He frowned. “A what?”
“Nothing. I mean, naught.” Alice had done a complete turnaround since the kitchen incident, going out of her way to help Beth despite the continued ribbing and belittlement of her peers. The two of them were actually becoming friends. Beth didn’t want to get her into trouble, so she changed the subject. “Hey, while you’re looking all fierce and murderous, would you order the men to finish their cleaning so we can sneak off and be alone together?”
“You would not perchance be attempting to distract me, would you?”
“I would,” she conceded. “I have been indulging in some very imaginative fantasies about you today, and thought maybe we could try a few of them out.”
Robert scowled over her head. “Finish the task she has set before you.”
Beth whispered, “And repeat it every fortnight.”
“And repeat it every fortnight,” he ordered.
No one protested, though Beth suspected he would hear a few grumbles tomorrow.
“You’re wonderful,” she praised him with a smile.
“I know.”
Beth laughed. Releasing him, she tucked one of her small hands into his and faced the men. “It’s been fun, guys. I had a great time getting to know you all and shooting the breeze with you today. There isn’t a single one of you that I don’t like.”
Uncertain of Robert’s mood and whether or not there would be ramifications later for misleading her, the men all offered tentative smiles.
And, of course, she thought many of those smiles also held a good bit of confusion over her peculiar words. But they seemed to glean her meaning.
“See you later.” Beth drew Robert out of the tower and led him across the bailey, swinging their linked hands between them. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
Squinting against the descending sun, she sent him a wry smile. “I’m never going to fit in around here, am I? I keep forgetting the rules.”
He shrugged. “You shall learn them all in time. And once you have, I shall be endlessly entertained, watching you choose which ones you will follow and which you will discard.”
Shouldn’t he be more concerned than that? “You won’t be angry if I decide to buck the system every once in a while? You won’t send me packing?”
The pause that followed, she felt, was due more to his need to decipher her meaning than think through his answer.
“Nay, Beth, my feelings for you are not contingent upon you obeying the rules.” He smiled and raised her hand to his lips for a kiss. “And I shall only become angry if you place yourself in danger.”
She grinned up at him. “So, you like me a little, do you?”
“More than a little.”
Good. Because she was crazy about him. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I’ll bet Edward could scare up enough hot water for a bath if we asked him nicely.”
His eyes sparkled with interest. “Could he now?”
She nodded. “Of course, there probably won’t be enough to fill two tubs, so we would have to share.”
“With the right incentive, I believe I could resign myself to such a fate,” he murmured thoughtfully.
“The right incentive, huh? How about…” Beth stopped. Moving in close, she slid her hands up his chest, over his shoulders and into his hair. “This?”
Robert’s heart stuttered as Beth rose onto her toes and fastened her lips to his in a kiss so rife with hunger that he forgot they were standing in the middle of the bailey. Locking his arms around her, he dragged her against him and lost himself in the feel of her. Her warm, slick tongue stroked his own. Her full breasts teased his chest. Her fingers clenched in his hair. And her hips…
Cupping the back of her head with one hand, Robert slid the other down to urge her hips closer and assuage the ache she inspired.
“Ahem.” Something thumped Robert’s shoulder. Hard.
Reluctantly abandoning Beth’s sweet lips, he raised his head. Michael’s back swam into focus. Apparently he had bumped into them on his way to…
Actually Michael did not seem to have any particular destination in mind. Why had he bumped them?
Blinking, Robert glanced around and gradually became aware of the gaping stares directed their way by virtually every man, woman, and child in the bailey. A quick look up confirmed the avid interest of the guards atop the walls. Even the hounds that had been romping with the children seemed to have paused in their play long enough to goggle.
Beth’s face flushed a bright red.
“We seem to have attracted a bit of attention,” he understated.
“Believe it or not, I only meant to give you a quick kiss.”
Robert smiled. “If you think I am objecting, you are mistaken, love.”
“Really?” She plucked at the front of his tunic. “You aren’t angry?”