Unlaced by the Outlaw (Secrets in Silk) (26 page)

There was strained tension between the two men, but Cain declined. “We must leave, and Margaret will come with me.” He rested his hands upon the back of her chair and added, “You were right, that Margaret is no’ my cousin. She’s going to be my
wife.
”

She bit her tongue at that. He was behaving like a barbarian, as if he intended to haul her over his shoulder and carry her off. She was tempted to interrupt, but Barnabas met Cain’s stare with his own disdain. “I suspected as much. I had hoped that Miss Andrews might reconsider marrying a man so beneath her.”

Cain didn’t rise to the bait. “She was with me from the beginning, Barnabas. She was ne’er going to be yours.”

Barnabas raised a hand to gesture for the butler, Mr. Merrill. “Escort Mr. Sinclair out and help him prepare to leave.”

“Why don’t you go and prepare our horse?” Margaret suggested to Cain. “I will pack a little food for both of us.”

“I’ll gladly go,” he said, “but you are coming with me.” He gripped Margaret’s hand, and she didn’t at all like the direction this conversation had turned. Nor did she appreciate the way he was behaving.

“No,” she said calmly. “As I said before, you may see to it that our belongings and the horse are prepared. I will see to the food.”

Anger blazed in his eyes, but she stood from her chair and faced him. She would not allow him to treat her like a child, commanding her to obey his wishes. She was a grown woman and expected to be treated as such.

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

After Cain was gone, Mr. Barnabas rose from his seat, resting his hands upon the linen tablecloth. “Do you truly wish to travel with a man who treats you thusly?”

“He doesn’t normally,” she said, making excuses. “It’s only jealousy.”

“But what is it
you
want, Miss Andrews? A baron’s daughter can have her choice of suitors, and you would not have to suffer orders from me.”

She didn’t know how to answer him. Yes, Cain was behaving in a domineering manner. But it was only because he wanted to protect her.

“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Barnabas. But I intend to go home to my family. Whatever decisions I make regarding my marriage are my own choice.”

He moved to the other side of the table and took her hand, raising it to his lips. “If ever you reconsider, know that you are always welcome here. I have worked for five years, bringing this estate into prosperity, and when the day comes that I inherit my cousin’s title, I can give you everything you’ve ever dreamed of.”

Margaret knew he believed that. But she was no longer the same woman who would have valued a title and lands over her heart’s desires.

The question was, what sort of life did she want now? A life with a gentleman? Or a life with a Highlander?

“There’s been a slight change of plans, lass,” Cain informed her, when he saw Margaret walking outside, followed by her lady’s maid. He pointed behind him to a farmer’s wagon, hitched to their mare, along with a second horse.

“Where did you find that?” Her face was startled, but she appeared pleased.

“The butler, Mr. Merrill, arranged for it.” He gestured toward the older man, who stepped forward. In the meantime, Cain began taking bundles from the maid, loading the wagon with food and supplies.

“We made an agreement, my lady. I would provide the wagon and another horse, if Mr. Sinclair agreed to take me and my daughter with you.” He sent her a pleading look. “I do hope you will allow us to come.”

Margaret appeared curious, and she asked, “Why do you wish to leave?”

Mr. Merrill signaled for the maid to come forward, answering, “Annie has been approached by Mr. Barnabas on more than one occasion. I do not want her working in a household where she is in danger of unwanted advances.”

Cain agreed with the man on that point. Whether or not Margaret was aware of it, Barnabas had revealed his true nature, even on the night he’d come to her room. He didn’t doubt that if the door had been unlocked, the man would have forced his way inside.

“Of course you may come,” Margaret agreed. “And I thank you both for the use of your wagon and the extra horse. It’s very kind of you.”

The servants helped her inside, but when Cain was about to take the reins, Merrill took them instead. “After all that you’ve done for us, sir, you should ride with Miss Andrews. Annie and I will sit in the front.”

He deferred to their wishes, but it did seem strange to be treated as if he were a gentleman. Cain gave orders to Merrill to travel in a northwestern direction, and once they had begun their journey, he sensed Margaret beginning to relax. He spread a blanket over her lap to offer warmth, and beneath it, he took her hand.

Though she held it, he sensed tension in her grip. “I do not like the way you’ve been ordering me around,” she said in a low voice. “I am a grown woman.”

“Aye, that you are, lass.” He knew he’d been pushing her hard, but then again, every time he’d asked her to wed, she’d refused. It was a matter of honor now. He’d taken her virtue, and he wasn’t the sort of man to abandon her.

She leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Then you will understand that I do not intend to simply wed you, because of last night.”

“And what if there is a child?” he whispered back. “I am no’ the sort of man to walk away from you.”

She was silent for a moment, but then she leaned in. “All my life, I’ve been told what to do and when to do it. I’ve been told what to wear, how to eat, how to behave, and what sort of man I should marry. The last thing I want is another man to order me around.”

It wasn’t like that at all. This was about sheltering her from scandal, about offering her the protection of his name. “You’re no’ being reasonable, Margaret. What choice do you have but to marry me?”

“Can you not ask?”

You’d say no,
he wanted to respond. She’d always said no, no matter that he’d asked her to wed him in the past. Why would he set himself up to be spurned again?

No, he wasn’t going to yield on this. He would never sire a bastard and walk away from her.

“I already told you,” he said quietly. “I’ll no’ ask you again to wed me. We’re past that now. You
will
become my wife, and that’s the end of it.” He didn’t care that his words were harsh. She needed to know that he would never, ever leave her. Aye, she was a stubborn lass, but she’d sealed her own fate when she’d invited him into her bed.

The wagon rumbled along the road, and in time, it began to rain. “There’s an oilcloth in one of the bundles,” Annie called out to them. “You can use it to shelter Miss Andrews from the rain.”

