Chapter 8

A hanging offense. That was all Davina could think about as she wandered in to the last stall in the stable. She now understood Uncle Aiden’s motivation with complete clarity, and the underlying panic she’d suffered after he’d issued his dictate only escalated.

While a ball would be nice since she’d never attended one and neither had Arabella nor Sheena, the reasons and timing were all wrong. If he was waiting to be arrested, and fearing that it would happen soon, Uncle Aiden may just up and marry them to the first bachelor who asked.

Somehow she must make this work to their advantage. Suppose they had the ball, and Rose attended, there would be a number of neighbors present who could testify on Uncle Aiden’s behalf that Rose was not a captive but a guest. Maybe that would help save him. Perhaps, they could convince the authorities that Uncle Aiden had only suffered a moment of madness and that when it had passed, they were simply waiting for Rose to be collected by her family.

Davina blew out a breath and sank into the straw beside the kittens. She moved bits and pieces out of the way to reveal the tiny babies, so adorable and trying to move about. Morag must have buried them in the straw to keep them safe from predators. She was lucky that no horse was kept in here at this time or the wee things may have been crushed.

Another one of their barn cats came sniffing and crawled into Davina’s lap. She held the feline close and petted its calico fur. The purrs reverberated against Davina’s breast, and her body relaxed almost immediately.

“Oh what am I to do?” she asked the cat, not expecting an answer. If Ian were here, she’d ask him. But, if Ian were here, he’d recognize Rose and have Uncle Aiden arrested. If Ian were here, he would offer for her as soon as he learned that Uncle Aiden intended to see them all wed, at least she hoped that would be his response. But, if he knew the reason, Ian might turn his back on the entire family, Davina included, and she’d be forced to marry someone she did not care for. At least, not the way she cared for Ian.

Morag, the mother cat, jumped from a beam and stretched, then sauntered toward her kittens before laying down so they could nurse. When Morag had gone into season, five of their male barn cats had come sniffing but Davina had no way of knowing which one had done the deed. “If ye were human, ye’d have the same reputation of a certain Ian Grant,” Davina whispered to Morag. “And ye’d be quite ruined.”

Except, the cat’s reputation was actually worse than Ian’s now. He’d gone off to prove himself two and a half months ago and in all that time he hadn’t danced, except with his sisters or mother, and hadn’t kissed a single lass. At least nobody had seen him doing any kissing. Fanella and Jesse had both written and promised that they were keeping a close eye on their brother, so much so they were more bothersome than ever, but he’d not tried to sneak away once. Of course, they believed it was because Davina issued a challenge. They knew nothing of the real reason behind it, other than she’d called his honor into question and Ian had set out to prove Davina wrong.

“Have ye missed me so much ye’ve taken to talkin’ to the cat about me?”

Davina jerked her head up and stared into the warm green eyes of Ian Grant. Immediately, her breath hitched and her skin heated. Emotions warred within. Excitement and happiness to see him, mixed with panic that he was here, now, while Lady Bentley was being held for ransom.

“What are ye doin’ here?” she finally asked, wishing her heart didn’t feel as if it was going to pound right out of her chest, and she clutched the calico cat close to her breast.

Ian frowned. “We returned early.”

“Why?”

Ian settled down into the hay beside her. “Does it matter? I thought ye’d be glad to see me.”

“Aye. I mean nay.”

“Davina, is anythin’ wrong?”

Not wrong—disastrous, but she couldn’t tell him anything. “I’m just surprised to see ye.” The cat she’d been holding jumped away from her and raced out of the stables.

“Ye missed me, didn’t ye?” He slowly grinned.

More than she’d ever admit, at least right now. “Perhaps.” She needed to send him away, but how?

“Ye were talkin’ to the cat about me. I call that missin’ me.”

“Nay. I was warnin’ her no’ to turn out like ye.”

“A fine, upstandin’ and honorable gentleman?” He winked at her.

“Being a gentleman would be difficult for a female cat,” Davina retorted as she grasped her skirt in hopes it would absorb the sudden moisture on her palms.

“Have I no’ proven myself? I dinna even have a thought that ye wouldna approve of while in London.”

Davina narrowed her eyes on him. “There is no way to prove what ye were thinkin’.”

“True, but I dinna dance or kiss anyone.”

“According to Jesse and Fanella,” she reminded him. She needed to put him off, somehow, and make him go away. Oh, she had missed Ian, but his returning now was the absolute worst timing.

Ian placed a hand over his heart. “Ye wound me, Davina. I was perfectly behaved.”

She knew he had been and even only two months in London with no female companionship must have seemed like an eternity for him.

“When did ye return?”

“Three hours ago”

Her eyebrows rose. “Did ye come here right away?” Did he miss her so much? As much as she’d missed him.

“Aye.” He leaned in. “I’ve got a number of kisses stored up that I need to share.”

Davina pulled back. “And who might ye be wantin’ to share them with?”

