Page 44 of A Nameless Highland Laird
Her mouth dropped open.
“I am only thinkin’ of what is best for ye,” he told her, rather convincingly. “Take all the time ye need—the rest of the morning, the day, even if ye need tomorrow too. I will be there when ye are ready. Ye need only send for me.”
She didn’t deign to respond as he slipped out of her sitting room and into the hallway just beyond it. It wasn’t until the echo of his footsteps on the stone floor had faded that she let go of the breath she had been holding. Her fists were clenched, as was her jaw. It took her several minutes to convince the muscles to unfurl and relax.
There had been times when Alec had been dismissive or blind to her true emotions. There had been times when he had yelled and gone into rages of his own. There had even been times when he had ignored her for days on end for some perceived slight. But never before had he treated her thusly.
She felt as small as the threads on the carpet, only worthy of being stepped on for all time. He had not only blamed her for their entire predicament, but had even gone so far as to suggest that she needed medical attention for having any emotion beyond complacent happiness.
To her disbelief, her eyes stung with tears that had begun to gather. She was so angry, so worked up that the only way she knew how to process it was through crying. The thought made her mad all over again.
Charlotte paced across the sitting room for the better part of an hour, letting her thoughts tumble around in her head. She finally had space from Alec and all she could think about was him and the ridiculous things he had said. Her shoes threatened to wear a hole in the floor before she was able to think about anything else.
By the time her heart rate slowed and her breathing returned to normal, the morning was gone. Elizabeth knocked on the door, a lunch tray in hand, oblivious to the inner turmoil roiling inside of Charlotte. But Charlotte answered her maid all the same, the beginnings of a plan starting to form in her head.
“I did nae think ye would be up and movin’,” Elizabeth quipped as she set the tray on the table beside the book Alec had stolen. “I have seen ye do little else but sit on the couch and read. Have ye decided to finally snap out of whatever has kept ye locked in here?”
“Aye,” Charlotte said firmly. “Aye, I have.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at her determined tone.
“I think it is well past time that I rejoin the Laird for our evening meal. Afterall, it is nae good for a man to go so long without seeing his betrothed.”
“That is what I have been tryin’ to tell ye all week,” Elizabeth huffed.
“I have finally managed to hear ye. Elizabeth, draw a bath and fetch the oils. I want to make quite the impression on Laird Knox tonight, if ye please. And prepare yerself. It is going to be a long afternoon. We have much work to do if we are going to make anything of this mess.”
Charlotte gestured to her hair and face, knowing a week in her room had taken its toll. But she was done hiding and she was done doing everyone else's bidding. It was time that she started going after what she wanted.
She took her time getting ready, soaking in the bath and scrubbing every inch of her skin. When she was done, Elizabeth brushed her hair over and over until it was dried and gleaming in the candlelight. It was braided into a simple plait but still accentuated her features, drawing attention to her eyes and cheekbones. Finally, she selected her dress, choosing one of the new ones that had been made for the journey. It was a pale, sage green that looked like the dew that sat on the grass at first light. The fabric tucked and hung in all the right places, making her feel more beautiful than she ever had before.
“I wish I could tell the seamstresses what an excellent job they did with this dress,” she mused to her maid.
“Och, they have high enough opinions of themselves without ye feedin’ them more.”
Charlotte chuckled as she added the finishing touches—her mother’s pearls.
“Laird Knox will nae ken what to dae wit’ ye. He might demand ye go to the chapel tonight to wed,” Elizabeth complimented.
“Ye said that the first time we did this too,” Charlotte reminded, blushing at the compliment.
“Aye and I meant it then just as much as I do now.”
As much as she appreciated her maid’s compliments, Charlotte cared more about clearing the air between her and Cameron than anything else. Almost a week apart, trapped with Alec, had given her some much needed clarity. There would be no getting out of the fact that she was marrying Cameron and with that being the case, she wanted to make sure that their marriage started off on the right foot.
She walked the corridors alone, amazed to see how much she had truly missed doing so. If dinner went well, she had already decided to invite Cameron to the library, having missed his company and the atmosphere of the room. The idea made her pick up her pace.
Much to her dismay, Cameron was nowhere to be found as she let herself into the dining room.
“Och, hello lass. I did nae ken we were expecting ye to join us tonight. Are ye feeling better?”
Charlotte schooled her features to hide her surprise at Alastair’s greeting. He had so rarely attended dinner with Cameron that she had not been expecting it, though Charlotte reminded herself she had hardly attended many dinners either.
“I am, thank ye,” she told him, her voice the picture of politeness.
He nodded and motioned to an empty chair across from where he now stood.
“Please, I would be honored if ye joined me.”
