He had planned to leave immediately, but when the groom brought out his horse, he knew it would be inhumane of him to subject his steed to another bout of hard riding to Cavalon Castle. Left with no choice, Connor had hung around outside, stroking the side of his steed's neck to calm it's satiny body as he waited in the cold air. The frigid winter atmosphere was nothing to him, compared to the biting cold of a Highland winter. But compared to the biting cold of a Highland winter, nothing could give him goosebumps more then the warmest of voicest calling out his name behind him.
Connor had frozen, easily recognizing her tone. He had almost choked when the sounds of feet running down steps had came after, preparing to jump on his horse and to blazes with resting when her slender fingers caught his arms. "Connor, I know you heard me, wait."
There was that tone that almost brought a smile to his lips, that firm, no nonsense tone which was a mere hint to the fire that lay beneath her usual veneer presented to society.
"I'm sorry my lady, but I simply don't think I'm in the correct state to meet you right about now. You should be inside, shouldn't you?" he tried to resist, his tone as cold and hard as he could manage without turning around to see her. He knew that one glance at her and he'd lose all self control he had. Connor couldn't risk it, not when he had nothing to offer her. How could he expect her to leave all the glitz of London society, the home she's known all her life, when he's had nothing to offer her, except for himself?
Because right now, Connor knew he was offering himself, if only he was in the position to. The girl consumed his thoughts and his dreams, her vibrant personality reminding him that life wasn't as bleak and as lost as it was supposed to be. Her half-English side almost didn't matter to him... except now, it did. Like it or not, this was Lady Evelyn Verrick, only daughter to a Viscount and with Cavalon Castle as her dowry, and a viscountancy to whoever married her. The idea of being an English lord didn't sit well with Connor, but beyond that he couldn't bring himself to get her to marry below her status when she had a world of possibilities beyond her.
No, Connor Gilroy couldn't ask that of a girl he loved.
So he gently but firmly pulled his arms away from her, not meeting her eyes once. "I came to see my Laird, to report to him of the task he told me to complete when I returned. Please enjoy the rest of the night, my lady, and I shall see you when you return to Cavalon Castle."
"Connor Gilroy, don't you dare use that tone with me right now." Evie grounded out, forcefully yanking at him. She didn't stand a chance though, her small frame barely moving the great wall of a body that was Connor's. "Connor, what is the matter with you?"
"What is the matter?" Maybe it was the proximity, or maybe it was just because her stubbornness had just surpassed Connor's ability to resist her, but he finally turned around to grip her arms, barely noticing how cold they felt as he dragged her closer to glare at her through his onyx irises. "You consume my every thought, your bare presence is enough to drive me nuts. Your laugh makes me smile, your ability to get in trouble amuses me, your passion for life makes me wish that passion was directed at me... But who am I? I'm a lowly Highlander captain who could never wish to measure up to you, so who am I to even look at you? No one, that's what."
His tirade caught Evie off guard, but Connor mistook her blinking doe-eyes as disgust, and pushed her away, frustration making him mess up his dark hair even more by running his fingers through them. "I am no one, Lady Evelyn Verrick, which is why I shouldn't even be speaking to you. Good evening, my lady."
Turning away, he grabbed on to the saddled and pulled himself on. Just as he picked up the reins however, a sudden slender finger grabbed on to his wrist, catching him off guard just in time to yank him downwards. What surprised him the most however, was the fact that what met him was a pair of warm lips that drove his heart on a wild race in his chest, thudding almost painfully. The pair of lips that molded into his felt almost like a dream, yet her green eyes sparkling as they pulled apart reminded Connor that they weren't, especially when she smiled a saucy grin at his obviously shocked face.
"Considering I'm the one you're doing the measuring against, Captain, shouldn't I be the one deciding if you're good enough to look at me?"
"Wh-what do you mean? You've lived your whole life here, Evie. It is unfair of me to ask anything of you."
"I'm a woman of two and twenty years, Captain Gilroy. I'd appreciate if you'd let me make my own decisions. I have wanted to see the land of my Mother's birth for all of eighteen years, so you'd be granting my heart's greatest desires if you'd bring me there."
