’s voice floated to her over the crowd, but she did not catch the end of it.
Emilie’s head had been swiveling back and forth, trying to notice every little thing about the buildings that they were passing and the ships on the sea beyond, when she hadn’t noticed the man only a few feet away.
Her body hit him with the full force, her breath leaving her in an ‘umph’ as she collided with him.
“Me apologies,” Emilie stammered, taking a step back as quickly as she could. “I was tryin’ to take in the beauty of Thrums and I wasnae payin’ nay mind to where I was goin’.”
Emilie blinked up, shielding her eyes from the sun as she stared up into the face of the strange man she’d just run into. She had assumed that her apologies would be met with kindness; it was a simple mistake, was it not?
But the man before her looked haggard. He glared down at her, his black eyes glinting as his hand whipped out. Immediately, his hand clamped down on her slender wrist, his grip tight enough to bite.
“Ow!” Emilie cried out, immediately throwing her weight backwards to try to break the stranger’s grip on her hand.
“What a bonnie little lassie ye are,” the man hissed.
His breath floated across the space to her, rank and filled with the acrid scent of whisky. Emilie’s stomach turned.
What was this man about to do to her? What did he have in mind? Surely nothing good. Not from the way he was leering at her.
She jerked again, fighting to free herself from his grasp. But it was to no avail. The man was clearly much stronger than she was.
He grinned, revealing rotten teeth. A fear like Emilie had never known welled within her, and tears sprang to her eyes just as a hand clamped down on the man’s shoulder.
“If ye daenae let go of me wife right this moment, ye’ll find yerself missin’ an arm. And that’s only if I daenae decide to take yer head along with it.”