True Love Brides 02 - The Highlander’s Curse by Claire Delacroix Page B

affection that made Annelise’s heart clench, then turned a steady yellow gaze upon Annelise.
    Garrett glanced over his shoulder at Annelise and smiled. She knew he was not surprised by her presence and assumed he had heard her approach.
    Annelise smiled. “I did not know you could milk goats.”
    “Once you have the rhythm, it is not so hard, and they are uncomfortable if they become too full. I have milked many a goat in my time.”
    “There is a girl who milks them. Bess.”
    “She must be busy at the hall, with so many guests.”
    “And you were thirsty?”
    Garrett shook his head. “Nay. I decided to make myself useful.”
    Annelise walked toward him, struck by the difference in his manner from earlier that afternoon. He looked just as he had in the forest. Purposeful and strong. Hale. “You feel better, then?”
    Garrett nodded once.
    She paused beside him, hesitated, then put her fingertips on his shoulder. He lost his rhythm with the milking for the barest moment, and Annelise smiled that he should be as stirred by her presence as she was by his. “Was it because you are not accustomed to being with people?”
    He looked up, apparently surprised.
    “You seemed to be alarmed.” Annelise bit her lip, trying to find a way to explain what she meant without comparing him to an animal. Garrett was watching her mouth, as if fascinated by her lips, and the intensity of his gaze made Annelise blush in memory of their kiss. Did he also yearn for another?
    “My family raises horses,” she continued and was surprised to hear her own breathlessness. “When first a foal is taken into the village, it may respond much the same way. It is not accustomed to the sound and smells of a village, the noise or the activity. It can become confused or frightened.”
    Garrett smiled. “Do you compare me to a horse?” His tone was teasing, but still Annelise flushed more red.
    “Nay, but it seemed to me that it might be similar after a man has lived for a long time in the forest. Even a small place like Seton Manor might be overwhelming.”
    His eyes glinted as he watched her. “You thought me overwhelmed?”
    “By something. I merely attempt to guess by what.”
    “And you think Seton Manor small?”
    “Very small.” Annelise laughed. “It would fit in the bailey of Kinfairlie.”
    Though she had thought he might share her amusement, he looked more grim and determined. Annelise crouched down beside him. “Where did you live before the forest?”
    “In a small abode.”
    “With goats.”
    Garrett nodded once and continued with his task.
    “Alone?”
    He shook his head. Was he wed? Did he have family? Annelise wanted very much to know but he remained silent. “Will you tell me what troubled you earlier?”
    His sidelong glance was quick and hot, sufficiently piercing to make her heart skip a beat. “I dare not, my lady, for I would not place you in peril.”
    “Not even that I might understand you better?”
    He smiled. “But you do. Already you have guessed that I prefer the company of animals and the solitude of the forest to men and their villages.”
    “Will you tell me why?”
    His lips tightened. “Because animals do not lie. They do not pretend that anything other than the truth is so. These goats were full and their udders sore. They needed to be milked. When I came to milk them, they were uncertain, because they did not know me, but as soon as I began my task, they understood. The exchange is simple.”
    “But not all exchanges are so. A wolf is deceptive.”
    Garrett shook his head. “Nay, my lady. A wolf is what he is. He is a predator. He hunts, then kills in order to survive. I may take issue with what he kills and where, but he is what he is. He does not pretend otherwise.”
    “I never thought of it that way.”
    “In contrast to a wolf, a man who is predatory will never be satisfied with what he has claimed for his own; he will always lust for more.” Garrett fixed her with a steady look.