Page 79 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
“The two of us will be right outside if ye do,” the guard told her. “Ye only have to ask.”
“Thank ye,” the healer said.
She closed the door and returned to the chair behind Eileen without saying a word.
Eileen sat for a moment before she grew so restless. She stood up from the chair, looking at Reid before turning to the healer. “I need to step out for a moment,” she muttered.
“Aye, that’s nae a problem. I’ll be here with yer braither.”
Eileen nodded.
And the guards outside the door are for Reid’s protection. Nae that I could have stopped someone if they tried to get to him.
Her hand went to her waist as if the dirk was still there, but it was not. Hadn’t she hidden it in the music room? She couldn’t remember now.
She left the healer’s chambers and smiled at the guards as she passed. Then, she wandered through the castle in search of Archer.
Outside, it was getting dark. She’d barely slept the previous night, and as the light dimmed, she didn’t feel sleepy in the slightest.
As she walked, she felt she was being followed. She stopped and looked behind her, seeing no one lurking in the shadows. She felt no fear, even though she was sure someone was watching her. She looked into the shadows for another moment before turning around and walking on.
Eileen checked the council chambers first and found them empty. Most of the castle was quiet, what with the late hour, so she headed toward the Laird’s study. That was where she found him.
She saw the flickering light beneath the study door as she headed toward it. The orange light bounced off the opposite stone wall, making the shadows dance like ghostly wraiths. She made it to the door and tentatively poked her head around it.
If Archer had noticed her, he showed no sign of it. She watched as he read a letter. The light brought out the green in his eyes and accentuated the sharpness of his stubbled jaw.
His stubble had grown a little longer, suggesting he hadn’t the time to shave it, but she liked the rugged look. She also liked the broadness of his shoulders and the pinkness of his lips in the candlelight.
Lips that I so dearly want to kiss again.
Yet, beneath his strength and power, she saw a deep sadness, a growing chasm that plunged to the very depths of the earth. If she were to drop a rock down, it would fall and fall and fall forever and ever until it finally sank into a well of despair.
Eileen desperately wanted to kiss him again, to feel the tingles his touch left in its wake, but before that, she desperately wanted to soothe his troubled heart.
She cleared her throat.
“Aye, I see ye there,” he murmured without looking up.
“Am I in danger?” she asked as she entered the room. “Is Reid?”
“What makes ye think that?” Archer asked.
“The two guards ye have posted outside the healer’s door, and the ones ye have followin’ me at a distance through the castle.”
“There are always precautions to take,” he said airily.
“There’s a threat of war with O’Gunn,” Eileen pointed out.
“There’s always a threat of war.”
“Will ye please speak to me,” she begged. “Ye’re treatin’ me like a stranger.”
“Well, ye are a stranger, are ye nae?” Archer boomed, finally looking up at her. “It’s nae yer place to ken what’s goin’ on outside these walls—or within them, for that matter.”
Eileen was struck by his tone and froze to the spot. She gripped her skirt in both hands and twisted it. “Aye, well, I do deserve to ken, ‘cause ye have guards watchin’ me and Reid, and he might nae live. I ken we’re only pretendin’ to be betrothed, but that part isnae a pretense, is it? Ye have nay right to tell me what I need to ken or nae.”
Archer suddenly stood up and grimaced, staring her down before looking away.