"Your father-"
"I'll deal with Father. My twenty-third birthday is coming up soon, I think he owes that to me."
"And... that?" Connor asked helplessly, gesturing at the general direction of the both of them. Evie flashed him a grin again. "Like I said, you claim that you're not good enough for me, but since there are two parties involved here, let me decide if you're good enough for me. How long does the journey to the Highlands take? Back to MacKenzie Keep?"
"About... 2 weeks if we make good time, 3 if we don't?"
"That should be enough time for me to decide. I shall speak to Father tomorrow."
"Right." Connor echoed helplessly, not at all sure what should he do with this force of nature he loved so dearly. Where else could one find a lady so opinionated, who knew her own mind and took life by it's horns and went at her own pace?
"We should be leaving soon, so I shall see you on the morrow, Captain."
Leaving a dumbfounded and gaping Connor, Evie turned around and ascended the stairs to the crowded ballroom again, already formulating her argument against what she knew would be an argument against her father.
---
"No means no, Evie, and that is final."
"Father, you owe it to me! You've kept me trapped and locked in the Castle for all my life, shouldn't I get a choice?" Evie had practically spent the morning pleading with her father after breaking fast, but now the noon meal loomed near and they had still been exchanging words in her father's study. The more time they spent, the more Evie realized her father had been getting increasingly agitated, until finally she snapped her curious question, "What exactly is the reason you want me to stay here anyway? I'll refuse to go to any other London ball, I don't enter society, why do you need me here?"
At her question, Gregory Verrick stared at his daughter's mutinous face, before finally throwing in the towel. "Fabian Rothesay has offered for you, daughter. And I agreed."
"What?!"
"We've been friends with the Rothesay family, and your best friend is at risk if you don't go through with it!"
"What risk?"
"Rothesay's estate is having some... financial issues. Fabian has offered for you, and in exchange I will increase your dowry to help out. The Castle will also go to your secondborn son, so he has a Viscountancy as well, as opposed to second sons having nothing."
"That's my life you're deciding on Father, don't I get a say in it?!"
"The Rothesays will be arriving to stay for the week this afternoon Evelyn. My decision is final, and I expect you to be on your best behaviour from now on, or I will send your cousin back to his home without prior notice."
"That's Mother's family! I thought you loved her!"
"I did, but the Highland's is too dangerous a place for any of you. You will remain where I can watch over you."
"You're insufferable!" Throwing a final glare at her father, Evie yanked the door of the study open and dashed to her room, locking it before flinging herself on her bed facedown, burying her head in her arms as her mind swirled. She was to be married? To Fabian? That explained his attentiveness the night before at Charlotte's ball. But why? There were a score of other wealthy heiresses Fabian could pick on in society, and considering he was the heir to a dukedom, he was a well sought after bachelor in his own right. Why her?
And why now, when she's perhaps found someone she wanted to know more about, explore a new world with, create memories together? Needless to say, even if she barely knew much about the captain, Evie was safely besotted with him. They'd be here... soon? She didn't have much time!
Making a decision on the fly, she whipped up and dashed out her door, practically flying down the hallway and almost knocking Amelia over. "Amelia, where is Connor? Do you know where the captain is?"
"The-the captain?" Amelia stuttered, much to Evie's surprise. The girl registered briefly the lightly mussed hair Amelia wore, along with the flushed cheeks, but didn't get much time to process the information as her adrenaline pushed her to seek out Connor's presence. "I-I think I saw him heading to the library."
Without deigning Amelia with an answer, Evie took off again as fast as her blue and white day dress would allow her, bursting into the library heaving deep gulps of air. Standing against a shelf with a book open in his palms, Connor blinked in surprise when he saw the form of his little fire demon obviously out of breathe. His instincts raged immediately, dropping the book on a nearby settee to stride over to Evie and catch her by her shoulders. "What's the matter? Did something happen? Is it unsaf-"
"No, goodness nothing is wrong, exactly out there Connor, relax." Evie almost laughed through her breathless gasps of air, catching the warrior before he darted out the room and smiled at him. The smile was enough to ease out the tension in Connor's shoulders, catching her by her shoulder and leading her towards the couch. He kneaded her shoulders gently, before asking, "What's the matter then, that made you run like the wind?"
