So, after their
love-making the night before (see what I did there?), Tim approaches
Heather to start finally planning their wedding. This is the first
moment they've had to talk since they made love and Heather is
waiting for a word or gesture or something that conveys Tim's deep
and abiding devotion to her. She tries to push him into saying
something, so she brings up how she has somewhere to be. Tim takes
this as a snub, and says that he won't keep her from her plans. Then
he starts talking about when they'll leave to get back to London and
have their wedding. Heather gets mad because she didn't get the sign
she wanted and begins to doubt that what she saw in him last night
was actually love. Maybe he faked the whole thing. So, she gets
pissy and says she won't marry him, which then makes him hurt and
defensive because he really doesn't want to say that he loves her and
had hoped that the physical act was enough to convey it. They're
like this the entire chapter.
Oh, we get the
name of the woman who broke Tim's heart the first time: Helen
Maitland. Apparently, he became a slut so she would know just what
she was missing out on by telling him she didn't love him. We also
find out that the word “love” has no good meaning to Tim and that
he places no faith in it. So, he loves Heather, but he firstly is
too afraid to tell her that he loves her and secondly doesn't want to
use that word to describe it because it doesn't have the right
meaning for the depth and strength of his emotions. Heather loves
Tim but she is also afraid to tell him that because she thinks that
if he knows that, he'll force her to the altar and, that if they
don't exchange “I love yous” before marriage, he'll cheat on her
later and shatter her heart. Richard and Catriona are sadly lacking
in this chapter. Both of them need to give Heather and Tim a good
thawck.
Anyway, in the
herb garden Heather and Tim run into the same issue of him not
telling her what she considers the important part of a pre-wedding
conversation. Then he makes the mistake of saying, “What the devil
is it you want me to say?...For God's sake! Tell me and I'll say
it.” Oh boy. Because she wants him to confess his love, it can't
be prompted, it has to come from him naturally. Gee, if only someone
had told Tim that this was exactly what Heather needed to hear. Oh
wait. Richard did. Pretty bluntly. If Tim is sure about what
Heather revealed when they banged the night before, and he was before
this conversation, then why can't he feel safe enough to tell her
that he loves her? I know his heart was shattered, but that was
years ago and he's setting himself up to have it shattered again. I
mean, Heather isn't really helping, but I guess at least she's also
setting herself up to have her heart shattered. She also begins to
doubt that he really meant “I love you” with his sex last night
and that it might have just been more of his awesomeness at sex. So,
she tries to protect herself by telling him that the previous night
wasn't anything special. In short, in trying to protect their
hearts, they push each other away and just hurt themselves more.
Oh, also, they
both realize that they truly love the other because they each think
they're losing the other. Only in a romance novel, huh? Anyway, Tim
and Heather don't talk at lunch. After lunch, Heather is processing
the herbs she picked earlier when Tim comes down to talk to her.
It's pretty much a repeat of the conversation they've been having
since they got here, except this one has actual consequences. Tim
tries to give Heather an ultimatum on when they need to leave to go
to London and get married and Heather says he needs to head back
alone. As he walks away, they both think about how much they love
the other one and how much they hurt because of it.
Then, we finally
get something new in the story. We get to see the Highlander again.
Hooray! Something not super frustrating! He comes back to his
manor, which has the motto “Honor above all” carved into it.
Again, I feel that for folks who read this series, the motto settles
firmly who this man is. To me, it's just more words. Anyway, he
heads inside and his momma is super anxious to see Heather with the
Highlander. And is crushed when she isn't. The Highlander gives his
momma a summary of the events as he knows them, with the point being
that Heather's reputation is ruined forever, which is what the
Highlander's momma wanted. She's not satisfied, though, because she
can't see Heather squirm about this. Then we learn something
interesting. Momma tries to get the Highlander to capture another
Cynster lady. Once the Cynster lady is in that castle, the
Highlander will get back his goblet. ...so he's doing all of this
for a cup? It had better be a damn important cup. The Highlander
refuses to try to kidnap another lady until after they're sure
Heather isn't ruined and stalks off. Apparently, this
jewel-encrusted ceremonial goblet is somehow the key to holding his
lands and titles and whatnot and without it, the people who live here
now will have to find somewhere else to eke out a poor existence and
the Highlander will be unable to help them. All for a goblet? I
really hope we get more details about this, but I don't think I'm
going to agree with the situation even then.
For the next
chapter, I predict that Tim and Heather will continue to be
frustrating and bull-headed, the Highlander will search for his cup,
and that Catriona will have a vision. Of cabbages. Because why not.
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