Page 101 of The Scot’s Secret

“She agreed to return to Brockburg, or Dunmure, with us but asked for a few days to prepare.”

Dunmure Tower. She was pleased he considered going back. “So she is coming home with you?”

He turned that irresistible smile on her. “Aye, lass. As are you.”

With that, he spurred his horse forward, and Clara had no choice but to catch up. She had no opportunity to answer.

Which, she supposed, was just as well. She still wasn’t sure what to say.

* * *

It was settled.

Alex would return home with his mother and the woman who would be his wife.

He never imagined this journey would have led to either development. The revelations about his mother also opened a new possibility. He’d been opposed to claiming Dunmure because of the memories it held, sweet turned bitter, but now he could allow himself to honor and enjoy those memories.

His mother had not abandoned them.

Which changed everything.

Unfortunately, the woman who rode beside him now did not altogether share his enthusiasm about his plan. They headed back to the castle after a very short trip to the village. While he was surprised Clara had agreed to make the visit as herself, he was less so when, after spending just a few minutes there, she had begged him to leave. She wasn’t ready, she’d said.

He had tried to discuss the previous evening and their future, but she changed the topic to his mother. Alex could understand her reluctance. She’d endured much over the past years. But as comfortable as she’d become at Kenshire, there was a part of her that still clung to Alfred. That still clung to the perceived safety that disguise had given her.

“Walk with me,” he said as they dismounted in front of the stables.

She looked at him as if he would devour her, which he was sorely tempted to do.

They handed their reins to the groom and Clara followed him toward a set of stone stairs that led to a parapet overlooking the sea. They stood side by side, silent, for a long while.

“There’s something calming about the ocean,” he said.

“I’ve only seen it once before. I begged my father to accompany him to a holding not far south of here. He hardly ever agreed to take me with him, but on this occasion, he relented.”

As he watched her talk, Alex wondered how he ever could have believed her to be a boy. Standing against the bright rays of a setting sun, she was every bit a woman. . . a noblewoman. The vestiges of Alfred were becoming more of a memory every day.

“Though I was awed by such a sight—” she gestured to the sea below, “—it was the lady of the castle who most impressed me. She was so confident and assured, much like Lady Sara, that for years I thought about being just like her.”

He understood.

“I’ve not met a more confident woman than you, Clara. You will get along well with my sister,” he said suddenly. “We can visit Bristol.”

She didn’t answer him. They needed to openly discuss the future, but he could tell it still frightened her to do so.

“Once my mother is ready for travel, we’ll leave for Brockburg forthwith.”

Still, she said nothing.

“Where we will marry.”

Clara simply continued to stare out to the sea, as if he’d made a comment on the weather, not their future life together.

“Say something, Clara.”

When he saw her expression, he almost wished he hadn’t prodded her.

“I don’t know what to say.”