“Isobel, ye must be mad if ye think I will leave ye under this roof with these two scoundrels.”
“Scoundrels?” Isobel’s tone was amused and pitchy. “Ye dinna listen to a word Brenna said earlier, did ye? We are clearly in the company of the new Laird MacChristy, Gregor. I assure ye, I’ll be safe enough with the both of them.” She glanced confidently in Adwen’s direction. “Aye?”
“Of course ye will.” Adwen stepped forward to reach for her hand, all smooth manners and fa?ade. It was nauseating.
Gregor, who still seemed to be taking everything in, said nothing. I took the opportunity to intervene.
“Gregor, you stay here. Please, I’ll be fine. I’ve ridden the way back dozens of times.”
Gregor looked apologetically my way, his voice strained and worried as he spoke. “No, lass, I agree with my wife. ’Tis no right for me to allow ye to travel back alone, but I willna bring ye myself. I canna leave my wife. I willna do so.”
It didn’t hurt my feelings in the slightest that he refused to serve as my escort. If anything, it endeared him to me. I couldn’t help but respect how fiercely he loved Isobel. There was no one in the world he would ever place above her.
“That’s fine. That’s what I want you to do. Truthfully, I can see myself back, but if you insist, I’m sure Orick will escort me.” I twisted to look at him in question and immediately, he took a step forward to stand by my side.
“Aye, o’ course, I’d be happy to see ye back, lass.”
“No.” Gregor seemed to raise himself a good inch as he stood up straight and pushed his chest out, giving us all his most authoritative stature. He pointed at Orick. “I willna be letting ye go anywhere with the lass.”
“Gregor, he’s fine. I kissed him, really. He’ll be a perfectly good escort. I’d rather go with him than Adwen.”
I’d only seen Gregor’s scary stance of authority a few times down in the kitchen, when he’d get frustrated and, as usual, I’d get argumentative. Eventually, he’d pull himself up and get all puffy like a pissed off penguin, and I knew immediately there was no use arguing with him further. It was exactly how he stood now.
“I doona care who ye would rather go with. Nor do I care, Jane, if ’twas ye that kissed him. Either way, it seems the two of ye canna keep yer hands from each other. I willna be responsible for having ye soiled by sending ye back with him. Ye shall go with this one.”
He pointed to Adwen.
*
I held onto my manners by gritting my teeth as I bid Orick, Gregor, and Isobel goodnight, but by the time Adwen and I stepped outside, I was ready to unleash my inner bitch.
I spun on him, pointing a finger directly into his chest.
“Listen, mister. There is no part of me that is happy about this. I am tired, freezing, and ready to get back to the castle, where I will most assuredly be in a world of trouble for not being back in time to eat dinner with you, of all people. I will follow Gregor’s orders because he allows me to work here despite the fact that he knows it would displease Baodan and because I respect him immensely. But…I don’t want to speak to you. I don’t want to even see you as I make my way back to the castle. Do you understand? I’ll ride ahead and you stay a good distance behind. Just make sure that I get there safely and then turn around and make your merry way back to the inn, okay?”
I didn’t wait for him to answer and spun to gather my horse—which much to my horror, was nowhere to be found.
“Aye, fine, lass. But just how do ye expect to ride ahead of me without a horse to ride on?”
CHAPTER 10
How many times had I heard the words be careful what you wish for during my lifetime? When I was really little, I remember saying things to my mother like, “One day, I hope I have a house as big as yours that’s all mine.” And she would say, “Be careful what you wish for, darling.” I thought she was crazy. Who wouldn’t want to have a giant mansion of a house to call their home? What I didn’t see was how she popped pills like Tic-Tacs just to cope.
As I stood there, staring at the vacant spot where my horse had previously been tethered, I thought that while the conventional saying was no doubt true, the most applicable saying to my current situation was more likely be careful what you dream of.
For months I’d been dreaming about men even less handsome than Adwen, wishing that one would show up in my dateless, sexless, cuddleless life. Now one had, and I was trapped on a freezing cold night with no way to get home but to ride on the same horse as the man who just moments before had tried very hard to find his way underneath my dress. If my conscious self was half as horny as my subconscious, I should have been thrilled. I was anything but.
“What the hell did you do with my horse, Adwen?”
He laughed, walking casually over to his own as he shook his head at me in disbelief.