“I’m nae goin’ to tell ye what to do or how to navigate yer own marriage,” Marcus began, and then it was Archer’s turn to let out a joyless laugh.
“That would be the first time for that,” he chided.
Marcus just rolled his eyes and then continued.
“I’m nae goin’ to tell ye how to handle yer own marriage,” he repeated. “But just take what I said under advisement. As someone who cares for ye, it’s hard seein’ ye determined to always make yerself so miserable.”
Marcus didn’t wait for Archer to reply. He just dropped the tool he’d been using to lay the brick on the ground and turned away from him.
Archer stood in place, watching Marcus’ form disappear around the corner of the castle.
His thoughts were a jumbled mess, each one turning over the other, getting louder and louder so that Archer could not make out a single, individual thread of thought.
“I daenae want to stay here,” he grumbled out loud, the sound of his voice echoing off the stone of the training courtyard.
He threw the brick laying tool on the ground, vowing to himself that he’d send someone out to clean it all up later. And then, Archer started walking.
He had no idea where exactly he was heading, but he let his feet guide him. Hoping that if he moved enough, he would be able to avoid his own, ever spiraling mind.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Cannae believe that Marcus insists on speakin’ to me like that in me own home,” Archer grumbled.
He’d been walking for quite some time. So far, since he had left the sparring ring, Archer had stalked all the way through the castle.
He had stomped down the corridors, glaring at the painted portraits of his ancestors that watched him like ghosts on the wall. He had been sure that he could feel their disapproving eyes on him.
So, when his tirade through the castle did nothing to calm his racing mind, he’d stalked out onto the grounds.
He’d tried the stables, the archery course, the forest, and now he was menacing along the path in the hedge maze.
He’d had the route to the maze memorized since he was a child. So, the twists and turns provided absolutely no surprises or challenge to his already frazzled mind. But Archer did feel better with the massive hedges on either side, allowing him to be shrouded from view as he tried to work out everything he was thinking.
Why can I nae be friends with me wife? Would it be so terrible to allow meself that much?
It was a thought that he’d been battling for an hour now. Ever since Marcus had planted the idea in his head. And no matter how much Archer tried to convince himself that the thought was a stupid one, that it would be a mistake to allow himself to be close to anyone besides Marcus and Paisly, it was an idea that he simply could not let go of.
The path to the hedge maze opened up, golden sunlight shining upon the grass just beyond it. Without even noticing, Archer had made it all the way through the maze and out onto the other side.
The sea glimmered in the distance, the shimmering gray waves capped with white foam as they tossed about. Archer stopped just shy of exiting the maze, staring at the all-too-familiar water beyond it.
I’ll talk to Emilie. I’ll explain to her that what happened a few nights ago cannae happen again. But I willnae be friends with her. Marcus is wrong. Everythin’ will be tainted if I allow meself to get close to her. If I allow meself to get close to any of them.
“And the sword was pulled from the stone, raised up high in the air as if to pierce the clouds.”
Emilie’s voice rose up, floating to meet Archer on an errant breeze. It was as if thinking her name had conjured the woman herself.
Taking a step beyond the confines of the hedge maze, Archer looked around. It was easy to spot them, as they were not far off to his right.
The massive hedges must have masked quite a bit of the sound, more than he had realized. Because now that Archer was beyond the protection of the massive greenery, he could hear Emilie’s voice clearly.
She was seated on a large tartan blanket, her dark hair glinting with gold as it was kissed with sunlight. A book was plastered across her thighs, and she was reading from it.
One of the twins was nestled into either side of her, their attention not on the book at all. But at Emilie’s face.
Archer’s stomach hollowed out at the sight. This was precisely what he wanted when he’d arranged his marriage with Emilie’s parents.
He had wanted his children to have a mother. To have someone who could be there for them in all the ways that he could not.