Chapter 7
Edan was taken aback. Annoyed, actually. He planned to organize the dates himself and had not for one moment thought that Olivia would have any say in them. He glanced over at this grandmother to gauge her reaction to what he regarded as high-handedness.
It further put him out to see that, far from agreeing with him, she was gazing at Olivia dotingly, in a way she had previously reserved for him. He made a mental note that the two women had grown close in his absence, which he felt could spell trouble.
He turned his eyes back to his wife. “Is that so?” he said, his voice deliberately cold to show her his displeasure.
“Aye, I talked with Greta about it, and she gave me some ideas,” Olivia told him, seemingly oblivious to the message he was trying to convey.
Frustrated, his temper got the better of him.
“Why are ye involvin’ yerself in plannin’ what we’re goin’ to do?” he demanded, glaring at her. “I’ll be the one to decide, so ye can forget all ye’ve done so far and nae concern yerself with it any longer. Is that understood?”
The smile and look of excitement on Olivia’s face abruptly vanished, and it only fueled Edan’s anger to see that the haughty look he was starting to recognize quickly took its place.
Proudly, she straightened her spine and lifted her chin, her melting brown eyes growing hard and dark as marble as they locked onto his.
“I dinnae appreciate yer tone. Please keep a civil tongue when ye address me in the future. If ye recall, it was I who suggested the dates. Therefore, it seems perfectly reasonable for me to be the one to plan them.” Her voice was icy.
Her ability to match his coldness exasperated him. Forgetting all about Greta, who was watching the whole argument unfold, he sprang to his feet and went to stand over Olivia, trying to intimidate her with his size.
It did not appear to work.
“Now, listen to me, woman,” he growled, pointing a warning finger at her.
“First, I’ll address ye however I like. Second, dinnae try to lay down the law to me or try to tell me what to do.
I’m yer husband, and what I say goes around here.
Ye’ll do well to remember that, lass. I’ll decide what happens on these dates and when they’re goin’ to be, and I’ll make all the arrangements as well.
There’s nay need for ye to stick yer nose in everything. ”
Olivia rose to her feet and, though much shorter than him, squared up to him fearlessly, anger flashing in her eyes.
“Ye’re a very rude and ignorant man. ’Tis regrettable that I have the misfortune to be married to ye.
Why do ye nae just leave again and go away for another year or two?
Ye were almost tolerable as a husband while ye were absent, but ye’re quickly provin’ to be an insufferable boor since ye came back. ”
Outraged by his failure to intimidate her into submission, Edan opened his mouth to retort but was suddenly interrupted when his grandmother started to gasp for air and clutch at her chest.
“Grandmaither, what is it?!” he exclaimed, panic rushing through him as he rushed to her side.
Without thinking, he scooped the frail old lady up into his arms. Olivia rushed ahead to open the door, and he carried her down the hall and into her chambers.
“Dinnae worry, Grandmaither, I’ll summon the healer right away,” he assured her, frantic with the fear of losing her.
He hurried out of the room and was surprised to find Olivia following him. He stopped and turned to face her.
“What are ye followin’ me for? Go and look after her,” he ordered.
She stopped a few paces from him and, to his annoyance, shook her head. “There’s nay need for the healer to be summoned,” she said with infuriating calm.
“What are ye talkin’ about, ye mad woman? Ye’ve just seen with yer own eyes that she’s havin’ some sort of attack.”
“She’s nae havin’ any sort of attack,” she insisted.
“Eh? Are ye blind? Do ye nae care for her?”
“Yer grandmaither was only pretendin’ to be ill. She’s fine, really.”
He stared at her, incredulous. “Now I ken ye’re mad.”
“’Tis true.”
“’Tis a lie. She would never do such a thing.”
She gave a fond half smile. “Aye, she would. She’s craftier than both of us.”
She seemed so sincere and calmer than the situation called for, especially as he knew that she and his grandmother were close. It gave him pause.
“Why?”
“Because she was upset by our argument, and that was her way of puttin’ a stop to it,” she explained.
Edan felt like he had been poleaxed. He stood in the middle of the hallway, running a hand distractedly through his hair.
“Would she do that?” he asked, bewildered, speaking more to himself than Olivia.
“She just did, and she fooled us both.”
