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“Nae everythin, Keira,” he stressed on her name. “I only found out who ye were and naething else.”
“What else do ye want to know?”
“Everythin’ that ye can tell,” he replied plainly, raising his glass of wine at her. He was not shy about expressing his feelings towards her at all. He had already confessed in front of the council members and Josh that she was his, and he would not shy away from letting her know that he was attracted to her. The only thing he did not wish to do was scare her with his feelings.
“I do nae ken what to tell,” she deflected.
“Tell me about yer family? Are ye close to them? Ye have been here a week, and ye still have nae written to them or expressed a desire to return to them. The council members think we ought to send ye back home,” he told her, not knowing why he had added the last thing. He truly did not need to tell her what had happened between him and the council members.
“Are ye plannin’ to send me home?”
“I asked ye, ye denied. So nay,” he told her flatly.
“My family is great. My faither loves me very much, and so do Astrid and Aiden. I ken they must all be worried about me, especially if Eric has told them that ye have, ye ken…” she hesitated and trailed off.
“That I have kidnapped ye?” Christian completed her sentence.
“Yes, that.”
“I will send ye back this instant if ye wish for that, but I will never let ye go back to Eric,” he said, anger rising to his face once again as he thought about that sorry excuse of a man. A man who hit women. Christian could never call any such person a man, and to him, Eric was nothing more than a coward.
“I do nae wish to go back to Eric either,” she whispered, taking a small bite. He felt relief as he heard her say that.
“I am glad. The man does nae deserve ye or anyone else for that matter.”
“It was an arranged betrothal, and he was the very picture of charm when I met him at the betrothal feast. None of us could have known what was waiting ahead,” she said, and he realized that she was unconsciously justifying her family.
“Did ye find out how he was the moment ye came to his castle?” Christian asked, evidently curious. He wished to know everything he could find out about the matter.
“Nay,” Keira shook her head, “he was extremely kind to me in the beginning for a few days, but then he became distant, which was emotionally torturous for me since I was alone in the castle besides his company. He then became abusive and made me feel small, and then one day eventually, he began to hit me.”
Christian could not help but notice how she whispered the last part, as if the mere thought of that happening both embarrassed and scared her. He could not even imagine the pain and abuse she must have endured at the hands of Eric, and the very thought made him furious.
“Ye did nae contact yer family?”
“He did nae let me,” she replied with a sigh, “he must have also intercepted any letter they sent me because I did nae receive anything from their end.”
“Ye do nae ken a man until ye have lived with him, Keira. Nay one could be blamed here,” Christian said, wishing to change the subject. He could see that even thoughts of him made her feel afraid, and he did not want her to ever feel that way again.
“Ye are right.”
“How did yer bruises heal so quickly? I thought they would take some time,” he asked.
“Oh,” she replied, finally looking up at him and then down at her body, “I prepared infusions and ointments for myself with Harriet’s help and the help of yer herb garden. That did help me heal.”
“How do ye have that knowledge?” he asked, truly impressed. It was evident that she was both learned and well-read, and the knowledge made Christian like her even more. She was more than just a beautiful face, and her mind was certainly as sharp as her wit.
“I taught myself through reading,” she answered.
“Ye must visit the library at the castle. Ye will find several books ye will quite enjoy reading; I assure ye,” he told her, wanting for her to step out of her bedchamber. He wanted her to feel at home in the castle, to get to know those around her so she could be comfortable with them.
“Harriet did say so,” she answered shyly.
“And yet ye still haven’t seen it?”
“I did nae ken if I should have gone out of my bedchamber or not,” she told him honestly, and Christian shook his head.
“Keira, ye can go anywhere ye wish to go. I ken that the situation seems as if I have indeed kidnapped ye, but ye ken those were never my intentions. I am not the kind of man who would ever kidnap a woman,” he assured her.
