Archer shook his head, reminding himself that there were other things that he needed to be focusing on at that moment.
“The cook here makes delightful bannocks,” he said. “We could have him make some for ye. I’m certain they’re better than what ye had at the abbey.”
Emilie’s head snapped to him, surprise written clearly on her face.
“Ye want the cook to make bannocks for me?” she asked.
In her surprise, she had dropped the act for the briefest of moments. Her voice was no longer so high-pitched; it was grating. And her eyes were clearer than he’d seen them all day.
There ye are,he thought, allowing just the corner of his lip to tick up in a smirk.I ken ye wouldnae be able to keep it up this entire time.
Almost as if she could read his thoughts, Emilie seemed to realize what she had done. She shook herself, her eyes taking on the dull look of stupidity once more.
“I would love to try the bannocks,” she gushed, clearly trying to recover from allowing her guard to fall a split second before.
Before Archer could respond, a clap of thunder echoed through the sky. Both of them turned their eyes upward at the same time, and Archer wanted to curse as he noticed the dark, swirling clouds that were beginning to barrel down on them.
“We’ll need to make our way inside,” he explained, just as a fat rain drop fell down and splattered directly on the center of his forehead.
He looked at Emilie. Already, a few drops had found their way to her.
The light, yellow dress that she was wearing already contained a few dark spots where the drops had struck her.
“All right,” she murmured, nodding her head quickly.
Archer pointed toward the castle, toward the door that he knew was through the training courtyard. It led to the servants’ quarters, but it would be the quickest way for them to get inside.
They hurried across the grounds, making it to the door just as another crash of thunder sounded behind them, and the heavens truly began to pour down.
Archer shut the door behind them. The corridor they were in was long and narrow, forcing them to press in tightly as they walked down it.
Only a few sconces lined the walls, making it dim. But even in the flickering, low light, he could see drops of rain glimmering on Emilie’s skin.
Archer swallowed hard, the air between them suddenly becoming thick. The desire that he had been fighting for their entire walk welled up inside him again.
Glancing down at her, he found Emilie staring up at him. Her lips were parted, nearly begging to be kissed.
Archer knew that he shouldn’t. He knew that he had promised himself that what had happened on the cliff’s edge a few days ago would not happen again.
And yet, there he was. Unable or unwilling to fight off his desire for her. His hand began reaching out, ready to pull her into him.
The moment he moved, however, Emilie blinked rapidly, shaking her head as if to clear it.
She took several quick, retreating steps, moving herself along the slim corridor and out of his reach.
“Bannocks,” she cried out, the excuse falling from her lips. “I’m goin’ to go try those bannocks. I’ll see ye at supper.”
She turned on her heels, moving so quickly she was almost running as she disappeared down the corridor, leaving Archer so confused by her retreat that he didn’t even think to call out for her when she turned the wrong direction when she reached the very end.
“Why is this castle so big?” Emilie grunted, taking what she was certain was another wrong turn.
She was unsure how long she had been walking, and she’d gotten herself well and truly turned around. At least it was good for giving her time to think.
On their walk, Emilie had been entirely certain that she had done it. That her words had been stupid enough to convince Archer that she was not worth being married to.
But now she couldn’t help but think she had gone too far.
“It was the chickens,” she said out loud, doing her best to keep herself calm as she struggled to find her way to a familiar part of the castle. “There’s nay way anyone would believe I tried to teach chickens how to sing. Nay one is that stupid, and I bet that gave it away. That had to be it.”