Page 36 of A Virgin for the Icy Laird
“I am well.”
“Ye lookunwell,” he stressed.
Adair did not answer. Instead, he rolled his eyes and brought his glass to his lips. He knew silence was the best way to coax out his man-at-arms’ thoughts.
“It isnae me place to ask, me Laird, and I willnae ask, but I have to say one thing.”
There it is.
“Go ahead.”
“Yer faither used to say that a man can give his word a hundred times and break it once and still be a man of his word, so long as the once was for somethin’ worth the breaking.”
His brow furrowed. He had never heard his father utter the words in all the years he had been by his side. For a moment, he wondered if Fergus was passing off his wisdom as his father’s. If it could be considered wisdom.
“And what is yer point?”
“I have no point.” Fergus bowed his head and reached for the stockings. “I am only an old man with a memory.”
When his gloved hand wrapped around the stockings, Adair felt a tug in his chest.
“Stop.”
If Emily held the key to his darkest emotions, it would be unwise to part with her so abruptly. The metal could snap, and the only security he still had in place would fall apart. She had already slipped past his defenses; anything was possible at the moment.
“Daenae bother.” He snatched the stockings and tucked them in his pocket, as if he feared for the first time that Fergus would disobey a command.
That evening, Adair went looking for Emily.
He found Callum first, pacing down her corridor, looking as though he had just won a major feat. His brother did not see him until he looked up from his feet.
What mischief is he up to now?
“Braither, good evening.”
“What are ye doing here?”
Callum’s chambers were on the opposite side of the castle, and if he didn’t look as though he’d been caught in a theft, Adair would have believed he was on his way to him.
Callum jutted his chin, puffing out his chest as a rooster would do in an attempt to intimidate a bigger foe. Still, it was all a farce.
“I could a-ask y-ye the same,” he stammered.
Adair took a step forward. “Ye stand two doors away from me betrothed’s chambers. Am I nay longer allowed to visit her?”
“This late in the evening?” Callum turned his head toward the moon. “Braither, I daenae wish to scold ye, but do ye nae think ye are being improper?”
“Ye are right, it seems I should spend me night wondering why ye are stalking this corridor.” Adair reached out to grab him by the back of his collar. “Follow me.”
Callum sidestepped and avoided his hand. Adair cocked a brow, dropping his hand to his side. “Daenae be so hasty. Do as ye please, but Lady Emily stepped out almost an hour ago.”
“And ye ken this because…?”
“I bumped into her when she was leaving.”
“And ye’ve remained here since then?”
“I-I lost track of time.”
