That thought didn’t stophim from saying, “Ye ken, if ye want to see more deer, I ken of a clearin’ they go to frequently.”
The words hadtheir desired effect. Margaret’s demeanor immediately brightened. And when she gave him her attention, she was practically glowing.
“You do?”she asked excitedly, her hands gripping tightly to her skirts as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
“Aye,”he said, unable to stop himself from smiling. Her joy was infectious. “And it’s nae too far from the castle. Perhaps I could take ye there sometime. Ye might run into yer friend again.”
“Perhaps that’swhere they’re off to now,” Margaret suggested, glancing back into the woods as though the deer would appear to tell her whether she was correct in her assumption. “We should go there now and try to catch them.”
“Ach, nae tonight, Margaret,”he said, nearly flinching at how quickly her face fell. “The sun’s goin’ down. Soon, it’ll be dark. They’re likely goin’ back to their dens. We willnae find them at the clearin’ this evenin’.”
“Oh,”she said, frowning. Her bottom lip stuck out in a show of displeasure. “I suppose that makes sense. I don’t know much of anything about their habits.”
“Truthfully,I daenae ken much about them either,” Ryan admitted, closing the distance between them and putting an arm around her shoulders. “Me friend Aaron kens quite a bit about them.”
“I don’t remember meeting him,”Margaret said, her words landing like a blow directly to his gut. “Was he at the cèilidh?”
“Ach, nay,”Ryan replied, forcing his body to relax. “I didnae think that he would be able to get away from his duties. He’s the Laird of a neighborin’ clan. Though I wish that he could have been in attendance. The man does liven up any cèilidh he attends.”
“I’m sorry,”Margaret said after a tense moment. “I didn’t?—”
“Ye daenae have to apologize,”Ryan said quickly. “It was me who mentioned him. I figured ye’d hear his name sooner or later since ye’re me wife now. Eventually, ye’ll meet him. I’m sure that we’ll do business with him soon enough.”
“Right,”she murmured a bit awkwardly.
She moved a bit,as if to extract herself from Ryan’s hold. He tightened his grip on her arm, not letting her go. Though he wasexpecting more of a struggle, she seemed to accept his rare show of affection.
“I can takeye to the clearin’ soon,” he promised, leaning down slightly, so he could meet her gaze. “If ye’d like to come with me.”
“Yes!”she said, the earlier transgression easily forgotten. “I’d like that very much. Perhaps we could go tomorrow?”
“Perhaps,”Ryan said, offering her his arm. “Dependin’ on me responsibilities, it might have to be in a few days. There’s somethin’ urgent I’ve been dealin’ with. But I promise ye, I’ll take ye to the clearin’, so ye can see more of those creatures ye seem to like so much.”
“I’ll be holdingyou to that, Laird McGhee,” she replied as she placed her lithe hand in the crook of his elbow. “Would it be a nice spot for a picnic?”
Ryan hummed,feeling an undeniable surge of affection for the woman beside him. He didn’t think he’d ever gone on a picnic. Perhaps once when he was just a lad, but that memory was so far away that he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not.
“I’msure we could arrange a picnic,” he said as he started walking back toward the castle, careful to take smaller steps so Margaret could keep up. “I cannae say I ken much about what makes a good picnic though.”
Margaret giggled,her eyes still scanning the trees. It seemed that she was enamored of them, and Ryan wondered how barren England must be if it took so little to get her attention. He’d only ever crossed the border once before, and that trip hadn’t been for sightseeing.
“I’m fairlycertain that the only things you need for a good picnic are food and a nice view. And perhaps a blanket to dine on,” she murmured. Then, her gaze fell on him as she said, “I think you can manage setting all of that up.”
“Are ye makin’demands of me?” he asked, nearly failing to keep a smile from his face.
“No, I’m not making demands,”she replied, rolling her eyes. “I’m making a suggestion. There’s a difference, you know?”
“Sounded a lot like a demand comin’from that bonnie mouth of yers.”
“Well… that’s…”
This time,Ryan did smirk. It was far too easy to make Margaret tongue-tied. He was certain that one day he’d be able to take her apart completely. He imagined that in the throes of pleasure, she’d be completely unable to speak.
Though I’ll makedamn sure she remembers how to say me name.
“Where are we going?”she asked finally, giving up on responding to his compliment.
“I’m takin’ye back to the castle,” he said, using his free hand to gesture at the sky above them. The sun was dipping slowly over the horizon, painting the landscape in brilliant shades of red and gold. “It’ll be dark soon. I cannae have ye wanderin’ around in the dark. It’s dangerous for a wee bonnie thing like ye to be out here.”