Part 2 (1/2)

Emma moaned aloud and buried her head beneath the blankets, wondering what had possessed her to make such a preposterous boast. She had managed to survive her parents' forced cheer and her sisters' pretended envy over her nuptials to the earl, so why had a stranger's opinion of her proved so galling to her pride?

Somehow as she had stood there in the moonlight, being judged and found wanting beneath the cool appraisal of Jamie Sinclair's eyes, it had seemed better for him to think her a grasping shrew than some sacrificial lamb marching meekly to her doom. Better to have him loathe her than to pity her. For a few precious seconds, she had felt strong and powerful and in command of her own fate.

Now she just felt ridiculous.

She might have been able to restrain her temper if he hadn't kept calling her ”la.s.s” in that infuriating manner. Thanks to that whisky-and-velvet burr of his, the word had sounded more like an endearment than the overly familiar insult it was. It had made her desperate to put some distance between them, even if it was only by insisting he acknowledge her social superiority by calling her Miss Marlowe. He would probably laugh in her face if he knew her genteel genteel father was one flask of brandy and one unlucky round at the faro table away from being cast into debtor's gaol. father was one flask of brandy and one unlucky round at the faro table away from being cast into debtor's gaol.

I know you're still young enough-and comely enough-to need a real mon in your bed.

As she struggled to pummel a fold of the blanket into some semblance of a pillow, it was his words and not her own that returned to haunt her. A fresh s.h.i.+ver raked her as she remembered how his knuckles had grazed her cheek with such disarming tenderness. His husky whisper had summoned up mysterious and provocative images of the things a mon mon might do to her in that bed. These images had little to do with the disagreeable duty her mother had described. Even now, they held the power to send a rush of heat sizzling through her veins, to burn the chill from her aching bones. might do to her in that bed. These images had little to do with the disagreeable duty her mother had described. Even now, they held the power to send a rush of heat sizzling through her veins, to burn the chill from her aching bones.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Was Sinclair bold enough to imply she needed a man like him him in her bed? A man who wouldn't simply climb atop her and wiggle and grunt as her mother had told her the earl was likely to do? A man who would woo her with tender, breath-stealing kisses and skillful caresses until she was begging to surrender herself to him? in her bed? A man who wouldn't simply climb atop her and wiggle and grunt as her mother had told her the earl was likely to do? A man who would woo her with tender, breath-stealing kisses and skillful caresses until she was begging to surrender herself to him?

Her eyes flew open. Being bounced around on the horse's back must have scrambled her wits. It wasn't as if a barbarian like Jamie Sinclair could ever be that man. From what she'd heard of the wild Highlanders who still roamed these hills, he was more likely to bend a woman over a table, toss her skirts up over her head and take his pleasure roughly and swiftly without a care for her own.

Emma poked her head out of the blankets, hoping the icy air would cool the sudden fever raging in her cheeks. She was accustomed to hearing her sisters whisper and giggle in bed each night after their mother extinguished the lamp. It gave her an unsettling start to hear instead the low rumble of two men talking between themselves.

”She's a bonny eno' la.s.s, I s'pose,” one of them was saying. ”Though a bit scrawny for my tastes.”

”Judging by the girth o' that barmaid in Invergarry, any la.s.s under fifteen stone would be a bit scrawny for your tastes, Bon.” Emma stiffened as she recognized the unmistakable cadences of Sinclair's murmur. Although she had her back to the fire, she instinctively closed her eyes so no one would guess she was eavesdropping instead of sleeping.

Sinclair's observation was met with a fond sigh from the man he'd called Bon. ”Aye, me Rosie was a bit o' a handful, wasn't she? Two handfuls and a mouthful, if ye must know.”

”I mustn't, but I'm sure the image will haunt my dreams for nights to come,” Sinclair said dryly.

”Don't try to play the monk with me, lad. I'm sure ye'd like nothin' more than to warm yerself between a certain pair o' soft, white thighs on this cold spring night.”

”You heard me in the abbey,” Sinclair replied, his tones clipped. ”I told Hepburn if he met my demands, no harm would come to her.”

”Ah, but ye promised to return her unharmed, not unf.o.o.ked.” Emma was still puzzling over the unfamiliar term when Sinclair's companion chuckled. ”'Twould be the ultimate revenge, wouldn't it? Sending her back to the auld buzzard with a Sinclair b.a.s.t.a.r.d in her belly?”

