“If I got to America or Canada, I’d probably be safe,” she joked.
“What about Scotland?” he asked, not laughing.
“You mean…travel with you?”
“We’ve got this far, haven’t we? And I expect Tavish will catch up to us tomorrow, so we’ll have a carriage and driver once again. There are plenty of towns along the way to Carregness—that’s where I live. When you find one you like, I’ll drop you off there. You can either stay there till your birthday, or travel to a place you like better. I could give you enough money to last a few weeks, in a modest way.”
“I can’t take your money! Not when you’ve already gone so far out of your way.”
“Not that far. As long as I’m heading north, it’s on the way.” He took a sip of his ale, looking pleased with himself.
“It’s not a terrible idea,” she said slowly. “Though I’m not certain I can evade Brom for six weeks. Sooner or later he’d track me down. And let’s face it, I’d stick out like a sore thumb, being female, single, and English all at once.”
She stood up, pacing near the fireplace, where a blaze crackled away merrily. She was so intent on thinking about the hiding-in-a-small-Scottish-town plan that she didn’t immediately notice MacNair surveying her with an amused, interested expression.
“What is it?” Heather asked nervously.
“You know that’s your only dress,” he pointed out.
“And?”
“You’re getting sparks on the hem.”
“Oh!” Heather jumped away from the fire, angry that she hadn’t noticed. “Bother.”
“Are you quite sure you’ll survive a night on your own?” he asked, almost beside himself with amusement. “Or will I come back in the morning to find only ashes?”
“I can manage. And by the way, where do you intend to sleep?” she inquired, still thinking of Maisie.
“The stables. There’s always a loft above where the stable boys sleep. It’s good enough for them, it will be good enough for me.”
But even as he spoke, the weather outside finally caught up with them. Heather hurried to the window, staring at the scene in the last light of the day. Rain lashed down, turning the inn’s courtyard into a muddy pond within minutes.
“You can’t sleep outside now,” Heather said.
“It’s not outside, it’s a stable,” he replied cheerfully, though he looked a bit concerned when hail began to patter against the window.
“You’ll get cold and wet and die from a fever and it would be all my fault,” she said.
“You tend to assume the worst, don’t you?”
“It saves time,” Heather muttered. “But look at this storm! Even the stable boys will be sleeping in the kitchen tonight, I’d expect.”
“You may be right,” Niall agreed, joining her at the window.
Two lanterns burned on either side of the courtyard door to the inn, just visible from the window. The pools of light illuminated tiny daggers of rain racing down, hitting the ground with little splatters that shimmered and then went dark.
A gust of wind blew one lantern out. “It will be a bad night,” she murmured. Perhaps Brom was out in the weather right now, getting soaked to the skin, and perhaps freezing to death. Heather smiled, thinking that perhaps the storm was notallbad.
She turned abruptly to Niall, finding him nearer than she thought, since he’d been leaning over to look out the window next to her. Before she lost her nerve, she announced, “You should stay in this room.”
“We’ve discussed that,” he said, shaking his head firmly.
“That was before the deluge. Look, no one knows who we are, and I’ve never been overly concerned for my reputation because I’m probably never getting married. I’m going to travel the world before I settle down somewhere and live with a dozen cats.”
“No dogs?”
“If one wanders by and needs a home, I’ll be happy to take it in,” she said. “You know, you could have the room, and I could go sleep in the kitchen.”
