Page 16 of A Virgin for the Icy Laird
“I am nae shackling meself to anyone. We are only pretending to be engaged. At the end of the month, we’ll break it off, and ye and I will move on well paid.”
“That doesnae make it better. Ye would be seen with him everywhere. Ye have to pretend to love a man ye daenae ken or love. Does it nae matter to ye?” Elize protested.
“It isnae that difficult,” Emily argued.
“It is. Ye are sacrificing yerself again. I daenae like it.”
“It isnae.”
“It is,” Elize insisted.
“What will ye have me do? Reject comfort for ye because I cannae do one simple thing?”
“I would rather we go back to our former lives than ye losing yer dignity to provide for us,” Elize huffed.
Emily’s cheeks reddened at the harsh words.
“Will dignity provide us with food and clothes?” she retorted.
“We always found a way, Emi,” Elize said stubbornly.
“Barely!” Emily shot back.
“It has always been enough. We have always made it enough,” Elize replied with that annoying optimism that was firmly rooted in naivety.
It fanned Emily’s anger to a boiling point.
Sensing her emotions spilling over, she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her harder than she had intended. Then she returned to her room.
Elize was blissfully ignorant. Perhaps it was for the best that she did not understand the struggle of survival.
Tension had begun mounting early in the morning when Adair had knocked on her door. He looked so attractive in his pristine shirt and artfully styled hair that she was momentarily distracted.
“Ye are coming with me,” he said, jolting her out of reverie.
It was enough for her to realize that he was dressed formally, with his white shirt tucked beneath his plaid.
“Are we heading to a meeting?” she asked quietly, doing her best not to squirm under his intense gaze.
“Aye, I wish to introduce ye to the clan as me betrothed. There is no better time than now,” he replied curtly.
It seemed it was time to pay for her keep.
“Alright, I will get ready,” she said, forcing her lips into something that somewhat resembled a smile.
“I will return shortly, then.”
With that, he turned to leave.
She closed the door behind him, leaning against it for a while to gather her thoughts, before going to the chest and choosing a dress.
It had to be something respectable that also flattered her complexion and didn’t make her look like she had just escaped an orphanage.
Eventually, she settled on a green dress, and with the help of the lady’s maid assigned to her and her sister, she was soon ready, her hair twisted into intricate braids.
She could not deny that she looked good.
A knock sounded at the door.
