A Highland Folly (17 page)

“How much longer before our supplies arrive?” Potter asked.

“By the week's end if the weather holds.” He laughed tightly. “After all, the roads are finished to here.”

“Good.”

“You sound eager to leave the comfort of Ardkinloch for the rough life of sleeping beneath canvas.”

“I don't trust these Kinlochs.” He scratched behind an ear. “I think they are the troublemakers who started the fire.”

“Do you have proof of that?”

“Not yet, but I can try to find some.”

“If you have proof, I will gladly listen. Until then, it would be better if you kept your suspicions about our hosts to yourself.”

Potter's full face fell with his scowl. “I know you are sweet on Lady Kinloch, but you should not be blind to this family's antics.”

“I am not blind to anything that has happened.”

“But—”

“It is inappropriate to discuss our hosts.”

Potter started to say something, then seemed to think better of it. He walked out, leaving the door open in his wake.

Lucais closed it. He turned to his desk and stared at the pages where he had been trying to re-create the plans for the bridge. Picking them up, he wadded them into a ball and tossed them toward his bed. Why was he wasting time on this worthless task?

He went along the hallway. When a maid glanced at him with a tentative smile, he almost laughed aloud. A flirtation with him would mean labeling the lass a traitor. Or was he the traitor to be here, accepting Anice's hospitality without revealing the truth? The supplies that he had asked his father to send over to Ardkinloch had been turned away. Father had warned him that would happen, and Lucais had expected it as well. Yet, he had hoped the offer would allay the twinges of his conscience that reminded him endlessly of how he was deceiving Anice.

Mayhap if he had told her right from the beginning …

That was a joke, for she would have sent him on his way without another word. He never would have enjoyed the soft sweetness of her lips as he drew her into his arms.

The curse he snarled under his breath was savage. Those luscious kisses might turn bitter as unripened berries when she learned the truth. He should tell her. He did not have a single good reason not to … except for the road project. If she chose to speak against it, the project might be doomed.

He grimaced at his own thoughts. There had to be a way to let her know the truth and still save the road project. A way that would keep her in his arms and not prevent the bridge from being built. All he had to do was find it.

Hearing a grumbled insult about Englishmen and their useless roads, Lucais flashed Miss Kinloch a smile as he passed her on the stairs. Lovely Neilli Kinloch had caught the eye of many of his men, and he had had to warn them not to be jobbernowls and try to engage her in conversation. Even if she did not snarl at them like a furious cat, she would find a way to make them sorry they had kept her from ignoring them.

He knew better than to ask Neilli Kinloch where Anice might be. She would lash out at him more vehemently. Bowing his head toward her, he continued down the stairs without speaking. Another jeer was aimed at his back. He ignored it as he went out the gate and up the hill.

As he had guessed he might on this warm afternoon, Lucais found Anice not far from the abandoned cottage. She was barefoot beneath her gown, and her bonnet bounced against her back as she tossed a stick to Pippy. The dog yelped with excitement as he chased it across the brae, scattering birds ahead of him. Lucais chuckled when he saw Bonito race after the dog as if Pippy were a recalcitrant sheep trying to escape the herd. Anice laughed too, the sound like the musical cascade of a burn along the hillside. When she clapped her hands and called to her dog, she sounded as carefree as a child.

Lucais put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. Anice's head turned as sharply as her pets'. He was glad her smile did not disappear while he climbed up to stand beside her on the ridge where the cottage perched.

“Do you want to toss this for Pippy awhile longer?” she asked as she handed him the well-chewed stick. “He does not seem to be tiring of playing here today.”

“Mayhap because he is excited to be back outside after his days within Ardkinloch.” He took the stick from her and sent it flipping end over end along the hill. “Just as you are.”

“I have been looking forward to escaping from behind the walls for a few minutes.”

“Only a few minutes?” He sat on a rock near the old well that had served the cottage. “You have been so busy the past few days that one would think you had vanished from Ardkinloch.”