“But how did ye ken she was foolin’ us?”
Her smile widened. “By the way she winked at me over yer shoulder when ye were carryin’ her to her chamber.”
He stared at her, and there was such sincerity in her eyes that he realized she was telling the truth.
Relief flooded through him, wiping away his anger and anxiety.
“Why, the old minx. She’s as crafty as a fox,” he murmured, shaking his head in amazement. “I fell for it too. I was worried out of me wits.”
“Aye, I could see that. I cannae say I approve of her methods, but ye have to admit it was an effective ruse. It stopped our argument.”
An awkward silence fell between them.
Olivia broke it by saying lightly, “Well, now that ye’ve made it clear that ye want to plan our dates, I’ll leave it all up to ye and nae interfere.”
“Good.” He nodded.
Suddenly feeling the urge to explain himself, he closed the gap between them with a few steps.
She did not move away but looked up at him expectantly.
Her beauty stirred something deep inside him, sending a wave of hot desire through his veins.
It took all he had not to simply grab her and kiss her, carry her off, and ravish her.
All that held him back was the warning voice in his head telling him to keep his distance, not to let himself care about her, for it would put her in danger.
Because I cannae protect what I love.
But when he was with her, her allure was so strong that he could not help himself. He found himself moving even closer to her and taking her hand in his own.
“Olivia, I’m sorry for gettin’ angry. I was just frustrated, that’s all. Ye said ye want me to court ye, and I intend to do exactly that. All ye have to do is leave everythin’ up to me, all right?”
Her radiant smile warmed him like the sun. “I apologize for gettin’ angry as well,” she said. “It was a misunderstanding on me part, and I’m truly sorry. Now that ye’ve explained it to me, I understand why ye should arrange the dates.”
The heartfelt earnestness of her apology only fanned the flames of his desire, and he groaned inwardly.
Ach, God, why does she have to be so sweet? She has nay idea what she’s doin’ to me!
He was quite unable to stop himself from bending down and putting his lips to her ear.
For a moment, he simply breathed in the floral scent of her hair. Then, he whispered, “And ye’d better be ready. Because I promise that the first one will be comin’ up very soon.”
As he straightened up, he was gratified to see her cheeks flushing scarlet, relishing the power to unsettle her.
Her eyes dipped for a moment, but when she looked up at him, her smile seemed even warmer than before. “I’m lookin’ forward to it very much, Edan. I love surprises,” she murmured.
Fixated on her lips, thinking how good it would feel to kiss them, Edan felt himself starting to lean towards her. Then, a door slammed loudly somewhere below, and the spell was broken.
His mask snapped back into place. “Good. I’ll let ye ken the time,” he heard himself say matter-of-factly, as though concluding a business deal.
She nodded, still smiling sweetly. “Aye, all right.”
“Good, then.”
He forced himself to turn around and leave her standing there, but he knew she was watching him as he walked down the hallway. It had never seemed so long in his life.
“I’m so excited, Megan,” Olivia told her maid a couple of days later. “I cannae wait to find out what Edan has planned for our first outing.”
The pair were in Olivia’s chambers, and Megan was helping her look her best because Edan had sent word that he would be coming to collect her at three o’clock that afternoon.
“Well, if ye dinnae stand still and let me button up yer gown, then ye may never find out,” Megan replied testily as she struggled with the row of tiny pearl buttons at the back of Olivia’s dress.
“Sorry, but me nerves are all ajangle,” Olivia told her apologetically, doing her best to stay still. “I feel like a bairn waitin’ for Yule to arrive. He’s organized it all by himself, and ’tis goin’ to be a big surprise.”
“Hmm, I’m nae too fond of surprises. They can too easily turn into disasters. There, that’s the last button, thank the Lord,” the maid said, turning Olivia around so they could look at her reflection in the full-length mirror.
“Och, dinnae spoil me fun. I’m already nervous enough, and ye’re nae exactly helpin’,” Olivia chided gently. “What’s wrong with ye today? Ye seem out of sorts.”
“Ach, if I tell ye, ye’ll only laugh at me,” the maid said, adjusting Olivia’s sleeves.
“I promise I willnae laugh.”
“Well, all right then. If ye promise. ’Tis just that earlier today, when I was comin’ back from the laundry, I saw a wee bird fly into a window.”
