Page 41 of The Ruthless Laird's Virgin
The musicians quickened the pace. Laughter echoed through the hall, yet Eleanor could focus only on the man standing before her. When the dance finally ended, she found herself breathless, and Callum looked no better. For a moment, neither spoke. The crowd swirled around them until applause erupted and another tune began.
Still, they remained standing there, staring at each other as other dancers began to move around them.
“I cannae believe it,” Callum said quietly. “But it seems as if ye have been holdin’ out on us.”
She blinked. “I daenae ken what ye mean, me laird.”
“I didnae ken that ye could dance. Ye struck me as someone who had spent her life readin’ books instead of dancin’.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “I am a young lady after all, me laird. Me father didnae lock me behind a desk for the past few years.”
“Nay?” His smile was teasing again.
“Nay,” she shook her head and fought against the smile that threatened her lips.
His grin widened. “Then ye deliberately allowed me to underestimate ye.”
Eleanor laughed. The sound seemed to affect him more than it should. Something changed in his expression. Something deeper. The smile slowly faded. The air between them shifted once more. Neither looked away. Around them, the ceilidh continued. Yet it felt as though they occupied a world entirely their own.
For one impossible moment, Eleanor wondered what it would be like if he stepped closer and reached for her hand again. What would it feel like if neither of them cared who was watching? Would he kiss her again? The pit of her stomach suddenly fluttered as images of him pressing her back against the tree flitted across her mind. She opened her mouth to say something, but someone came up from behind and gripped Callum’s arm, drawing his attention away from her.
When he looked back, there was regret in his eyes, but he allowed the man to draw him across the room and toward a group of young men who seemed to be arguing.
Eleanor sucked in a deep breath, wondering what it all meant between them. How was it possible that things felt so right when he was dancing with her?
The moment, however, was short-lived when she turned to see Hamish staring at her.
His gaze was just as intense as ever as he strummed the tips of his fingers on the table beside his mug.
Was he annoyed with her? Or was he waiting for something? The impatient look in his eyes made her wonder if he had planned on cornering her.
She quickly made her way across the room and chose the same spot against the wall. At least with her back covered, she felt a little safer knowing that she knew exactly where Hamish was. Yet her mind struggled to be at ease again as the man’s gaze followed her every move. Something would need to happen with the man, and the sooner they got to the bottom of it, the sooner Eleanor would be able to relax and focus on what mattered most, finding her brother.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Eleanor awoke the following morning to the sound of something being slid beneath her door. She opened her eyes and looked around the dimly lit chambers, and blinked. She could hardly recall what had happened the day before when she glanced to the side and spotted the note lying on the floor.
What on earth could that be?
She groggily pulled herself from under the covers and climbed from the bed. The floor felt cool beneath her bare feet, but she tiptoed over and lifted the note. It was still too dark for her to read, so she carried the scrap of parchment over to the hearth and lit a candle before blinking again.
The writing was neat and slanted, the work of someone who knew how to compose a note.
Her heart began to beat faster when her eyes glanced down the page.
I know where your brother might be. He mentioned to me on our last meeting that he wanted to visit the ruins outside the loch where the two of you used to play as children.
Her breathing stilled. There was no name to the note, no indication of who had written it or why they had even bothered to mention it to her.
The old ruins.
She knew very well what the writer was referring to, but she did not understand why her brother would mention them to anyone in the castle. It struck her like a bolt of lightning that someone had recognized her. Somebody knew that she was the sister of the land agent who had gone missing.
Hamish.
Her eyes widened as her hand encircled the note. He was the only one who had been staring at her as if he knew exactly who she was. There was no other person in the castle whom she could think of who had spoken to her brother other than a member of the council.
“I have to tell Callum at once,” she whispered out loud and hurried to dress.