“Who do ye think, lass?”

If she moved any further away, she’d be lying down.

Davina rested back on her elbows and Ian leaned over her until their noses were nearly touching.

“I’ve missed ye, lass.”

Her heart melted. “And I missed ye.”

Ian’s green eyes darkened right before he tilted his head and placed his lips against hers. She ought to have kissed him back, but she couldn’t stop the grin that came to her mouth. So happy that he had returned, so happy that he had come to kiss her again, so happy he had not changed his mind.

Ian pulled back and looked down at her. “Why are ye no’ kissin’ me back?”

He might have sounded angry, but he was smiling, too.

“I’m happy to see ye.” Heat blanketed her cheeks.

“No’ nearly as happy as I am to see ye.”

She bit her lips and studied him, wishing this was July and not May and that Rose was back safely with her family and that the Grants would never learn what Uncle Aiden had done. But even as the thoughts crossed her mind, Davina knew that one day soon they would all learn the truth and what she and Ian shared would be gone.

Impulsively, she sat up and threw her arms around Ian, determined to hold him close while she could.

“I’ve missed ye, lass,” he whispered in her ear before he pulled back and gave her a very proper kiss. Sweet, gentle and loving, and it made Davina melt even more.

Cradling her face in his hands, he touched his tongue to her lips and delved when she opened to him. If possible, this kiss was even better than the one he’d given her before she sent him off to London.

Shifting, he put his arms around her back, and before she knew what was happening, she was lying in the hay, not far from the kittens, and Ian was over her. She blinked up at him when he pulled back and looked down at her. “Does this mean ye will let me court ye?”

In that moment, much of her joy at being in his arms disappeared. “Aye and nay.”

Ian’s eyebrows drew together as he frowned. “It has to be one or the other, lass.”

Oh, it was impossible to explain because the truth certainly would not do.

“I plan on talkin’ to Aiden today.”

“No!” she cried.

Ian narrowed his eyes on her. “Give me one good reason why I shouldna ask his permission to court ye.”

Davina stared at him, her pulse pounding as she tried to come up with a reason he’d believe, then she remembered. “Fiona,” she blurted out.

Ian sat back. “Fiona? What does she have to do with us?”

“She came down with an illness yesterday and ye ken Uncle Aiden. When any of us are ill he is the most unreasonable man in Scotland.”

Blast, Ian had intended on speaking with Aiden today, but he knew as well as anyone within the three surrounding counties that when one of Aiden MacGregor’s children took ill, he first summoned a physician, then didn’t leave the child’s side. He’d been like that since his wife, Meg, had died of childbed fever.

It didn’t matter how minor or serious the illness, Aiden behaved as if they’d caught the plague. Given it was the man’s youngest who was ill, Aiden would not want to be bothered right now, and if Ian pulled Aiden away from Fiona’s bedside, he might not receive the permission he sought.

Davina let go of him and relaxed back into the hay. Damn, there wasn’t anything more seductive than seeing her surrounded by straw, her breasts pushed against her simple, light wool dress, dark hair fanning out around her beautiful face. He’d been near dozens of beautiful ladies in fancy gowns and perfectly curled hair for two and a half months and none of them held a candle to Davina in her simple clothing in a pile of hay.

Ian sat up before he followed her further down into the straw and forgot that he didn’t have permission to court her, and certainly no right to seduce her. “Is that why ye were so tense when I came into the stables?”

“Ye surprised me, is all.”

He understood the surprise, but not the panic in her eyes at seeing him. Or, maybe it was concern for her cousin that he misinterpreted as panic. “How ill is Fiona?”

“Her fever was high last night, and she still carries one today.”

Ian sighed and thrust his fingers through his hair. “Then I suppose I’ll need to wait a few days until she’s better.”

“I’ll send word,” Davina promised. “But ye should go.”

Why was she trying to get rid of him? He had just now arrived and they hadn’t kissed nearly enough for his liking. “What is the matter with ye, lass?”

“I’m worried about Uncle Aiden.”

“I ken he can be unreasonable, but ye need not worry about the man,” Ian assured her.

“And Fiona,” she added.

Something was not right with Davina, and it was more than her cousin and uncle. “Did something else happen while I was away?”

“Nay,” she answered quickly. Almost too quickly.

Davina was behaving very strangely. “I proved myself in London, it was our bargain so that I could court ye,” he reminded her. “Ye arena tryin’ to change my mind, are ye?”

“Remember what I told ye? I canna be courted by anyone unless Uncle Aiden marries.”

“Nay, lass. We had a bargain, and I will be speakin’ to Aiden.”

“Nay!” she cried.

What the blazes was wrong with Davina? He believed her only objection was Aiden having a wife, but perhaps it was more. “Do ye still wish for me to court ye?” he finally asked. What if she had changed her mind while he was gone?

“Aye,” she said slowly then bit her lip, looking into his eyes. “But, only if nobody knows.”

