Suddenly shy, Leanna ducked her head. “Would ye?”
“Would I what?”
She swallowed, her attention on his chin. “Would ye like to marry me?”
To her surprise, Kenneth burst into laughter. The sound caused her to drop her gaze again and flush.
“I’ll no’ apologize for asking,” she mumbled.
Just as suddenly, he quieted. “Ye were serious?”
Well, she wasn’t going to answer that.
He blew out a breath and used his free hand to rake through his hair. “I’m sorry, lass. I dinnae ken ye were serious. Ye tease so often.”
Her chin jerked up; her brows drawn. “I wouldnae tease about that.” Well, the only thing to do to stave off humiliation was to bluster through it. “Come along. The passage narrows up ahead, as I recall, although ‘tis been many years since I was down here, it being a dead end.”
She knew she was blathering and wasn’t surprised when he jumped after her and tried to catch her hand. “Leanna, wait. I am sorry. I was just surprised.”
Pulling her hand from his, she kept her chin up and continued.
“Lass, please. I’m just— I’m no’ used to a lass proposing marriage.”
“Ye’ve experienced many proposals of marriage, then?”
He hesitated and Leanna tried not to notice. “Well, nay.”
“Then how do ye ken the lass isnae supposed to propose marriage? A lass is just as capable as a man when it comes to kenning her own mind and desires and wants for the future. I just thought ye might share those same— Och, never mind.” She held her candle up to the solid stone and scowled at it, although the stone wasn’t to blame for her mood. “Turn back; we can go no further.”
When she worked up the courage to turn and follow him, it was to find he hadn’t obeyed her command. In fact, he’d placed his candle on the little shelf formed by an oversized stone in the wall and was standing in the middle of the corridor, his legs spread and his arms crossed over his chest.
His stance told her she was well and truly trapped.
“Move,” she muttered, in ill grace. “The passage is too narrow.”
His wicked grin told her he was well aware of the fact.
But her face still burned with the memory of his laughter, and she set her jaw mulishly.
Very well, she’d just push him out of the way.
Careful to hold the candle away from him so he wouldn’t be burned, Leanna marched up to him and attempted to squeeze past him to his right. Luckily, he moved then, turning just enough so she could slide against him, her back to the wall, as his was to the opposite wall.
Unluckily, that was as far as she got before his right palm slammed against the stone beside her head. She was trapped again. She might have been able to duck under his arm, but with as close as they were pressed against one another, doing so would put her in very real danger of scraping her back, and possibly kneeing him in the sporran.
Besides, being this close to him…’twas making her forget her pique.
“What are ye doing?” she whispered.
“Getting yer attention,” he whispered back, leaning even closer. His eyes roamed her face. “I ken what this is about, lass.”
“Ye do?”
“Aye,” he drawled. With his free hand, he took hers. “Ye’ve felt the connection between us. Ye ken how good we could be together.”
She rolled her eyes. “Clearly we’re good partners. Ye trusted me to take ye into the secret passages.”
He blinked, then his confusion cleared. “No’ good together like— Well, aye, I did mean that.”