She laughed as she perched beside him. “I could say the same to you. Even Neilli mentioned that you had spent most of your time in your room.”

“I am trying to re-create from memory the plans that were destroyed in the fire.” He rubbed his forehead. “I remember some of it, but a partially built bridge has few uses. The plans should be here soon.”

“But you are eager to begin work now.”

“I am eager to kiss you now.” He brushed her lips lightly with his. When she did not pull away as he had suspected she might, he slanted his mouth across hers.

She flung her arms around him, leaning against him. Delighted with her eager response, he drew her to her knees and bent forward to taste the ecstasy awaiting on her warm lips. With lovely Anice he could forget the other thoughts that had haunted him. She sent his desires soaring. Combing his fingers through her wildfire hair, he tasted the delectable warmth within her mouth.

She gripped his wrists as she balanced precariously against his leg. When his lips wooed hers into relinquishing the pleasure they both could share, her fingers slid back up his sleeves to his shoulders. As she clasped her hands around his nape, he sought to thrill her with a fiery shower of kisses along her neck. She trembled against him, and he was sure he would not be able to deny this need much longer.

He was not certain if she moaned or he did when he drew back and looked into her glazed eyes. He wanted her now. Here. In his arms as her uneven breath frayed what was left of his control.

But he must be honest with her. He could not attempt to dazzle her with fascinating arts when she did not know who he was.

“Anice … Sweetheart …”

She put her finger to his lips. “No, let me tell you something first. I came up here to be alone so I could think.”

“Then I came along.”

“And I do not think clearly when you are here.” She sat across his knees, resting her head against his chest. Her bonnet bounced to the ground as her hair tumbled down across his bare arm, each strand a mind-sapping caress.

“Nor do I, but I must tell you—”

“That I have a solution!” She sat straighter and smiled at him. “The very idea of how to create a sort of camaraderie between your men and the folks in Killiebige.”

“What is this brilliant idea you have devised?”

“An archery contest. Aunt Coira mentioned a few weeks ago how the family often has gone to such a contest in Edinburgh each year. Everyone can cheer on those who wish to compete. It would be friendly and give everyone a chance to think about something other than that dashed road.”

Was she out of her mind? Lucais muttered his favorite curse under his breath. There was too much trouble already. To put bows and arrows into the hands of enemies was to invite catastrophe. After the burning of the road camp, his men were eager to show these Highlanders their place.

Anice's smile faded. “You think I have taken a maggot in the head.”

“Yes.”

“But it
is
a good idea. So many of the people around here still prefer to hunt with a bow and arrow. They are very skilled. Your men are from London. They will not have such an excellent ability to set an arrow flying.”

“So the villagers will have a chance to win before they lose their battle to keep the road and bridge from being completed.”

“Yes.” She sighed and stood, looking down at the valley. “This might be the last chance I have to make them feel as if they have kept even a bit of their pride.”

Getting up, he put his arms around her and drew her back against him. He whispered against her ear, “It is a mad idea, but I have none that is any better.”

“So you will ask your men to participate?”

“If you can persuade the villagers.”

She whirled to throw her arms around him again. “Thank you, Lucais. This could make all the difference.”

As he relished her soft lips, he tried not to think of what he had not told her. He must be honest with her. Yet as he drew her back to sit on his knees as their kiss deepened, he thought only …
later
.

The day was perfect. The sun was shining, and the barest hint of a breeze twisted through Anice's hair. Laughter and children's shouts of excitement filled the meadow behind the kirk. The archery contest would be held here, and then everyone was invited to a gathering at Ardkinloch. There would be music and dancing and excellent food. Mayhap if everyone enjoyed this day, they would treat one another with more respect and friendship.

She hoped so, but she saw no sign of that now. As she walked to where the competition would be held, she tried not to notice the frowns.

That was impossible when her cousin stopped directly in front of her. “This is not a good idea,” Neilli said without a greeting. “Was it yours or
his
?”

