“Will he be angry, do you think? I don’t want to upset him. I just thought perhaps I could bring some of the decorations that we didn’t use, and I could leave them for him to set up at the cottage. It would give him something to do and, with the snow still piled up, I don’t think he will be leaving us anytime soon.”
“Right ye are, lass, and he willna be angry at all. He’s a kind man, although I’ll admit that he is slow to warm. But once ye reach the man he really is, behind his shyness, why…” she paused smiling down at her wreath, “he’s a man worth getting to know.”
Chapter 10
The cottage stood silent in front of me. For a moment I feared he’d already gone to sleep for the evening, but the puppy I cradled underneath my arm let out a high-pitched yelp. Within seconds, the door to the cottage flew open.
“Ach, evening, Adelle. I feared for a moment there was a third pup who had found his way out of the snow, but I see ’tis only yer little fellow.”
“Ah, yes.” I paused and waved Arran away now that he’d dragged the small tree we’d just cut down in front of the cottage and helped me carry the food and decorations close to the door. “Thank you, Arran. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
Arran called back to me over his shoulder as he turned and made his way through the darkness, leaving Hew and I alone. “Nay, there is no need, Adelle. Be careful on yer way back to the castle.”
I’d instructed him to leave as soon as he dropped off all of the items. I wanted a chance to be alone with the quiet, strange man, and I didn’t want to chance that he would ask Arran to stick around as well.
Not that I should’ve been concerned. With the look of surprise on Hew’s face, I wondered if I would even be invited inside. I lifted up the basket of food I held in my left hand as I set my pup down on the ground. He immediately ran inside the cottage to join his brother. “Um…Mary was busy so I told her I would bring you something to eat. I hope you don’t mind. I also,” I pointed to the items behind me, “brought some decorations. We had some left over from today, and I thought it would give you something to do, ya know, if you wanted to decorate the cottage for Christmas.”
He scrunched his brows together. I couldn’t tell if he was just confused or disgusted. I’d not given much thought to the fact that he was a man and probably didn’t give two flips about beautifying anything. I’d simply been trying to spread the cheer. “I…you don’t have to take the decorations. I can come back with Arran in the morning and get them. But at least take the food. I’ll just head back to the castle now.” I squatted awkwardly, whistling to my pup to come, but to no avail. The two brothers wrestled playfully on the floor with no intention of ending their little games anytime soon.
Hew surprised me by reaching out to put his hand on my shoulder. “Nay, lass, I shall enjoy the decorations. Please, come inside.”
He stepped aside to usher me in, and I immediately did so, running my hands up and down over my arms to warm myself.
“Come sit by the fire while I set the table. Surely ye are in no hurry to return to the castle. Why doona ye stay and eat with me? I’m sorry if I gave ye the feeling I wished for ye to leave. ’Twas simply that I was surprised by yer presence.”
“Oh.” I wanted to smack myself square in the forehead at my inability to speak like a grown woman in front of him. It was absolutely ridiculous. No man, not even Bri’s father, had the ability to render me speechless so completely.
“Did ye already eat, lass? If so, I shall wait until after ye have gone. Perhaps ye can at least warm yerself by the fire for a little while, aye?”
For someone so shy, he tried. I rewarded his efforts by appearing far less friendly than I actually was. I loved to talk and, by golly, I intended to do so. I sat my mind to acting human again before I opened my mouth. “No. I haven’t eaten.”
He stood and moved to the small table, laying out the spread I’d brought for him. “Come and join me, lass.”
*
We ate quietly. While I searched my mind for ideas of what I could speak to him about, each time I stopped myself short. He could sense my hesitation as sometimes I even uttered a syllable only to then stop talking. He took pity on me by speaking himself. “I apologize for the way I behaved when I opened the door. I am verra much accustomed to being all alone. Although I am a visitor here, visitors of me own are verra unexpected. Might I tell ye something?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
“It occurred to me that perhaps ye keep stopping yerself from speaking because ye are worried that I might notice the odd way in which ye speak.”
That had nothing to do with it, but I didn’t want to object when he obviously put so much thought into it. Instead, I remained silent and waited for him to continue. He did so shortly.