Emma's blood froze in her veins as the full import of the man's words sank in. She might still be an innocent but she was no fool. If Sinclair decided to use her tender young body to slake his appet.i.te for revenge, there would be little she could do to stop him. No one would heed her desperate struggles or her pleas for mercy. Judging by what his companion had just said, his men were more likely to gather around and cheer him on than rush to her rescue.

Emma shuddered, remembering anew the dreadful things she had said to him. Since she was the one who had boldly professed her eagerness to take a strapping young lover as soon as the earl would allow it, he might even be able to convince himself that she would welcome his advances.

She held her breath, waiting for Sinclair to deny his man's words, to rebuke his companion for suggesting something so abominable. But the taut silence remained unbroken except for the cheery crackle and snap of the fire. Though her eyes were still squeezed tightly shut, she could almost see him sitting there before the fire, his regal cheekbones shadowed by its leaping flames as he weighed the wisdom of his man's counsel.

No longer able to bear the suspense, she dared a furtive glance over her shoulder. Sinclair was sitting with his back to her, facing the fire and blocking her view of the other man. His broad shoulders and back looked even more imposing from this angle.

She had no intention of just lying there and waiting for his shadow to fall over her, blocking out the moonlight and covering her in darkness.

As she eased back a corner of the blanket, his velvet-edged warning echoed through her mind: If you run, I'll have to put my hands on you... If you run, I'll have to put my hands on you...

She rolled soundlessly out of the bedroll.

If Jamie Sinclair wanted to put his hands on her, he would have to catch her first.

JAMIE GLARED AT HIS cousin over the leaping flames of the campfire. Their h.e.l.lish glow only emphasized the devilish sparkle of Bon's black eyes and the impish arch of his thin, dark brows. cousin over the leaping flames of the campfire. Their h.e.l.lish glow only emphasized the devilish sparkle of Bon's black eyes and the impish arch of his thin, dark brows.

Bon was one of the few men who could bear up under Jamie's most fierce glower. He'd had ample practice, both when they were lads running wild over the grounds of the Sinclair stronghold together and during the half dozen or so years that they'd been riding against the Hepburn and his men. The only time they'd been separated was during those long, bleak terms Jamie had spent at St. Andrews.

If Jamie hadn't known that Bon was deliberately needling him, he would have lunged across the fire and boxed his pointy ears just as he had so many times as a boy. More often than not, the two of them would end up rolling in the dirt, pummeling each other b.l.o.o.d.y until someone-usually Bon's mother, G.o.d rest her long-suffering soul, or Jamie's grandfather-dragged them apart by their collars and gave them each a sound shaking.

Their brawling had tapered off when Jamie had turned fourteen and rapidly gained eight inches in height and two stone in weight on Bon. Since then, Bon had been forced to do battle with his canny wits instead of his fists, wits that were on full display now as he returned Jamie's glower with an innocent blink of his own.

Jamie should have disputed his cousin's words outright but he couldn't deny the truth in them. There were few on this mountain who would condemn him for sampling the auld mon's bride. After everything the Hepburn had done to his family-including trying to wipe the Sinclair name from the face of the earth-it would be a fitting revenge for Jamie's seed to live on in the womb of the woman the Hepburn had chosen to bear his own son.

Jamie felt a surprising surge of l.u.s.t in his loins. For the first time since he and Bon had inst.i.tuted their little game of wits and wills, Jamie was the first to look away.

Ignoring Bon's triumphant grin, he picked up a stick and gave the fire a fierce poke, sending a shower of sparks shooting up into the velvety blackness of the night sky. ”There's no need to play these games. I'm well aware you don't approve o' me s.n.a.t.c.hin' the Hepburn's bride.”

”And why would I when the only likely outcome is for us to end up danglin' by our necks from some hangman's gibbet? Now that ye've gone and made off with an Englishwoman, what's to stop the Hepburn from callin' the full wrath o' the British army down on our heads?”

”His pride. You know he'd rather die than ask for help from any mon, be he Scottish or English.”

”Then I wish he'd go ahead and die and spare us all this trouble.” Bon stabbed a finger in the general direction of the bedroll where Jamie had left their captive. ”Because I can promise ye that trouble is all that la.s.s is goin' to be.”