“It was mine,” Anice said.

“It is not a good idea.”

“I thought it was a better idea than letting folks get so bored, they thought of ways to create trouble.”

“Look around you! Do you think
this
will ease any of the concerns?”

Anice sighed as she looked at the crowd gathered to watch the contest. She sighed. The villagers stood on one side of the field and the navvies clumped on the opposite side.

Neilli grumbled something under her breath as she went to stand by Parlan. The two of them bent their heads together, and Anice sighed again. If she could not persuade her family to heed good sense, how could she hope to get the villagers to listen?

“I thought you would be here earlier,” came a voice from behind her.

She whirled and smiled at Lucais. “Is that your way of greeting someone?”

His eyes twinkled with devilry as he stepped so close, even one of the leaves from the tree could not have fit between them. “You would not let me greet you as I would like, sweetheart. Mayhap later, when you invite me to a private
tête-à-tête
with you this evening after the assembly?”

“Are you inviting yourself or inviting me?” she asked, laughing. Her sense of dread eased as she admired how a pair of old riding breeches clung to his legs and a stained shirt fluttered around him, outlining his strength. His raw masculinity urged her to forget every reason she should not put her arms around him and draw his lips toward hers. Quickly she lowered her eyes. Doing that here might guarantee that this day ended in disaster. “Are you, perchance, planning a victory celebration?”

“I have to own what I should have earlier. You should be commended just for arranging this contest.”

“I thought you hated the idea.”

“Of putting arrows in the hands of folks who would like to see a few sunk into me and my men? Of course, I hated that idea when you first told me.” He chuckled and tugged on the brim of her straw hat. “However, you are very persuasive, Anice.”

“My mother told me so often that I could convince a snake to give up its venom when I chose.”

“If this convinces the villagers that we are not their enemies out to destroy them, it will be well worth the chance of looking like a hedgehog with a dozen arrows sticking out of us in every direction.”

His teasing could not hide an underlying tension in his voice. Anice put a cautious hand on his sleeve. “Is something else wrong?”

“Else?” He pointed toward the meadow. “More than the estrangement of our spectators?”

“I noticed that.”

He nodded, his black hair falling forward into his eyes. “No doubt everyone has. It is as if a storm wind has sailed in from the North Sea and divided them. Not a single one dares to cross to the other side.” He smiled. “Unless you dare.”

“What good would that do? My family already questions my loyalty to the Kinlochs and Killiebige as well as my intelligence because I have allowed you to stay at Ardkinloch. Neilli is threatening all kinds of mayhem if I do not offer you your congé.”

“From the house or your life?”

“Both.”

“Wise lass.”

Anice smiled again. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she did not look around to discover if anyone was watching them. She did not care. “Most of the Kinlochs are not fools.”

“Just you?”

“Just me.” With a laugh, she pointed toward the field where his men were looking around anxiously. “Let's go and enjoy this. The diversion will be good for all of us.”

He caught her chin in his hand. “A kiss for luck?” Giving her no chance to answer, he brought her mouth to his. Not a jest like his words, his kiss burned with unsated hunger.

He smiled as he kept his arm around her waist. Her fingers brushed his cheek, which was rough from the wind that scoured it each day. In his eyes she could see her yearning reflected.

“Good luck,” she whispered.

“Aye, luck is what we shall need today to keep this from becoming more than a simple competition of skill,” he said, the warmth vanishing from his eyes as if it had never existed. “Nevertheless, I must now own that I am glad you arranged this. Mayhap this game shall create enough goodwill to tilt the circumstances in favor of the road project. And if trouble is inevitable, I would prefer to postpone it for as long as possible.”

“Do you really believe that this could ease the tension?”

“No, but the alternative is defeat.” He gave her a roguish wink. “You know I consider the possibility of not getting what I want an even greater challenge.” He brushed his finger against her cheek. “My sweet Anice,
you
know that well.”