useless in the wrong mouth.‖
This time he did laugh aloud. ―An empirical statement coming from you, Rose.‖ She suddenly slid away. But he was ever quick to block her with his arm. ―Especially from someone who has probably only used hers for eating and saying all the wrong things.‖
―I do not want to be attracted to you,‖ she said bluntly.
―Duly noted.‖
He did not want to be attracted to her either.
And there it was. The reality of it as vexing as a splinter beneath his flesh, as if the thought had plagued him all along but had only taken shape now for what it was. As if her beauty was not enough to admire or endure without also enduring his own honesty and the reason she was with him now.
He needed her.
Without Rose, he did not have enough with which to bargain for his brother‘s life.
But even were he not in her life, she would still not be free.
She must have recognized this.
His chest suddenly moved with silent laughter at the utter absurdity of his lust. He crossed his wrists and returned his attention to Rose, his control tenuous at best.
―You may find all of this amusing. I do not.‖ Her chin lifted. ―I have spent most of my life at the abbey and among the people of Castleton,‖ she said. ―I may not be a sterling example of female gentility, but I have always tried to treat people fairly and with kindness, believing that one‘s actions would lend to a like treatment in return.‖
―Then you expect payment for good behavior?‖ He purposefully misconstrued her words.
Her gaze widened. ―Most certainly not.‖ She brushed crumbs from the cloak as if casting about for a way to better frame her thoughts. ―I have little memory of my father,‖ she said after a moment.
Some of the verve left her tone as if she sought to remember what she could of the man who was her sire. ―I know people despise him. Even as I know he once served the admiralty as a decorated war hero. Now he is returned to Kirkland Park, the hated king‘s warden, for he dares enforce laws in the borderlands to rein in certain lawless elements.‖
―Is that who you think he is?‖
She blinked and looked away. ―How can I know the character of a man I do not remember? Mayhap I need to believe he is more decent than others say. I only know he has left Hope Abbey alone.‖
―Why is that, do you suppose?‖
She scraped the moisture from her cheeks with the heel of her hand and glared. ―You ask a lot of questions for someone who should know the answers. Perhaps Friar Tucker paid the proper taxes and has done nothing so outwardly untoward as to attract the warden‘s wrath. How should I know Hereford‘s mind?‖
―Has he ever been to the abbey?‖
―Nay. And I wish you never had been either. For you are as autocratic as he must be. As are all men. A fish serves a more useful purpose on this earth than do men. At least I can eat a fish. I am not responsible for what happened to your brother.‖
―The boy to whom you so casually refer is James Marcus Kerr,‖ he said. ―My father‘s son by his second wife. She calls him Jamie. I have never met the boy. I was gone from Scotland ‘ere he was born and did not return for thirteen years because my father beat the living hell out of me, claimed me unworthy as his heir, and hoped I would die on the sea. I did not. Jamie shares my sire‘s blood through no fault of his own. He is twelve.‖
He laid his palm against her cheek and turned her face into the sunlight. ―I do not take my actions lightly,‖ he said. ―Some would go to war over what Lord Hereford has done to my family. A month ago, before my return, I was one of those men. But in the end, my brother would still be dead.‖ He lowered his hand. ―I wish things could be different but they are not.‖
She did not pull away from his gaze as he had expected, and instead he was the one who broke contact as he bent to return her plate to the top of the knapsack.
He did not want
This time he did laugh aloud. ―An empirical statement coming from you, Rose.‖ She suddenly slid away. But he was ever quick to block her with his arm. ―Especially from someone who has probably only used hers for eating and saying all the wrong things.‖
―I do not want to be attracted to you,‖ she said bluntly.
―Duly noted.‖
He did not want to be attracted to her either.
And there it was. The reality of it as vexing as a splinter beneath his flesh, as if the thought had plagued him all along but had only taken shape now for what it was. As if her beauty was not enough to admire or endure without also enduring his own honesty and the reason she was with him now.
He needed her.
Without Rose, he did not have enough with which to bargain for his brother‘s life.
But even were he not in her life, she would still not be free.
She must have recognized this.
His chest suddenly moved with silent laughter at the utter absurdity of his lust. He crossed his wrists and returned his attention to Rose, his control tenuous at best.
―You may find all of this amusing. I do not.‖ Her chin lifted. ―I have spent most of my life at the abbey and among the people of Castleton,‖ she said. ―I may not be a sterling example of female gentility, but I have always tried to treat people fairly and with kindness, believing that one‘s actions would lend to a like treatment in return.‖
―Then you expect payment for good behavior?‖ He purposefully misconstrued her words.
Her gaze widened. ―Most certainly not.‖ She brushed crumbs from the cloak as if casting about for a way to better frame her thoughts. ―I have little memory of my father,‖ she said after a moment.
Some of the verve left her tone as if she sought to remember what she could of the man who was her sire. ―I know people despise him. Even as I know he once served the admiralty as a decorated war hero. Now he is returned to Kirkland Park, the hated king‘s warden, for he dares enforce laws in the borderlands to rein in certain lawless elements.‖
―Is that who you think he is?‖
She blinked and looked away. ―How can I know the character of a man I do not remember? Mayhap I need to believe he is more decent than others say. I only know he has left Hope Abbey alone.‖
―Why is that, do you suppose?‖
She scraped the moisture from her cheeks with the heel of her hand and glared. ―You ask a lot of questions for someone who should know the answers. Perhaps Friar Tucker paid the proper taxes and has done nothing so outwardly untoward as to attract the warden‘s wrath. How should I know Hereford‘s mind?‖
―Has he ever been to the abbey?‖
―Nay. And I wish you never had been either. For you are as autocratic as he must be. As are all men. A fish serves a more useful purpose on this earth than do men. At least I can eat a fish. I am not responsible for what happened to your brother.‖
―The boy to whom you so casually refer is James Marcus Kerr,‖ he said. ―My father‘s son by his second wife. She calls him Jamie. I have never met the boy. I was gone from Scotland ‘ere he was born and did not return for thirteen years because my father beat the living hell out of me, claimed me unworthy as his heir, and hoped I would die on the sea. I did not. Jamie shares my sire‘s blood through no fault of his own. He is twelve.‖
He laid his palm against her cheek and turned her face into the sunlight. ―I do not take my actions lightly,‖ he said. ―Some would go to war over what Lord Hereford has done to my family. A month ago, before my return, I was one of those men. But in the end, my brother would still be dead.‖ He lowered his hand. ―I wish things could be different but they are not.‖
She did not pull away from his gaze as he had expected, and instead he was the one who broke contact as he bent to return her plate to the top of the knapsack.
He did not want
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