Chapter 21
News of the engagement spread quickly.
Far more quickly than Victoria could have ever imagined.
The congratulations started almost immediately.
Some women in the great hall gave her dirtier looks than usual, but she tried to ignore them as best she could.
She could hardly blame them when their Laird looked the way that he looked and conducted himself in the way that he did.
More interesting was seeing how quickly the obnoxious councilmen changed their tune, now that they believed she belonged to their Laird.
No longer did they encroach upon her personal space.
No longer did they make the snide comments under their breath when they walked past her.
She had tried to ignore it before, because she knew that Arran was on her side about things like that, but now?
It was more annoying than it had been before. She didn’t like feeling like property.
Not after the life she had lived before.
But Arran made it worth it. For the most part.
There was no denying that things between them were still tense after the other night.
But, she also could not deny that she was very much looking forward to their next lesson.
He was only speaking to her when eyes were on them, and it was driving her mad.
Yet, she could not seem to figure out the best time to mention it to him.
She wanted to ask. She wished to figure out how to broach the subject, but it felt wrong to ask Kristin about her brother.
A few days had passed before Arran spoke to her again.
Too many near touches, too many moments where she could have spoken to him, but her tongue kept her silent.
But after dinner, she was about to leave for her rooms before night had completely fallen, when Arran placed a hand on her thigh to stop her.
Possessive in a way that thrilled her, rather than frightened her, reminding her of their \”sparring match”.
“I think it is time for another lesson, what say ye?”
She blinked at him, tamping down any wilder thoughts. “You have not had a proper conversation with me in days, so why would I wish to do anything with you?”
Mercy help her when he looked up at her like that. She could feel her willpower become paper thin.
“Do ye nay longer wish to learn to defend yerself?”
“Is that the only reason that you wish to spend time with me? My Laird?” Victoria asked without tone.
She wanted nothing more than to have him disagree with her.
She wanted him to pull her into his lap and tell her that it was all nonsense and that he was merely afraid, or that he was ready for them to proceed together after consideration.
Even just a whisper of what he might like to do to her would have been enough.
Arran’s expression softened. But Kristin answered before he even had a chance to do so.
“What is this I hear about a lesson?” she asked as she bounced Ruby on her knee. “I would very much like to see that.”
Arran removed his hand from the top of Victoria’s thigh, careful not to touch her now that they had company watching them.
“I am tired,” Victoria started, and then shook her head, indicating that she did not wish to continue.
“An attacker will nae worry if ye are tired, lass,” Arran said.
He had a point. How could she say no to that?
The next thing she knew, the three of them—and Ruby—were standing on that square of lawn in the gardens, a strange echo of the last time Victoria had been there. With him.
Can Kristin tell what happened here? Victoria subtly searched the grass for any sign, any marks, but even in the dimming light, the gardens held no memory of that glorious night. It had been a fair while since then, after all.
“I really do not know if this is wise. Perhaps, it might be better in the morning, when there is more light to see by,” she said, feeling almost self-conscious now that there was an audience.
She would have to maintain a stricter hold on herself and her reactions. But it was becoming almost impossible not to react to his touch when he was close to her.
“An enemy willnae care if it’s dark, neither,” Kristin encouraged as she found a comfortable spot on the ground to sit down, Ruby propped against her chest.
The sky was a stunning mixture of blues and purples that faded into pinks and oranges. The moon was starting to slowly rise despite the fact that the sun was still lingering in its light.
“I expect ye to give him a run for his money, Victoria!” Kristin goaded. “Daenae be afraid to fight dirty! It’s the least that he deserves!”
Victoria smiled, even if she was not fully sure just what her friend meant by fighting dirty. Grass stains on my skirts? She blushed immediately, her smile taking on a slyer feeling as she glanced at Arran.
He was in the midst of tying his hair back and away from his handsome face, and it made everything feel that much more serious than it had a moment before. “Ye havenae forgotten our other lessons, have ye?”
She guessed that he meant the fighting parts, but that was not the first memory that replayed in her mind when she thought about their last meeting. No, it was his hands on her body and the heat that had filled her. A remnant of that coursed through her again.
She shuddered involuntarily and shook her head. “I remember perfectly well.”
His eyes flashed with amusement. “Daenae let yer guard down, this time. Ye mustnae let me get hold of ye, now that we’ve an audience.”
“I do not plan to,” she replied thickly, struggling to smother a smirk.
Not here, at least.
He walked forward. “Show me what I taught ye.”
She blinked, her throat tight. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her flustered, she put her fists up to her face, in the pose he had shown her.
She had been attempting to practice on her own, but it was not the same thing as when he was there to work with her.
She had gotten used to keeping the small knife on her at all times, though.
He had said that eventually he would teach her the ways to throw it effectively so that she would not need to be up close and personal with her enemy in order to defend herself.
It was very tempting to ask for that to be today’s lesson, but if she was being even more honest with herself, she missed him. She missed the way that it felt to be in his arms and the soft way that he would speak to her when it was just the two of them alone with one another.
Perhaps I may let myself be caught after all.
“Have ye been havin’ any tenderness? Any reason I should go easy on ye?” Arran asked as he started to stretch out his limbs. Victoria moved slightly closer and started to imitate his movements.
