“I didn’t runfrom certain imprisonment in England just to be forced into another prison in Scotland!” she argued, wishing that she hadn’t sat down. There was no way to get away from him.
“What makesye think ye’re goin’ to be imprisoned?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“You’ve already toldme that I have to follow your rules,” Margaret explained, remembering the conversation they’d had in this very room a few days ago. “Once we’re married…actuallymarried, you could tell me to do anything, and I wouldn’t be able to get away.”
“First, I already told ye,”Ryan said, getting closer to her, “ye’ll have yer freedom. I’m nae takin’ that away from ye.”
“But—”
“Margaret,”he said sharply, stopping her train of thought, “I ken ye’re worried, but it’s nae as big an issue as ye think it is. Ye and Iwillbe wed.” He pulled back a bit, taking in her expression. Then he said, “Yer other choice is to be ruined.”
She swallowedhard before tearing her eyes away from him. Her attention focused on his heavy, dark wooden desk. She couldn’t find the words to respond to him. He was right, but none of this was what she wanted. She’d hoped it would be safe for her to leave before she had to go through with the marriage.
This is all soout of my control. I feel like I don’t even have a handle on my own life anymore. I’m entrusting it to Ryan, and I don’t know if he’ll make the right decisions for me.
“We’re gettin’married, Sassenach,” he said, his index finger coming to her chin. Much more gently than she thought possible, he tilted her face toward him. “We’re gettin’ married, and ye’re going to be all right. Ye daenae have to worry about yer reputation. It’ll be intact. Ye understand?”
Margaret nodded,her face heating up. He was so sure, and his attention was so steady. She felt his presence slowly soothing the anxiety swirling in her gut. In fact, that feeling was morphing into something completely different.
Why doeshe confuse me so? I should be scared. Iamscared. But the fear isn’t so overwhelming when he’s around.
“And I’m nae goin’to control ye,” he said, finality in his voice. “Though I doubt ye would let me control ye even if that was somethin’ I wanted to do.”
“You’re correct,”she said, cracking a smile.
That seemedto put Ryan at ease. After a beat, he dropped her chin and stood to his full height. He looked down at her, and from this angle, he was intimidating in a way that sent a thrill up her spine.
“I’ll letye do whatever ye want,” he said before the side of his mouth came up in a smirk. “For the most part at least.”
With that,he walked out of his study, leaving her alone. Margaret’s hand came up to her cheek. It was warm, and her stomach rolled with heat. Her mind struggled to make sense of what had just happened.
He saysI will have my freedom, and I think I might be starting to believe him.
Ryan marcheddown the corridor away from his study, adjusting his stiffening length as he went. He knew that it was perhaps inappropriate to be heated in this way after the conversationthey had had, but he couldn’t help it. Margaret’s spirit was intoxicating. The way his body reacted was natural and to be expected.
She hasnay idea what she does to me.
“There ye are, Me Laird,”Colby’s voice called, echoing from the other end of the hallway. “I was on me way to yer study.”
“I toldye that ye daenae need to call me yer Laird, Colby,” Ryan sighed, stopping his walk and turning toward him. “What do ye want?”
“Bit of a bampot today, are ye?”he teased, closing the distance between the two of them.
“Ye thinkI’m a bampot every day,” Ryan said, not rising to the bait. “Now, did ye truly need somethin’, or did ye just want to waste me time? I have matters I need to attend to.”
“Couldnae it be both?”
“Quit yer ridiculousness,”Ryan said as he ran a hand over his face. “What do ye need?”
“That complaintye took care of yesterday,” Colby started, stopping to let a maid hurry past them. “Just got word back from some of the guards that ye sent out.”
“Already?”Ryan replied with a raised eyebrow. “They were just dispatched this mornin’.”
“Aye, they were,”he confirmed, guiding Ryan toward a room they often used for meetings. “But our men are the best in the Highlands. They do their jobs, and they do them well.”
Ryan made a noise of acknowledgment,pulling the door closed behind them. Colby nodded toward the chairs, but Ryan shook his head. He didn’t intend to be here for long. Whatever Colby told him, he’d need to take time to come up with a plan to take care of it.
“Now, are ye goin’to tell me? Or would ye like to praise the guards we trained some more?” Ryan asked, feeling the threads of his patience wearing thin.