The Ranger (Highland Guard #3)(75)

“Nay, my lady,” he answered evenly. “It’s safer if we don’t retrace our steps too closely. We’ll camp at different places each night. There’s a waterfall in the forest near Dhivach, at the head of the glen, southeast of the castle. We’ll stop there tonight.”

She nodded, looking as if she wanted to say more, but conscious that they were not alone. “Is it much farther?”

“Three or four miles. We should be there before dark.”

“I—” She stopped herself, but the way she was looking at him tore at his insides. “Thank you.”

When he finally dragged his eyes away, he was surprised to see that one of Alan’s men had come up behind him.

He frowned, but was too caught up in his own turmoil to heed the warning.

Apparently, one of Anna’s trunks had not been well secured and had fallen out of the cart. When Anna and her maidservant went back to check to make sure nothing had been lost, Arthur was grateful for the interruption. But he knew he could not put off the inevitable discussion for much longer.

Indeed, Alan’s parting words before he rode ahead to check on Richard and Alex ensured it. “I don’t know what the hell happened at Auldearn, Campbell, but my sister is unhappy.” The older knight’s gaze leveled on him, his blue eyes wintry and utterly ruthless. His father’s son after all. “Fix it. Or I will.”

Arthur’s mouth fell in a grim line. He didn’t pretend to misunderstand his meaning. The threat didn’t bother him. What bothered him was that he couldn’t do as her brother asked. Nothing could fix it.

* * *

“Why are you avoiding me?”

Startled, Arthur jumped to his feet, causing the snare he’d been setting to snap.

She’d surprised him. Something Anna would wager didn’t happen very often. Perhaps she hadn’t imagined the turmoil in his eyes earlier. He’d looked at her with barely repressed longing. But something was holding him back.

The disappointment she’d felt that first morning had only worsened with each day that passed, and he still hadn’t sought her out—let alone offered for her. She’d tried to convince herself that he was simply waiting to speak to her father, but it didn’t explain why he was avoiding her.

“Are you following me again, Anna?”

If he was trying to distract her by putting her on the defensive, it wasn’t going to work. “It’s hardly following when camp is but a few yards away.” She motioned to the twine and sticks. “I saw you take the snare from your bag and figured you wouldn’t be going far.”

She searched his face, half-hidden in the shadows. At least an hour of daylight remained, but under the dense canopy of trees in the forest, night seemed much closer. She took a step toward him, narrowing the gap between them. His jaw tightened and his entire body drew up stiffly. She could see the slight flare of his nostrils—as if her closeness bothered him.

Tears gathered behind her eyes. Why was he acting like this? Was she so offensive?

“Are you going to answer me?” Her voice broke, the emotion and uncertainty of the past few days catching up to her. She wanted to put her hand on his chest to steady herself, but she feared she would fall apart completely if he jerked away. “Do I not deserve an explanation?”

He sighed and stepped away from her, ostensibly to drag his fingers through his hair. Though he still wore his armor, he’d removed his helm. His dark brown hair fell in soft waves to the edge of his habergeon of mail. “Aye, lass, you do. I intended to speak to you once I’d seen to our meal.”

She didn’t know whether to believe him, but she waited for him to continue. She’d said enough. It was his turn to speak.

“What happened was ...”

Beautiful? Amazing? Perfect?

“... unfortunate.”

Her heart plummeted—not the word she was hoping for.

“I’m ashamed of my conduct,” he said, sounding every inch the stiff, courtly knight. “I never should have let it go so far—”

Unable to stand the regret and distance in his voice any longer, she cut him off. “Why are you talking like this? Why are you acting as if it didn’t mean anything?”

His jaw hardened and the pulse in his neck began to tic ominously.

He tried to turn away, but she grabbed his arm. Her chest burned. “Did it mean anything, Arthur?” His gaze bit into her, scorching in its intensity. She drew a deep, ragged breath through her tight throat. “It did to me.”

“Anna ...” He seemed to be waging some kind of internal war. The muscles in his arm were rigid under her fingertips; his powerful body seemed to radiate tension. “Why are you making this so difficult?”

“Me? You are the one making it difficult. It’s a simple enough question. It either meant something to you or it didn’t.”

She held his gaze, refusing to let him turn away, waiting for him to say something. His face was strained taut, as if she were torturing him.

“You don’t understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t. Why don’t you explain it to me.”

“I can’t.” He gave her a hard look. “Don’t you see, it would never work.”

My God. Her heart felt lodged in her throat as the realization struck: He’s not going to ask for me. How could she have so completely misread the situation?