His eyes dropped. I felt the disappointment radiating from him. “Sorry,” he said, so quiet I could barely hear over the music. “I’ll leave.”
“No, wait.” Taking his hand, I guided him away, out of the dance. In the darkened side-lines, I held him still, lest he try to run away. “You should’ve stayed at the castle. It’s not safe for you here.”
Even if he had dressed in peasant’s clothes, and wore a mask. My hands gripped his shoulders, willing him to see sense. Cashel didn’t look at me as he answered. “I know it’s dangerous…” He glanced up, eyes catching the distant light of the fires. “But I couldn’t bear the thought that you were bored at the castle…bored with me.”
“Bored with you?”
“Yes. I knew it was too good to be true, that someone handsome as you would want me. I know you’ve chang
