"This is the chamber I've had since I was a child," he said, sounding almost embarrassed. "I had that skylight put in so that I could look up at the stars."
"Skylight hardly covers it," Paisley breathed, eyes wide.
The room was a modest one, a simple space with a severely sloping ceiling, with a four-poster, curtained bed in one corner, a fireplace on the opposite wall, and a desk and chair somewhere in between. There were books, of course, but not so many as were packed into Dominic's room atTheSinner. She suspected that he'd brought most of his personal collection there. There were other pieces of furniture, of course – a wash basin, a chamber pot under the bed, a wardrobe, and so on.
But what really grabbed a person's eye was the vast window on one side of the room, and the huge skylight that covered the sloping side of the ceiling. The panes of glass were reinforced by beams, but the view it provided of the night sky and the surrounding landscape was truly breathtaking.
Paisley moved towards the window, almost holding her breath.
"I've never seen a window of such size, except at the conservatories back home."
Dominic chuckled behind her, and she turned to see him squatting beside the fireplace, arranging a few logs of firewood.
"I had it done specially," he said, creating a spark. "Maither thought it was ridiculous, of course, but I always loved it."
The fire caught, filling the room with warmth and light.
Then Dominic was right behind her, the warmth from his skin leeching into her, his hands hovering over her shoulders.
"It's a much finer view on a clear night," he murmured. "It was tricky to get curtains, though. The light wakes me up, so I had to put curtains around me bed."
Paisley glanced back at the bed. It was larger than she'd first thought, and the mattress was surrounded by thick velvet drapes, freshly dusted and aired.
"It's very clean in here."
"Aye, like I said, Maither keeps it clean just in case I want to come back," he chuckled, shaking his head. "She makes a fine Lady MacLennan, and nae mistake."
Paisley bit her lip, turning to face him.
"If I marry you, I'll become Lady MacLennan."
Dominic's eyes were soft. "Aye, ye will."
"Aren't... aren't you worried that I won't be able to do it?"
His brow furrowed. "What dae ye mean?"
Paisley broke away, pacing the length of the room.
"I mean that I've never really thought of myself as reallywifematerial. All the ladies back home are all just waiting to be married, and I suppose I thought the same. But being the lady of a Keep seems like such a responsibility. What if I'm not cut out for it? What if... what if I can't make you happy? Lord Ainsley said that I..."
"I'm going to stop ye right there, lassie," Dominic interrupted, crossing the room and snatching up her hands. "I daenae want ye to give that man's words a second thought ever again. Dae ye hear? He's a bone-headed fool that deserved everything he got. He doesnae – dinnae – know ye, nae in the slightest, and nor did he know me. Being Lady MacLennan is a high responsibility, for sure. I'll nae deny it. But ye are the finest woman I've ever met, Paisley. As to beingwife material, well, who knows whatthatis? It doesnae exist. Ye are nae interviewing to be a hirelin' now, lassie."
Paisley smiled wryly. "You have more faith in me than I have in myself, I think. I hope I can believe you in time. I hope I'm as capable as you seem to think."
He snorted, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"The sunrise doesn'tbeginbeing beautiful just because somebody said that it was. It was always beautiful."
Something caught in Paisley's throat, and she closed her eyes, leaning forward into his embrace. Dominic's arms tightened around her, firm and warm but never tight, and slipped her arms around his waist, flattening her palms against the smooth planes of his back.
There were warm fingers at her chin, tilting up her face, and Paisley tipped her head back to look up at him. Dominic's face was cast into a strange, flickering shadow from the fire, and she thought that his eyes had never looked warmer or sweeter.
"I love ye, Paisley," he whispered. "More than I ever thought I could love a person."
The words sent fizzles of heat through Paisley's chest.
"I love you, too," she replied, the words catching in her throat.