Jamie snorted. ”I doubt a prim, stiff-necked la.s.s like that has ever done anything more troubling troubling than dropping a st.i.tch while embroidering a scripture on a sampler.” He spared his cousin a sideways glance. ”Besides, she couldn't possibly be more trouble than that bonny wee dairy maid in Torlundy whose husband threatened to tear off your scrawny arm and beat you to death with it when he caught you sneaking out of his bedchamber window in the middle of the night.” than dropping a st.i.tch while embroidering a scripture on a sampler.” He spared his cousin a sideways glance. ”Besides, she couldn't possibly be more trouble than that bonny wee dairy maid in Torlundy whose husband threatened to tear off your scrawny arm and beat you to death with it when he caught you sneaking out of his bedchamber window in the middle of the night.”

”Ah, my sweet Peg!” Bon sighed wistfully at the memory. ”Now there was a la.s.s worth dying for-both between the sheets and out o' them. Can ye say the same for the Hepburn's woman?”

Jamie tossed the stick away. ”She's not his woman. At least not yet. And I can promise you I have no intention of dying for her. Not by the hangman's hand or by any other means.”

”What makes ye think the Hepburn'll even be willing to pay to get her back? He's never had a reputation for bein' overly sentimental. There are some who say he sold his black heart to the divil along with his soul.”

”Oh, he'll pay. Not because he has any particular fondness for the la.s.s but because he won't be able to bear the thought of a Sinclair stealing something that belongs to him.” Jamie felt his lips curve in a grim smile. ”Especially this particular Sinclair.”

”And what if Ian Hepburn isn't as proud as his uncle? What if he convinces the auld buzzard to bring in the redcoats to fight on their side?”

Jamie's gaze was drawn back to the darkness at the very heart of the fire. Even he had to admit that Ian was the unknown quant.i.ty in his carefully calculated scheme. It was difficult to pretend he hadn't been shaken by the depth of the loathing he had glimpsed in his former friend's eyes as they had faced each other in that abbey.

He gave his head a brisk shake. ”If anything, Ian hates me more than his uncle does. He won't want the redcoats doing their dirty work for them. He'd rather see his own hands around my throat than a hangman's noose.”

The sparkle in Bon's dark eyes was dimmed by the shadow of worry. ”I don't know exactly what it is ye plan to ask of the Hepburn in return for his bride but it's goin' to have to be one h.e.l.l of a prize to justify riskin' all of our necks, includin' yer own. Are ye sure it's worth it?”

”Aye.” Jamie looked Bon dead in the eye. Bon had always been more brother than cousin to him and he owed him at least that much of the truth. ”That much I can promise you.”

LONG AFTER BON HAD retired for the night, Jamie found himself standing over his captive's bedroll, hoping he would be able to keep the promise he had made to his cousin. If he was wrong about the Hepburn bringing in the redcoats to retrieve her, he may very well have sealed the doom of his entire clan. retired for the night, Jamie found himself standing over his captive's bedroll, hoping he would be able to keep the promise he had made to his cousin. If he was wrong about the Hepburn bringing in the redcoats to retrieve her, he may very well have sealed the doom of his entire clan.

He had long suspected that the Hepburn secretly enjoyed the little game of cat and mouse the two of them had been playing practically from the moment Jamie had been born. Jamie could almost picture the auld man at this very moment, gleefully rubbing his bony hands together as he plotted his next move. To a man like the Hepburn the mountain was naught but his own personal chessboard, and the people who eked out their living from its rocky soil p.a.w.ns to be moved about at both his whim and his pleasure. There was only one way to beat the man and that was to be cannier... and more ruthless than he was. By kidnapping an innocent woman, Jamie had finally succeeded at both.

He scowled down at the bedroll. The girl who slept at his feet was no less a p.a.w.n to the earl. He knew that it galled Hepburn beyond measure to have outlived his three sons and all their offspring while Jamie had not only survived, but thrived. Hepburn would stop at nothing to procure a new heir for himself.

Jamie ran a hand over his tense jaw, wondering why he'd been foolish enough to a.s.sign himself guard duty when he could have easily commanded one of his men to do it. He glanced toward the other side of the fire where they had bedded down for the night. Although he'd trust most of them with his life, for some reason he was reluctant to trust them alone with Miss Marlowe. h.e.l.l, at the moment he wasn't sure he could trust himself alone with her. Especially not with Bon's taunting words still fresh in his mind.

She had the blankets drawn up so high that even the coppery spill of curls at the top of her head was hidden. A frown creased his brow. She was a lady, not some st.u.r.dy Highland la.s.s. She was probably accustomed to taking her ease in a fluffy feather bed piled high with down coverlets, not on the hard ground with only a thin layer of scratchy wool to s.h.i.+eld her from the cold.