“Thank you.”
Robert seconded her thanks as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her back the way they had come.
Robert woke Beth before dawn with a kiss, then lifted her into his arms.
She smiled, practically purring with contentment. “What are you doing?” she mumbled sleepily, snuggling against his chest as he carried her through the secret passage to her own chamber. “Still trying to preserve my reputation?”
“Aye,” he admitted, lowering her with great reluctance to her cold bed. “Though I doubt we can fool them for long. My people have sharp eyes and possess an overabundance of curiosity.”
“Particularly when it comes to their hero,” she murmured, then shivered. “Come here and give me another kiss.”
Grinning, he obliged.
It began simply, but she was so damned tempting that he could not seem to prevent himself from ravaging her lips with a hunger reminiscent of the long night they had just passed.
Until duty reasserted itself and forced him to draw back.
Beth moaned her disappointment. “Why don’t you take your clothes off and join me? These sheets will get a lot warmer a lot faster if you and I create a little friction.”
He laughed. “No doubt they would. But if I join you now, I will pass the day here. And I must leave.”
“Leave?” He couldn’t tell if her eyes reflected surprise or alarm. “You’re leaving? Where are you going? How long will you be gone?”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took one of her hands in his. “There remains a threat to my people, Beth. I cannot rest until I have eliminated it. The attacks grow more frequent, more violent. And the man who launches them was not amongst those we fought last night. I must continue my search for him and end this ere more lives are lost.”
“Oh.” Sitting up, she shoved tangled curls back from her face. “I’ll go with you, then.”
He stared at her, horrified by the notion. “Nay!”
She rolled her eyes. “Robert, this is what I do—or did—in my other life, in my time, in the future. I tracked down criminals.”
“And were nigh killed doing so,” he reminded her.
“That was a freak, onetime thing.”
“I care not. You will not accompany me.”
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll wear my vest. I’ll carry my weapons. I’ll—”
“You will remain here within Fosterly’s gates, where I know you will be safe,” he intoned, unmoving.
She considered him a moment.
Did she think she could change his mind?
“Last night you said you liked my independent spirit,” she reminded him.
“I do.” Mayhap more than he should. “But indulging it in this instance would mean risking your life. You are neither proficient in our methods of fighting nor confident on the back of a horse. Should you need to flee swiftly, you would not be able to do so.”
She smiled wryly. “In other words, I would be a liability.”
He frowned. “A what?”
“A hindrance.”
Aye, but he did not wish to say it and injure her feelings. So he shook his head instead. “I will not risk your coming to harm.”
“Fine,” she conceded grudgingly. “I won’t go. This time. Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
He smiled. “I will.”
She frowned, acquiring a rather adorable petulant expression. “What should I do while you’re gone? I’m not used to being idle. If I hadn’t been so busy obsessing over the whole time-travel thing the past couple of weeks, the sitting around doing nothing would’ve killed me.”
He shrugged. “Do as you wish. I meant it when I said I want you to make Fosterly your home. Mayhap you would like to take command of the servants and put the kitchen in order. I know its current state displeases you, as does the fare. You have eaten little since your arrival.”
“You can blame that on a fear of botulism.”
Robert did not know what that meant, but suspected it again revolved around the state of either the kitchen or the fare. “You are welcome to make whatever changes you desire.”
She chewed her lip. “Any changes? Really?”
“Any changes that do not involve moving stone,” he cautioned, only half in jest. “I would prefer that my walls remain where they are.” He could almost see her mind working as she considered the possibilities.
“Will the servants listen to me?” she asked. “I’m a complete stranger, after all.”
“Of course they will. I shall ensure that they do ere I depart.”
“And by ensure you mean what exactly?”
He grinned. “I will not beat them or threaten them, if that is what you are imagining in that violent mind of yours. I will simply inform them that they are to follow your orders as though they were my own and that by pleasing you they will please me.”
Doubt pursed her lips. “That’s it? Just I want you to do what she tells you to and they’ll jump to do my bidding?”
“Aye.”
“They don’t even know me, Robert.”