She shook her head; she would be fine. Indeed, the only ache she had was for him, but that would not be soothed during this training session.
“Very well,” he said, “then do ye remember the most important things?”
“Do not get within arm’s reach,” Victoria remembered, and took a half step away from him as she lifted her hands again. “And protect my face if they get too close.”
Arran nodded and then lunged for her without warning. She almost did not move out of the way in time. The tips of his fingers brushed against the bodice of her dress, just narrowly missing her.
“And always be aware,” Victoria panted, her heart racing from the sudden movement.
Arran smiled proudly. “That’s right, lass, good work.”
It was almost impossible not to preen under the praise.
Behind them, Ruby started to giggle, her hands almost clapping together as they moved. “I think she likes to see the sport!” Kristin commented. “Daenae be afraid to hit first, Victoria! Come on—belt him!”
Arran glanced at his sister for only a moment, no doubt to say something snarky in response to her goading, and Victoria struck.
She knew that she had no chance of overpowering him, but she hoped that the element of surprise might be on her side.
She threw herself at him with all of her might, her elbow driving into the spot where his ribs curved into a peak.
Arran’s breath left him in one big whoosh as he staggered back. Something glinted in his eyes, something more than the proud smile that made her aware of just how hot her blood was coursing through her veins.
“Always be aware,” Victoria parroted for a second time, and as Arran started to straighten, she did it again.
She used her elbow in his belly as leverage as she slammed into him again, shunting him as hard as she could.
Never mind that the whole side of her body felt like she had hurled herself into a brick wall instead.
The impact almost made her lose her footing, bouncing off him, but the element of surprise was worth it.
She did not relent as Arran stumbled backward.
With all of her determination, she launched herself at him again, digging her shoulder in this time.
He toppled and fell to the ground far more softly than she would have liked. It almost felt as if he were letting her have the win. She pulled the small knife that he had given her from her dress pocket and held it between them as she stood over him.
“Any tenderness?” she teased. “Any reason I should go easy on you?”
She knew that if they had been without an audience right now, and with the way he was presently looking at her, he would have pulled her down on top of him.
It was pure luck that Kristin could not see the raw hunger on Arran’s face as she erupted in uproarious laughter.
“That was a cheap shot, lass,” Arran grumbled, though he could not hide the curve of a smirk. “Takin’ advantage of a man while he’s distracted.”
Victoria could not help but smirk back at him. “But did you not say that an attacker would not care if I was ready or not?”
Arran’s smirk only widened with her words.
Victoria stepped back, tucking her little knife away again and not bothering to extend a hand toward him. Arran moved with preternatural fluidity as he rolled into a stand.
Kristin was laughing so hard that she was crying. “I hope that ye have grass stains on yer arse for months to come from that tumble, brother.”
She wiped at the happy tear rolling down her face.
“Oh, I wish I could see that again and again,” Kristin continued.
“Well, it willnae happen again,” Arran replied, the tips of his ears turning slightly pink at his sister’s teasing.
“Oh, it willnae matter, I will ensure that ye never live it down!”
Victoria almost snorted. She could not stop herself. She lifted the back of her hand to delicately cover the lower half of her face as Arran whipped around to see if she was laughing at him. She tried to muster an expression of innocence, but she could not quite manage it.
“Ah, so that is how it is to be, lass?” Arran’s smirk turned into a devious grin. “Ye think that because ye have me outnumbered that–”
Whatever it was that he was going to say next was cut off by the arrival of his man-at-arms, Neil, with a letter in his hands. The moment that Victoria saw the gaudy golden seal on the back, she knew exactly who it was from.
“A letter from England,” the man said pointedly. “Nay messenger that anyone saw. It was left tied to the gates. Daenae ken how long it has been there.”
Is Charles here already? Has he come so close?
Victoria could not breathe at all as Arran ripped open the letter, the seal cracked apart, the fragments falling to the ground.
He scoffed, clearly reading the letter quickly, and Victoria moved before he could crumple the thing into oblivion. “What does it say?”
She felt pale, like she could not breathe properly. All the joy had completely dissolved from Kristin’s face as well.
“It would seem that the Earl is issuin’ me a formal warning,” Arran almost laughed.
At least he was amused by the whole prospect.
“He says that ye are his betrothed.” Arran pointed to the spot on the letter so that she could see that the word “my”was underlined twice.
It looked as if Charles had nearly punctured the paper with his quill, judging from how the words were angrily scratched into it.
“And if I daenae wish for ye to be harmed, then I ought to let ye go immediately. Seems a mite counterintuitive if ye ask me.”
Victoria’s eyes flicked upward to him, taking some small comfort in the fact that he did not seem worried in the slightest bit by the threat. She knew how much power Charles had back in England, and most men would have cowered at such a thing. But this was not England; she had to remember that.
“Seems like he’s of the opinion that if he cannae have ye, nay one can,” Kristin said, a bite in her voice.
A shudder ran down Victoria’s spine as the echo of Charles’ voice snarling those same words to her countless times repeated in her mind.
Arran thrust the letter at Neil, his brow arching with mischievous intent. “Let’s drive him mad, shall we?”
The pair of men turned to head back into the castle before Victoria could so much as question what he meant.
But no matter what happened next, she knew that it was going to end poorly.