Aria cursed him for taking the warmth from her. “Forget it. I’m not giving it up.”
“You’re not curious about how we have so much in common?” he asked her. “About why you were sent here—to me?”
“Who says I was sent for you? You weren’t even the first person I met. It was Will. Maybe I was sent here for him and not you! Or…or maybe I was sent here for me! You didn’t think of that, did you?”
“Miss Darling?” Will Gable called out beyond the early evening mist. “Is that you?”
“Will!” she exclaimed, sounding more excited than she felt. She waited until the horse stopped before she practically leaped from its back and into Will’s arms.
“I was beside myself with worry,” Will said without letting her go. “I wanted to go to the castle today to check on you, but my mother was afraid of inciting—”
He looked up at the marquess, who was staring at him from his mount’s back, waiting for him to finish.
“—your wrath, my lord.”
Aria watched the marquess’ smile curl his lips and then spread into a dark grin.
“Your mother knows, then, how easily her son rakes on one’s last nerve.”
“Will,” Aria said nervously. She shouldn’t have asked the marquess to bring her here knowing the animosity between them. “I think your mother, and perhaps even you, are wrong about the kind of person the marquess is. He’s been nothing but ki—”
“He’s not wrong,” the marquess interjected. “His family knows well enough that my wrath is not to be trifled with.”
“Why?” she challenged, glaring at him with her hands on her hips. “Will you get your horse after him? Wouldn’t you have already done that to his brother if it was possible? His coming to the castle to inquire after me would not incite your wrath. You’re not that kind of man.”
His smile shone in his eyes. It didn’t matter if he used his lips or his eyes to show his pleasure. No matter what else she told herself, she liked that she brought out a little bit of him. He angled his head at her as if he wanted to ask her how she knew what kind of man he was.
“You’re not wrathful,” she told him. “Detached maybe, but not wrathful. You hardly blink an eye when I insult or challenge you. You didn’t even get angry when I kicked your sword out of your hand.”
His gaze flicked beyond her head, to Will. He shot out a feigned laugh and shook his head. “It’s very different, Gable. I don’t dislike her.” His eyes widened for a second and he coughed softly.
He didn’t dislike her. Did that mean he liked her? What if he did? She didn’t like him. More importantly, she wasn’t staying.
“Okay, enough,” she admonished, holding her hands up. “Will, I just wanted you to know that I was alright. He isn’t a mad ogre.” She smiled, knowing the marquess heard.
“Mayhap just to you, little lion.”
She heard him, but she pretended not to. There weren’t any men in her past. Her past, like her future, was dedicated to dancing and then to helping her parents. She worked. She had no time for play. Conn needed tuition for an online college or something to help him live. Her mother needed help putting food on the table. How were they eating without her? She felt a sudden rush of panic flood her senses. She had to find a way home and stop thinking of the beautifully expressive dancer trapped behind walls he’d built to keep others out.
“I assume none of the doors in the castle was the one you needed,” Will said. Perhaps he hadn’t heard the marquess’ confession.
“I haven’t checked any others yet,” she told him.
“Why not?” the marquess asked. “I would have thought that was the first thing you did when you woke up this morning.”
“I didn’t want to do it alone. If I walked in on someone without you there with me—”
He held up his hand, silencing her from explaining further. But he didn’t say another word.
“If you find the door, I will not see you again,” Will said in a cracked voice.
Aria didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t wanted him to get any false hope about them. What should she say to him?
“Ghost is cold.”
She and Will both blinked and looked up at the marquess when he spoke. Aria eyed his horse. Ghost. Right. Figures. The beast did look cold though.
“We should go,” the marquess said.