“What about you and Mr. Merrill?” Margaret asked.

Annie smiled. “I’ve brought an umbrella for my father and me to share.”

In this, Cain was glad that the maid had thought of nearly everything. He found the oilcloth and pulled it over Margaret and himself to shield them from the rain. With a covering over their heads and a blanket to warm them, it was far more comfortable. Cain drew her closer, but Margaret remained stiff in his arms. In a low voice, he asked, “What troubles you? Is it that you’re no’ wanting to marry me or that I havena asked you properly?”

She created physical distance between them, shifting to the left. “I don’t know if I want to marry you or not. But right now, it feels as if my life has been shaken inside out. I’m not the lady I was, and I can’t go back to the way things were.”

“You weren’t happy in that life,” he reminded her. “Don’t be forgetting that.”

She didn’t answer him, though her demeanor seemed to suggest it was true. Her knees were curled up under the blanket while she huddled beneath the oilcloth.

She’d said that she wanted him to ask her, instead of making demands. And though he still intended to wed her, he did ask. “What is it you’re wanting, lass?”

“My freedom,” she whispered. Turning toward him, her green eyes met his. “I want to be treated as if I have a brain in my head. If I marry, I want my husband to treat me as an equal, not someone to decorate his life and host parties.” Her eyes lowered, and she added, “I always thought that marrying a wealthy man would give me that freedom. And now it seems that any marriage is only an extension of those chains.”

“Don’t be asking me to walk away from you,” he said softly. “Or did you forget the way it was between us?”

“N-no.” Her voice was thick, as if she was fighting back tears. He didn’t want her to cry, and he knew when to step back.

“We’ll return to Ballaloch first,” he told her. “There’s no need to be making decisions before then.”

His hand remained upon hers, and for a long time he didn’t speak. The wagon rumbled through the meadows and over the hills, the rain continuing to fall. He didn’t know what to say to her or how to convince her that marriage to him would not be a prison. It would be different from the life she’d known, aye, but he saw no reason why she could not enjoy it.

He released her hand, staring off into the distance. The only worry was how to give her the wealth she’d had as a baron’s daughter. If he could find a means of supporting her, he felt certain that he could make her happy.

He had to try.

Chapter Eleven

N
ight came, and Margaret was well aware that Cain’s frustration was brewing hotter. They stopped at an inn, and he arranged for two rooms. She mistakenly believed he intended for her to share a room with Annie, but after the maid fetched her belongings, Cain said good night and shut the door in the young woman’s face.

“What are you—we shouldn’t share a room,” she protested.

In response, Cain reached behind her and locked the door. “There’s more that we need to talk about, lass. And I’m no’ wanting us to be interrupted.”

A sense of uneasiness crept over her. Why would he expect that he had the right to stay here? To stall a moment, she asked, “How did you pay for two rooms? I thought we didn’t have enough money.”

“Mr. Merrill paid for his own room, lass. And I did save enough coins for this.”

Margaret swallowed hard and turned away. She was beginning to realize that he’d kept more secrets than she’d ever imagined. “I didn’t realize.”

“There’s more to me than you ken, lass.” He moved in closer, then he reached into his pocket. “You might believe that I’ve no’ a tuppence to my name. But you’d be wrong.” He withdrew her strand of pearls and held them out.

Margaret stared at the white pearls, shocked to see them. “How did you get these?”

“I got them back from the vicar’s wife and paid her instead. Were you thinking I stole them?” He turned her to face the wall, his hands resting upon her shoulders while he held the pearls.

“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “You never said anything.”

“I wouldna let you give up your pearls for me.” His hands unfastened the top button of her gown. The moment he did, she went motionless, all thoughts fleeing her mind. Cain unfastened a second button, then a third.

Another flush darkened her cheeks, and she ventured, “What are you doing?”

When he didn’t answer, Margaret pulled away, clutching her gown. “You said you wanted to talk to me. This isn’t talking.”

“I talk better with my hands than my mouth. And I want you to ken all the reasons you should be marrying me.”

His blue eyes were smoldering, and she saw how badly he wanted her. “First, I have enough money to take care of you, lass. I’m no’ the sort of man to throw away five years of good wages.”

Aphrodite’s Unmentionables. Of course that was where he’d obtained the money.

She closed her eyes, remembering that they’d paid him a great deal over the years. Not only for his deliveries, but also for secrecy. He’d kept his word and had earned every penny.

“Second, you seduced me last night. I’m a fallen man now.”

Her lips curved in an unexpected smile, and she allowed him to move in closer to unfasten the remaining buttons. “Are you suggesting that I compromised you?”

“Aye. And you owe me compensation for it.”

His charm was seductive in and of itself. She warmed to him, fully aware that her gown was sliding off one shoulder. “What sort of compensation were you hoping for?”

“Time, lass. Years of waking up beside you.”

The teasing was gone now, and in its place was all seriousness. She could almost envision it, and a slight thrill ran over her skin.

Cain removed his shirt and went to pour a cup of ale. His back was bared to her, and she saw the healed burns. Though his skin would always be marred, she was glad to see that the open wounds were now closed up. He’d suffered on her behalf, and these scars were her fault.

Without speaking, she crossed the room and touched her fingers to his bare back, examining him. “Does it still hurt you?”

She ran her fingers over his skin, and he brought her around to face him. “The only thing that hurts is no’ being inside you right now, lass.”

Heat flushed over her skin, but she made no protest. Tonight was about something else. It was about choices.

She could choose to leave this room and sleep with the maid, letting all the confusing doubts cloud her mind with sleeplessness. Or she could choose to spend the night in Cain’s arms, a night where he would love her.