Page 50 of A Nameless Highland Laird
“That does nae explain how ye wound up in mybedand nae just in my chambers,” he pointed out, still not fully believing her story.
“Ye are the one responsible for that,” she informed him, her cheeks darkening even as she picked up her chin in defiance. “I was only trying to calm ye down, to help ye breathe, when ye yanked me down to lay on top of ye.”
He could see it in her eyes that she was telling the truth. His own cheeks threatened to turn pink, though he swallowed his embarrassment, covering it with anger.
“Look, I understand that ye think ye were helping, but ye dinnae have to take care of me. Dinnae fash about me, lass. I will be fine. These breathing attacks and nightmares are nae new to me.”
“Cameron—”
“I donnae need ye to take care of me. As long as we both play our part and get married, all will be well. That is the only thing ye need to do.”
She bowed her head. His tone had been harsh, as were his words, but he meant them. He didn’t need her pretending to care, pretending to worry about him. He just needed her to go through with their marriage. Eventually he would need an heir, but that was a problem for a later time. Right now, he needed to stay focused on the fact that she had every reason to walk away from him.
The silence stretched between them, taut and heavy. He was waiting for her to storm out of the sitting room, to yell or threaten something but she did none of that. She stayed frozen, unmoving except for her hands that twisted in her lap.
“Cameron, I did nae come here to argue with ye.” She looked up at him, her eyes saddened. “I came to clear the air. To fix what has happened between us. I dinnae like it. This is nay way to start a marriage.”
“And ye ken how to start a marriage? Pray tell, where do ye get all this insight on what a relationship should look like?”
He knew he was hitting where it hurt, but for weeks he had been unable to get the image out of his mind of that stable boy leaving her rooms. Jealousy burned through him, hot and unforgiving. He readied himself for her own sharp retort. Instead, he was met with something else entirely.
“I am sorry, Cameron. I should never have agreed to this betrothal, to come here when I was still carrying on an affair with another. It is nae fair to anyone. I have brought great shame upon ye and for that, I am deeply sorry.”
His head jerked back in surprise. He had been so sure that she was there to blackmail him into doing her bidding. That she had figured out the truth about his dubious claim to the Lairdship and would hold it against him. But instead of weaponizing his weaknesses against him, she was there, apologizing for hers. He was without words.
“There is much I could tell ye about Alec, and I am willing to answer any questions ye may have. But the most important thing I think ye should ken is that my relationship with him has caused me pain for some time. It started out as an innocent, young love and has turned into something much harder than that.”
“I only need the answer to one question.”
“Anything, please ask me anything,” she told him, her words rushed and agreeable.
“Do ye intend to continue yer relationship with this Alec? If our engagement was nae enough to break it off, will our marriage be? Will I have to tolerate his presence here until then?”
She sagged at his words. Tears gathered in her eyes as she shook her head ‘no’.
“Of course nae. In truth, I was hoping that our engagement would be sufficient enough of a reason for me to be able to walk away from him cleanly. I have been concerned for months that if I ended things, Alec would go to my father and accuse me of whatever he could think of. He could ruin my reputation despite it being nay more than a young love on my end. Somewhere along the way, he has convinced himself that I belong to him. That he is owed me.”
“And ye are all right with this?” Cameron asked incredulously.
“Nay!” she all but shouted. “Nay, I am nae. At first, I enjoyed having someone in my life who took an interest in me. He wanted to be around me, to hear my thoughts. After my mother died, there was nay one left who was willing to do that. It was what attracted me to him. But that interest evolved into possessiveness. I was nae to look or speak or think of another man, nae even my brother. Only the mention of my father was tolerated and I believe that was because he was the Laird. He was much more cautious there than he has been here.”
Cameron settled further into his seat, her story slowly washing away his fears.
“I imagine he did nae take the news of our engagement verra well,” he commented, all traces of sarcasm and anger gone.
“Nay, he did nae. In truth, I did nae either. I had only heard the worst rumors about the infamous Laird Knox. And I had only a few days to prepare before I was set to leave. My father never told me he was in discussion with ye about it. By the time I found out, I hardly had any time to talk about it with Alec. He kent I was nervous and only worsened those fears, reminding me of all the awful things the Highlands whisper about ye. When I walked out of the castle the morning I was to leave, Alec rode out with me. At first, I was relieved just to ken that someone would be going with me. But then I met ye and discovered that none of those rumors were true.”
He swallowed. His entire life he had strived to be as different from his father as possible. It was comforting to know that he had not held up to the legends his father left behind, but he still didn’t know where Charlotte was going with her story.
“Once I discovered that ye were nae as horrible as all the stories claimed, I was ready to send Alec away. Being engaged meant that I did nae longer have to stay with him. But when I tried to talk to him about it, he grew verra angry. I was scared he would do something horrible. I thought he would go to ye and admit to our affair, causing ye to send me back to my father having failed his orders with a ruined reputation. I could nae bear that.”
“And when did ye have this talk with him?” he asked, trying to piece together an accurate timeline of events.
“A week ago.”
That was the night he saw Alec leaving her rooms. He must have shown up right as their argument ended, otherwise he would have overheard it.
“Since then,” she continued, “I have told him that I needed space. I have nae seen him in several days. In truth, I dinnae wish to see him again. I came to talk to ye because, well, because I was hoping that ye would help me to end this affair. With ye by my side, I dinnae think he will be able to cause any real damage, though he will threaten to do so. This has only gone on for this long because I have nae been able to find a way out of it. Would ye help me?”
