Rubbing the now red and tender spot in between his brows, Arran blushed with embarrassment at his behavior. “I’m sorry, Kip. I’m no in the best humor. Now, where is the lad off to? Do ye no need him today?”
“He said he had some errands he needed to attend to in the village, and I saw no harm in letting him go. I doona ever need him, I do a fine job running the stable all on me own.”
Arran poked his head around the stable door to make sure he could still see him off in the distance. “Do ye trust him, Kip?”
The old man stopped fussing with the hay and leaned against the stall door as he spoke to Arran. “The lad has given me no reason not to, and I think it’s best to let people prove ye wrong before ye go about mistrusting everybody.”
“Do ye? Well, I’m no so good a man as ye, Kip.” Arran turned and followed along on the path leading to the village. The runaway was up to nothing good. Arran could feel it, and he intended to find out what it was.
Chapter 33
“I’m no gonna cut the neckline any further. Do ye no want them to stay in the dress at all?”
I rolled my eyes as I glanced down at the very modest v-cut I’d spent the better half of the afternoon talking Mary into cutting into the gown. “It’s not even that low, Mary, but to answer your question, I’m not all that concerned with them staying in the dress very long.”
“Oh, hush, lass. Ye will make an old lady blush with such talk. I’m glad that ye have decided to stay, but ye doona need these alterations to entice Eoin into wanting ye around.”
“I’m not trying to entice him. I’m trying to make myself feel as pretty as I can so I feel confident before I tell him what I have to say. With no make-up or hair straightener, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do around here.”
“Fine, lass, but please tell me ye decided no to wear that strange object ye wear under yer shirt when in the spell room.”
I smiled and reached over to grab my bra off the top of the bed. “No, Mary. I’m definitely still going to wear my bra. He knows I’m not from here now, so it won’t be a huge surprise for him to see something odd on me. Besides, it lifts the girls up, and they’ll look better in the dress. Watch.”
I turned so that my back faced Mary, discreetly scooting the dress down off my shoulders so that my breasts sprang free and I could rope them into place with the bra. Reluctantly, Mary had washed all of my modern clothes for me. They’d started to get pretty ripe after weeks of not seeing a washing machine.
Slipping the dress back on, I faced her, triumphantly. My breasts filled in the new v-cut in the dress perfectly, and the cleavage was just enough to draw attention, without completely giving away the farm. “What do you think?”
Even Mary couldn’t hide her amazement at the difference it made. “Aye, lass. I regret what I said before. Do ye think we could make me one? I believe I underestimated the size of yer breasts, lass. They’re a good deal higher now.”
“I told you. And I bet you could fashion something that would work the same way. Just look at what you’ve done with this dress!” I spun, feeling dainty and beautiful, and my nerves subsided slightly until I heard a knock on the door.
“Ach, lass, there he is.” She paused and came to place a hand on each of my shoulders. “Doona worry, lass. If he tells ye anything other than what ye want to hear, then I doona know the lad as well as I think I do.” She gave me a brief hug and surprised me by giving me a quick swat on my bottom. “And ye look beautiful. Have a good time.”
With that I opened the door to him, and as he took my hand, I followed him outside.
*
Ach, the lass looked beautiful! But what had she done to the top of her dress? Did she want him to take her right in the middle of the hallway? Nay, he would not allow himself to have her until he’d told her all that he needed to, and she’d chosen him as her own.
If she rejected him, he would take her to do the spell tonight. He didn’t think he could bear to have her stay here even a moment longer if he knew she didn’t want him in the same way he longed to have her.
It was a long walk to the cave at the base of the shoreline, and he was anxious to get her there quickly. Each second of wondering was more torturous than the last. It was a chilly evening, but the small cave blocked the wind and provided a perfect place from which to watch the waves as the tide rolled.
As he led her onto the sand, he smiled as she paused to hike up her dress, gathering it in her arms and revealing the pale skin of her legs. He didn’t know of another lass who would so unashamedly expose her legs while walking, but he’d expect no less from his strange lass, and he loved every odd thing about her.
He could only hope she loved him in return. As he led her into the candlelit cave, he breathed in a deep ocean-filled breath for courage. It was time for the truth to be known.
*