Page 28 of A Nameless Highland Laird
9
The day passed much too slowly for Cameron’s tastes.
It wasn’t long after his confession about reading that Alastair had sought him out, demanding his time and attention for the rest of the afternoon. They had spent hours locked in the study together, pouring over old clan records, trying to get a better understanding of the state of the clan. Ultimately, Cameron knew he would have to go see the land and the people for himself, but he wasn’t ready to do that yet, no matter how much Alastair pushed for it.
His thoughts were only half present as he watched the hours on the clock tick by. What truly took up the majority of his attention was thinking about when he would get to see Charlotte again.
When Alastair had pushed him out of the dining room to go off in search of her that morning, he had expected to hate every second of it. How pleased he was to find that being around her was the most refreshing thing he had experienced in a long while. Dinner was sure to be no different.
As he had done the night before, he got to the dining room first. It helped him to feel more in control of the whole evening. He went straight for the decanters of wine, filling his cup while the servants moved around the room, getting everything set up.
He had made more effort tonight than he had for their first dinner, making sure his hair was neatly combed and that his jacket actually fit this time. He had even gone as far as changing his shirt to a clean one that hadn’t been stained. All that was left to do was wait for her.
The minutes passed by, giving him more time for his nerves to build. By the time the door opened, he could no longer sit still. He had taken up pacing behind the table, stopping only once he heard the door knob turn.
“I apologize for my tardiness,” she greeted with a smile. “My hair did nae want to cooperate with my maid today.”
“It looks verra bonny to me,” he complimented.
Her cheeks flushed, making her look even more enchanting. Tonight she was in a dusty rose dress that complimented her pale skin and auburn hair. She looked like one of the flowers they had stopped to admire that morning. Cameron stumbled and searched for the words to say just that, but came up empty. Luckily, he was saved by the butler.
“Dinner is served,” the man said with a bow.
“Shall we?” Cameron offered.
She nodded, giving him a warm smile as she moved towards her place at the table. Just as he had done at breakfast, he held out her chair and tucked it in behind her, making sure she was settled before moving to his own seat. Some might have seen his actions as chivalrous, but they were selfishly motivated. He wanted to be close enough to her to smell the lavender scent drifting from her skin once more.
“Did ye enjoy the rest of yer day?” she asked, filling her plate with the food.
“I dinnae ken that I would call it enjoyment, but it was nae bad,” he answered, eyeing his options carefully. “Did ye?”
“Och, aye. The library was so wonderful. I spent most of my day there.”
He smiled at the picture of her, slippers off and feet tucked under her with a book in her lap. It was one he hoped to see for himself one day.
The shuffling of servants as they moved around the room to replace empty containers and refill his cup put him on edge again. They were an unwanted interruption. With the extra set of eyes, he was nothing but a bundle of nerves, which made him even more likely to spill something on himself—if he dared to brave the food, that was.
Annoyed, with a wave of his hand he sent the maids out of the room.
“The lady and I will see to ourselves. We will call if we need anything. Thank ye.”
They left more quickly tonight than they had at dinner the night before, but he didn’t fail to notice their confused expressions still lurking as they left the room. Charlotte wore a similar expression, not making an effort to hide her bewilderment at his actions. She had been confused the night before too, though she was too polite to say anything. It seemed as though now that they knew each other a bit better, she wouldn’t be so shy in voicing her concern.
He could see in her eyes that she wanted to ask him about it. He waited a beat, watching her stab a few pieces of meat on her fork, and then she looked up at him.
“Why did ye send them away? It is nae that I mind, I have just never been to a dinner with a Laird who did nae have maids to serve him at dinner. And ye never eat, ye only drink wine. Surely that cannae be enough to get ye through the day. If it is none of my business, just say so and I will nae ask again. I mean nae offense, I just—”
“Charlotte,” he interrupted.
She stopped her ramblings and set her fork down, folding her hands in her lap.
“I just dinnae like having half a dozen people standin’ over my shoulder watchin’ me while I eat. What can I say, I am a shy eater.”
He shrugged off her question with a smile, trying to dissipate the tension that had suddenly formed in the room. But she only looked at him, her head tilted as though she didn’t entirely believe what he was saying.
“A shy eater?” she echoed with a small smile. “I dinnae ken that I have ever heard of that before.”
A sigh slipped out of him. This was a question that he knew he would have to answer eventually, he had just hoped to have more time to come up with a better answer. Cameron set down his cup and leaned forward on the table, his arms resting just beyond his plate.
