Page 51 of A Nameless Highland Laird
He studied her face, trying to make out whether or not she was telling the truth. There was a glimmer of hope dancing in her eyes and if he chose to believe her, it would make sense. By agreeing to her request, he would be getting her out of a relationship that appeared to make her very unhappy.
On the other hand, she could be claiming to need his help only to get closer to him. He had already let his guard down around her once. He was likely to do it again and if he did that, she would be able to gather information that could cost him everything. With Alec by her side, she could take what she knew already to use against him. He had to be sure what he was getting himself into before he agreed to anything.
“Why should I believe ye? Ye have come here only to appease yer father, a well-kent enemy of my clan. And ye have come with another man at yer side. Why should I believe that ye are nae here gathering as much information about me and my clan as possible so that ye can use it against me?”
She blinked and that glimmer he had seen disappeared. Her tears had faded too, leaving only disbelief in their wake.
“Cameron, I would nae—”
“Ye can say whatever ye want to say now, but I ken how quickly things are prone to change. So let me assure ye of this—whatever stories ye think ye have, whatever knowledge ye think ye can sell about me, nay one will believe it. I am the Laird of the Knox clan and ye are nothing but the mere daughter of one of the smallest clans in the Highlands. They will nae take yer word over mine. Ye have even said yerself that yer father would believe the word of a stable boy over ye. Do ye really think they would believe ye more than a Laird? Nay. They will nae. So these crazy stories about me nae being the rightful heir and Laird to the Knox clan should die right here, right now.”
His chest heaved as he spat out those last few words. They were infinitely more defensive and aggressive than he had intended them to be, but as he spoke, he was unable to hide his anger. This entire situation was absurd and entirely his own fault, but it was easier to cast the blame onto Charlotte than deal with it himself.
The couple sat for several heartbeats, staring at each other from across their respective sofas. His own arms were crossed against his chest as he tried to will his breathing to return to normal. Between the restless sleep and waking up to her in his arms and now having this conversation, he was amazed he wasn’t knee-deep in another breathing attack. Her hands stayed folded in her lap though the corners of her eyes narrowed just slightly. He knew she was thinking, coming up with something. He could see it written clear across her face, he only had to wonder what she was going to say.
She shifted in her seat, sliding to the edge of the sofa and leaned forward. A whiff of her drifted through the air reminding him that only minutes ago she had been wrapped in his arms. Her mind was in an entirely different place when she opened her mouth to speak again.
“Will ye make an arrangement with me?”
“What?” he sputtered.
Her question was the last thing he expected to hear.
“A deal, Cameron. I want to make a deal with ye.”
He tilted his head back, sensing that she was done playing around. It was clear that she didn’t respond well to his thinly veiled threats and he thought he liked her all the more for it.
“What kind of deal?” he asked, intrigued.
“One that solves both of our problems.”
“Ye have my attention,” he told her with more ease and confidence than he felt.
“It seems as though we both have problems that the other can help fix. I need to get out of this mess with Alec and ye need people to stay away from questioning yer legitimacy. If ye help me break things off with Alec without causing a scandal, I will be happy to marry ye. I will keep yer secret and never let anyone ken whatever truth ye are hiding. I will play my part and be the dutiful wife that solidifies yer claim to the Knox lairdship.”
She said all the right things, promised him everything he had been so terrified of losing. If she was true to her word, even Alastair would never have to find out about his indiscretion. But that would mean trusting her to keep her word and his secrets. Though, he guessed he now held a secret of hers, too. If anyone ever got wind about her affair with a servant, she would be ruined regardless of whom she married. That made them even enough for him to agree.
“Aye. Ye have yerself a deal.”
She stood and stuck her hand out, though it was awkwardly done. He too pushed himself off the sofa, finding his bones much lighter than they had been a few minutes before. But he stared down at her hand questioning her actions.
“What are ye doing?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Is this nae what ye men do when ye have come to an agreement? Ye shake on it and it then becomes a vow.”
Understanding dawned on him and he stretched out his own hand, grasping her forearm. Giving it a strong shake, he nodded. But when she tried to pull her hand out of his grip, he held on just enough to stop her.
“Let this be the beginning of the vows we make and keep between us,” he murmured as he bent his head and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.