Olivia waited for her to elaborate, but Megan seemed to feel she had said enough.
“I see. What has that got to do with anythin’?” Olivia asked eventually, mystified.
“’Tis a bad omen, that’s what,” the maid replied. “It means somethin’ bad is about to happen.”
Olivia sighed. “Och, Lord, Megan, nae that superstitious nonsense again.”
“There, I kenned I shouldnae have told ye.”
“How can a bird with a poor sense of direction mean bad luck?”
“It just does, that’s all, whether ye believe it or nae,” Megan said stubbornly.
“If ye say so,” Olivia muttered, dismissing the matter, determined not to allow anything to dampen her enthusiasm for the outing.
Despite their differences, she was looking forward to finally having Edan all to herself and getting to know him better.
Agreeing to her wish meant more to her than he would ever know, especially since he was such a difficult man to get along with.
She secretly hoped it would mean fewer arguments, and fewer nerve-wracking moments when she was unsure of what he was going to do next.
“So, how do I look?” She looked in the mirror and was rather pleased with what she saw.
“Perfect, of course. Like ye always do, thanks to me,” Megan replied cheekily, recovering her good humor as quickly as always.
“Aye, thanks to ye. I love me hair.”
Megan had plaited her hair and pinned the plaits up to form a pretty crown, which she had dressed with some sprigs of purple heather.
“Well, I thought this style would be both practical and pretty,” Megan explained. “Yer hair willnae be flyin’ all over the place and gettin’ in a mess.”
“Good thinkin’,” Olivia praised. “I’m grateful for yer forethought. And the heather is almost the same shade as me dress.”
The dress was made of fine deep, heathery blue wool. It was quite modest in design, she thought, although the neck revealed just enough cleavage to be fashionable.
“I do hope Edan likes me dress,” she murmured.
Though she always blushed to her roots whenever he teased her by looking at her body with frank lasciviousness or touching her as when he had made her sit on his lap, she could not deny the urge to attract him.
There was something about his raw, uncompromising masculinity that stirred some unnamed appetite deep inside her.
“He’d have to be blind nae to appreciate it,” Megan observed drily.
Megan was just dabbing some rose perfume behind Olivia’s ears when a firm knock sounded at the door.
“He’s here!” Olivia cried, springing up from the stool and hurrying to open the door.
Edan stepped inside, and she was immediately struck by how handsome he looked, wrapped in furs over a dark blue coat that almost matched her dress, a fine, embroidered waistcoat, and a pair of black trews and boots. His scars and unruly dark hair lent him a devilish air that made her heart race.
“Ye look very dashing,” she blurted out without thinking, secretly admiring the way his clothes so perfectly outlined his muscular physique.
He gave her an indecipherable look. “Ye look nice as well,” he said finally.
Olivia found the lackluster comment unaccountably disappointing after the trouble she and Megan had gone to. But she told herself not to be so silly and let her excitement shine through.
“So, are ye ready for our first outing?” he asked.
“Aye, I’m ready.”
Megan came up behind her and draped a marten fur cloak around her shoulders, winking at her so Edan could not see. “Good luck, have fun,” she whispered.
Olivia gave her a fleeting smile before following Edan out of the chamber.
He offered her his arm as they left the keep. She took it with a smile and let him lead her through the castle grounds, not knowing where they were heading. She did not ask because she did not want to spoil the surprise, and she was already touched that he had arranged everything.
They walked in silence for a little while, but as they stepped onto a broad, gravel path that bisected the gardens, he suddenly said, “Ye ken, I’ve noticed we have somethin’ in common.”
“We do?” she asked, finding the notion faintly pleasing.
“Aye.”
“And what might that be?”
“Precision. Precision is what we have in common.”
Confused, she said, “I have no idea what ye are talkin’ about.”
“Well, do ye remember the other day when ye killed that spider?”
“Aye,” Olivia replied hesitantly, wondering where this was going.
“When ye hit it with yer shoe spot on like that, that showed ye have precision.”
“Ye think so? But there was nay skill in hittin’ it with me shoe. I think I was just lucky,” she said modestly.
Edan chuckled, mystifying her further. “Let’s find out, shall we? Here we are.”