“That is all ye have to say?” she asked, unable to keep the disbelief from her voice.
“What else should I say?” he replied.
Her shoulders tensed. “Ye could remind me that this is yer castle.”
“I daenae need to remind ye of anything,” he said quietly.
“And Jamie?” she pressed. “Ye willnae try to take Jamie from me?”
His expression hardened. “Nay, I have nay intention of tearing a child from a mother.”
The words settled slowly into her chest. She realized then that she had been holding her breath since she spoke, and it left her in a shaky exhale.
“I expected…” She trailed off, unsure how to finish.
“That I would force ye?” he asked.
She did not answer.
He watched her a long moment, curious to know if she had always been this skeptical or if this was recent. “I willnae build a future on fear, Iona.”
The statement landed deeper than he likely intended.
Because fear had been the foundation of every decision she had made for years.
She assessed him again, searching for the catch. The hidden demand. The quiet shift that would reveal this had only been patience before pressure.
It did not come.
Instead, he stepped back, giving her space.
The distance felt respectful.
Strange.
Her shoulders loosened slightly, the tight coil in her chest easing for the first time since entering this room.
“I willnae lie,” he added after a moment. “I still believe marriage would bring stability.”
“I ken,” she said softly.
“But I willnae force ye,” he finished.
The certainty in his voice was not loud. It did not need to be.
She had lived too long expecting the worst to follow every moment of closeness. Too long waiting for kindness to twist into obligation.
Yet, here he stood, accepting her refusal without turning cold.
Without punishing her.
For the first time in a very long while, the ground beneath her feet felt… steady.
“I need time,” she said.
“I ken,” he replied.
She nodded once, unsure what else to offer.