Page 47 of Ensnaring the Dove
Linus’s eyes, which were the color of the finest mahogany, roamed over Colombia’s face. He stepped closer to her then and raised his calix in a toast. “Here’s to my betrothed’s arrival in Onnum.” His tone was soft, yet she caught the wry edge to it. He’d been all smiles while her father was present, yet his expression sobered now they were alone.
Colombia’s pulse did quicken then as anxiety tightened her throat. “Are you angry with me, Linus?”
His eyes widened. “Hades, I don’t remember you having such a blunt tongue,” he murmured.
Colombia swallowed, her cheeks warming. Of course, she’d been on her best behavior during their meetings prior to his departure from Asculum. She’d taken great care to speak demurely.
However, that had never been the real her. And after the events of the past few days, she found she no longer had any patience for male pomposity. She wished to speak to Linus on an equal footing.
“Apologies, if I come across as overly direct,” she replied, her tone cooling. “But it’s been a tiring, and fraught, journey north.”
Linus sighed, a crease forming between his dark brows. “I’m not angry with you,” he rumbled. “However, I do wonder why you’re here.”
A lump formed in her throat, the heat in her cheeks intensifying. “Is it not obvious?”
He inclined his head before taking a sip of wine. “No, enlighten me, Colombia.”
Dragging in a deep breath, her grip increasing around the stem of her calix, Colombia considered her next words. Linus had asked her to explain herself, and she would. She wouldn’t temper her speech.
Strangely, when she’d been traveling with Aedan, she hadn’t once felt as if she had to rein herself in or fret about coming across as too opinionated. She didn’t need to worry about social rules and propriety. She’d felt she could just be herself.
Colombia focused then on the dashing man standing a few feet back from her, awaiting her response.
“It has been a long while since you proposed to me, Linus,” she said eventually. “You promised to return to Asculum regularly during your posting … but you never did.”
The crease returned between his brows, deeper this time. “I’ve written to you regularly, haven’t I?”
She nodded, her throat tightening. “Indeed, and I have enjoyed your letters, Linus … they have sustained me when I had nothing else to cling to … but the fact remains the years pass, and we are still betrothed. Do you not wish to make me your wife?”
That question was a mistake; she realized it the moment it slipped from her lips. Yet it was too late to call it back—and Linus’s full mouth flattened.
“If you had read my missives, you’d know how busy I’ve been,” he replied, irritation creeping into that smooth baritone.
“I know you’ve been busy,” she said softly, “but—”
“Of course, you have little idea of what a man in my position has to deal with,” he cut her off. “The building of Hadrian’s great wall has been a monumental project … and now that those outlaws have stolen our pay wagons, the soldiers grow restless.” His handsome mouth twisted then. “Do you think I’ve had the time to think about marriage?”
Colombia swallowed once more. “You could have called for me,” she pointed out. “Surely, having a wife with you would make life here easier?”
Linus gave her a withering look. It was hard not to lower her gaze. Nonetheless, under the embarrassment, the hurt, an ember ignited in her belly. After all she’d endured to reach this man’s side, she didn’t appreciate being spoken to as if she were a halfwit.
“The frontier is no place for a woman,” he growled after a lengthy pause.
Colombia’s mouth pursed. “Is that so? You never mentioned that in any of your letters.”
Silence fell in the tablinum. Linus stared down at her, a nerve flickering under one eye. The hand gripping his calix had tightened, and unease curled through her.
It occurred to her then that even before his departure from Asculum, she’d known very little about this man. All she’d seen was his dashing good looks, his charm, and his smooth words. But standing before him now, a little of that veneer was tarnished.
As Aedan had once asked her—who was the man beneath it all? Was he quick to temper or the sort to raise a hand to his woman? She had no idea.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” Linus replied after a weighty pause. “But after your ordeal, surely you understand what a wild land this is.”
Colombia held his gaze. “I’m not as easy to break as you believe,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper, even as the ember started to pulse hot now. “I may have encountered outlaws on my way north, but I survived, didn’t I?”
His dark brows crashed together. “You did … but only by the grace of the Gods.”
XX. THIS BELONGS TO YOU