"You."
The short but succinct answer made Connor pause in his actions, blinking in surprise behind Evie. "Me?" he echoed, and the girl's messed up chignon bounced as she nodded. "Yes, you."
"What... is so interesting about me, pray tell?"
"Everything." she turned, catching the warrior's breathe with her glittering green eyes. "I know you like fighting, you care for your horse, you have quick reflexes. I'm guessing you like moonlit walks and spending your time with books. I think you are responsible, loyal and I'd lay my life in your hands. But I want to know more. Have you always been with Hammond?" Evie's words were accompanied with a sort of childlike quality that was equal parts innocent and passionate, a combination which stirred Connor's blood.
In his effort to tamp it down, he chuckled and took a seat next to Evie on the settee before speaking. "I was born in Gilroy clan, far from where MacKenzie was. I was a boy, who... my clan was murdered. Gilroys were peace loving farmers, quite unlike the warriors of the MacKenzie clan." He watched her, surprised she hadn't gasped and tittered like other ladies he's told the story too, but merely bit her lip as he continued. "English soldiers burned our land and stole our people. I was hiding under a stack of hay, covered by granite bricks and remained hidden. Hammond's father who was the laird of the MacKenzie clan happened by the burnt grounds of our clan after everything was over and took me in. I've been with them ever since."
"That... no wonder you don't like the English much."
"Not all of them. Well half, that is." Connor smirked, causing Evie to laugh and swat at him playfully, scooting away from him on the settee. "Watch it Captain, you'll be caught in the wedding noose if you're not careful."
"If it's a noose with you in it, I don't think I'd mind." he retorted smoothly, an unexpected parry that had Evie scavenging and failing to give a response in return. Her face flushed, and Connor smirked at the sudden, rather new look of embarrassment he had rarely seen since he arrived in Cavalon on Evie's face. Intentionally sliding closer, a deep throated chuckle emerged from the depths of his throat, lifting a finger to brush the side of her cheek, drawing the edges of his knuckles to the curve of her neck. "After what you did last night... are you shy, bacail?"
"No!" she protested, as if by instinct, but popped up from her seat like a jack in the box the next second, a smile gracing Connor's face as she backed away against the door. "I-I shou-should go. We-we-"
"Your turn to wait, sweetheart." Connor got up, using two large strides to easily capture Evie in his arms, fingers grasping her shoulders as he bent down to look at her through his dark irises. "Information for information. What do you have to offer in return?"
"I-I.... I've never had siblings, and practically had Amelia as a sister?"
"Not enough."
"I... know about every land in Cavalon? I explored it al-alone as a child because Amelia is too busy sometimes, and I had-had nothing to do." Obviously, Evie was very flustered at the scandalously close proximity Connor held on to her, but did nothing if only because the licks of flames his fingers against her thin sleeves, felt dangerously delicious against her skin.
"Not enough."
"I grew up alone in the castle, Connor. There isn't much to tell!"
"Looks like I'll have to claim my return in a different manner then."
Ducking his head downwards, he captured his lips with hers. This kiss was considerably different then the chaste one Evie had pressed upon him the previous night however. His lips nipped and pulled at hers, each action causing her knees to soften and would've collapsed, had one of his arms not slipped lower to hold her up by her waist. His fingers rested comfortably, stroking her hip whilst his lips moved around with hers. Tongue occasionally explored outwards, licking and prodding for Evie to grant him entrance.
When she finally did, he twined it with hers, a sensation that sent lightning up her back and warmth right down her middle, a foreign sensation that had Evie gripping tightly against the front of his tunic, looking dazed even after he pulled back from the searing kiss they had shared. Her green eyes looked dazed, a tidbit Connor shelved away with pride as he made sure she stood steady on her feet, before stepping back to a more respectful distance.
"I shall see you at dinner then, my lady."