At that moment, Ian wasn’t sure if he was more angry, frustrated or insulted. “I’ve not been back with ye an hour and yer callin’ my honor into question again.”

“Nay,” she rushed to say as she sat up. “I’d never do that, but I think it’s for the best.”

“Exactly how? If yer brothers, uncle or cousins learned, they’d string me up by my boll…never mind. They’d not be very happy.”

“I doubt they’d castrate ye, Ian,” she giggled.

Just the very idea made him want to cross his legs. “Ye underestimate a man’s need to protect the lasses in his life, Davina. I would rather not take the risk.”

She reached out and took his hand in hers, gripping his fingers tight. “Hear me out, please.”

“Very well.” He sighed.

“We’ve kent each other all my life, but I dinna ken ye had a likin’ fer me until ye kissed me.”

“I had a likin’ fer ye long before I kissed ye.”

“And I for ye, but neither one of us kent it until then.”

“What does this have to do with courtin’?”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, we should’ve done some courtin’ before the kissin’ but we canna take that back.”

“Which is why we’ll court now.”

“Nay!”

She may be the most beautiful lass he’d ever known, but Davina was also the most obstinate and confusing.

“Our families are friends.”

“Aye.” He still was not seeing whatever problem she saw.

“What if this is just a temporary infatuation?”

“It’s not!”

She placed a finger against his lips. “Hear me out,” she ordered gently. “This is all very new. We kissed, ye were gone. Yer back and we kissed.”

“Ye sent me away,” Ian argued.

Davina pursed her lips and lifted an eyebrow.

“Very well. Go on.”

“What if one of us decides this isna more than likin’, with none of the lovin’ after we’ve been courtin’ with our families knowin’? If we decide that we shouldna be courtin’, my brother, cousins and Uncle Aiden may look at ye differently, and Fanella and Jesse may be uncomfortable around me.”

Though he was certain there’d be loving as well as liking and kissing and eventually seducing, Ian was beginning to understand her concerns. This was moving very quickly and family involvement in the knowing would make things a lot more difficult. “If yer family kent, then we’d not be left alone.” He leaned in. “Like we are now.”

A lovely rose hue spread across her cheeks. “That isna what I mean, but it is somethin’ to consider.”

“I doona like a secret courtin’.” It didn’t sit well with him, especially since her family would find out eventually, then they would string him up by the bollocks, unless they married right away. At least he hoped they’d let him keep his bollocks. The wedding night would be very disappointing to Davina if he was missing those.

“Just long enough for me to work on the other part of my plan.”

“How long and what other part?”

“A few months, at the most, I hope.”

“A few months?” he practically shouted. “I doona want to be sneakin’ around behind yer family’s backs for that long.”

“Maybe it won’t take that long. I just need to find Uncle Aiden a bride and then I will be free.”

His stomach clenched. What if the man never married?

“How are ye goin’ to find him a bride? He hardly ever leaves Annagburn?”

“I’m still workin’ on that part of the plan, but I’d hope to find him someone before ye returned so that we could begin courtin’. Ye are the one who came back too early.”

“Davina, are ye out here?” Ian’s heart nearly stopped at Donovan’s voice. If he walked back and caught the two of them in the straw, all of Davina’s plans would be for naught.

She stood up and peeked over the stall. “Aye?”

“Uncle Aiden sent me to get ye.”

“I’ll be right in,” she called back and waited a few moments. “He’s gone,” she said before she sat back down and faced Ian. “Give me a few weeks.”

“Weeks? Ye doona want to see me for a few weeks?” He’d already been gone two months. Maybe she hadn’t missed him as much as he had missed her.

“Long enough for Fiona to get well again and enough time for me to work on my plan.”

“I am not waitin’ weeks, lass. I will be back in a few days.”

“Nay!” she cried.

“Aye,” he returned. Ian reached out and grabbed her hand. “Mark my words, lass. I willna be put off for weeks. If ye doona allow me to talk to yer uncle soon, a sennight at the most, I willna be seeking permission at all.”

The color seemed to drain from her cheeks. Good! Davina needed to realize that she could not put him off indefinitely, and even a sennight was too long. He did have his pride and his honor and he would not be reduced to a lad sneaking around and hoping for a kiss. “Ye have seven days, Davina. Fiona will be well by then and yer uncle willna be distracted. I am not goin’ to wait for him to marry because that may never happen.” He leaned in and met her gaze directly so she knew how serious he was. “If I’ve not obtained yer uncle’s permission by then, I will not seek it at all.” Then he pulled back. “And I am not goin’ to wait so long to see ye again either.”

She blinked at him. “It’s only seven days.”

“It’s been two months.” Ian studied her and began to seriously consider, for the first time, that she did not truly want him to court her. “Meet me tomorrow by the bales, and bring yer bow so yer family thinks ye’re goin’ to practice.”

She gulped. “Very well. What time?”

“Two.”