an’ … a gentleman, in every way.’
He smiled at that and she blushed as she remembered how he’d helped to undress her.
Garnering her courage, she continued. ‘I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me an’ I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble. If there is anything at all I can do to repay you … you only need to ask …’
She immediately regretted her last words as Rob’s gaze immediately dropped to her lips. His eyes narrowed slightly and heat flared in their midnight blue depths. For a moment she had the impression that he was about to kiss her. But surely he didn’t expect her to … show her gratitude in that way.
But what if he did? Her pulse began running wildly again and that strange warm ache she’d felt earlier started to pulse low in her abdomen. She was clearly daft. She should be repulsed like she had been when Simon had forced his brutal kiss upon her. But heaven help her, she was not.
‘Mmm,’ Rob murmured. He reached out and gently lifted her chin with his finger so that she was forced to look straight into his eyes. She held her breath. ‘Think of it no more, mo ghaoil . I am the one who should be begging for your forgiveness for having hurt you so. If anyone needs recompense it is you, Jessie Munroe.’ He suddenly rose from the bed and spread a thick quilt over her legs. ‘But, what I think is most important right now, is that you get some sleep.’ Then in the next instant he was gone, the door snicking shut behind him.
With a great shuddering sigh, Jessie sank back down onto the bed, thoughts too many to count spinning about in her head. Even though she was spent, sleep seemed impossible. She resolutely pushed away the memory of the moment she had thought Rob was going to kiss her. Dwelling on that was not going to help her out of this predicament.
Regardless of all that had befallen her today, her focus still needed to be on getting herself to Grantown-on-Spey to catch the public coach to Edinburgh as she had planned. But obviously that would be impossible if Rob decided to keep her captive or subdue her in some other way …
Yet he’d called her mo ghaoil , my dear.
Ruthlessly she crushed the notion that Rob cared even a little about her. He’d used the Gaelic endearment simply to dupe her into trusting him.
With a frustrated groan, she wrenched her mind back to the problem at hand. She reviewed all that she had learned from the exchange she’d overheard between Rob and Tobias. Obviously they were not poachers but fugitives of some kind, given they were taking great care to evade detection by the Black Watch and the dragoons. But why? What had they done that was against the law?
Somehow, Rob also knew Simon well; he was even aware of his idiosyncrasies. Indeed, Rob seemed to think—for some reason that was completely unfathomable to her—that Simon was his biggest threat. And because of Rob’s mistaken belief that she was in some kind of relationship with Simon, he was now going to assess how much of a potential threat she was to his safety also.
But she was no threat at all. Jessie again contemplated confessing everything to Rob—that Simon was not her lover, and that in actual fact, she was running away from him. At least then Rob would know she had no loyalty to that man. But if she was honest and revealed she was just the factor’s daughter, with no one really searching for her, Rob may see her as even more dispensable. It would be easier to remove a complication if that said complication wouldn’t be missed at all. However if she pretended to be someone of some importance to the earl and his son, it may stay Rob’s hand in acting to silence her.
She closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing and quell the maelstrom of panicked thoughts tumbling about in her mind.
Perhaps she should just run now? Perhaps when Rob and Tobias were asleep, she could sneak out and take one of the horses and ride to … where? Castle Lochrose and back to
He smiled at that and she blushed as she remembered how he’d helped to undress her.
Garnering her courage, she continued. ‘I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me an’ I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble. If there is anything at all I can do to repay you … you only need to ask …’
She immediately regretted her last words as Rob’s gaze immediately dropped to her lips. His eyes narrowed slightly and heat flared in their midnight blue depths. For a moment she had the impression that he was about to kiss her. But surely he didn’t expect her to … show her gratitude in that way.
But what if he did? Her pulse began running wildly again and that strange warm ache she’d felt earlier started to pulse low in her abdomen. She was clearly daft. She should be repulsed like she had been when Simon had forced his brutal kiss upon her. But heaven help her, she was not.
‘Mmm,’ Rob murmured. He reached out and gently lifted her chin with his finger so that she was forced to look straight into his eyes. She held her breath. ‘Think of it no more, mo ghaoil . I am the one who should be begging for your forgiveness for having hurt you so. If anyone needs recompense it is you, Jessie Munroe.’ He suddenly rose from the bed and spread a thick quilt over her legs. ‘But, what I think is most important right now, is that you get some sleep.’ Then in the next instant he was gone, the door snicking shut behind him.
With a great shuddering sigh, Jessie sank back down onto the bed, thoughts too many to count spinning about in her head. Even though she was spent, sleep seemed impossible. She resolutely pushed away the memory of the moment she had thought Rob was going to kiss her. Dwelling on that was not going to help her out of this predicament.
Regardless of all that had befallen her today, her focus still needed to be on getting herself to Grantown-on-Spey to catch the public coach to Edinburgh as she had planned. But obviously that would be impossible if Rob decided to keep her captive or subdue her in some other way …
Yet he’d called her mo ghaoil , my dear.
Ruthlessly she crushed the notion that Rob cared even a little about her. He’d used the Gaelic endearment simply to dupe her into trusting him.
With a frustrated groan, she wrenched her mind back to the problem at hand. She reviewed all that she had learned from the exchange she’d overheard between Rob and Tobias. Obviously they were not poachers but fugitives of some kind, given they were taking great care to evade detection by the Black Watch and the dragoons. But why? What had they done that was against the law?
Somehow, Rob also knew Simon well; he was even aware of his idiosyncrasies. Indeed, Rob seemed to think—for some reason that was completely unfathomable to her—that Simon was his biggest threat. And because of Rob’s mistaken belief that she was in some kind of relationship with Simon, he was now going to assess how much of a potential threat she was to his safety also.
But she was no threat at all. Jessie again contemplated confessing everything to Rob—that Simon was not her lover, and that in actual fact, she was running away from him. At least then Rob would know she had no loyalty to that man. But if she was honest and revealed she was just the factor’s daughter, with no one really searching for her, Rob may see her as even more dispensable. It would be easier to remove a complication if that said complication wouldn’t be missed at all. However if she pretended to be someone of some importance to the earl and his son, it may stay Rob’s hand in acting to silence her.
She closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing and quell the maelstrom of panicked thoughts tumbling about in her mind.
Perhaps she should just run now? Perhaps when Rob and Tobias were asleep, she could sneak out and take one of the horses and ride to … where? Castle Lochrose and back to
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