“No. I want a say in this and what is to happen. It is my future we are discussing here, much as you wish to be involved in helping me make decisions about it,” she replied.
“Well then, may I suggest that I find out what the lay of the land is at Sir Geoffrey’s house, then return to the inn at Mopus Passage and let you know. If your father is not waiting for you, we can then travel together to Mopus Manor. But if your father is . . .”
“I will go far away. I don’t care where. A boat to France would be a perfectly acceptable option. Anywhere but back to London,” she interjected.
It was comforting to know Leah had a spine, that her father had not managed to crush her soul completely. Still, they needed a proper back-up plan in case Tobias Shepherd was waiting for his daughter’s arrival.
“I was going to say, if your father is at Mopus Manor, then I suggest you and I leave for Scotland immediately. My Uncle Ewan is the Duke of Strathmore, and my family can offer you protection. You may stay at Strathmore Castle for as long as you wish,” he said.
Scotland would offer Leah at least some protection from English law. Her father couldn’t just march up to the gates of Strathmore Castle and demand that the Duke of Strathmore hand his daughter over. James stopped and thought about it for a moment, worried that his knowledge of cross-border law was not strong enough. The last thing he wished to do was to cause further scandal or outrage to the Radley family. He already had enough explaining to do to his father and uncle as it was.
If he and Leah did end up making a run for the Scottish border, he would be stopping in Edinburgh on the way and securing the services of a good lawyer. One that could find some ancient law to protect Leah from her family.
A priest would do the job. If he married her, she would be forever out of her father’s reach. She would no longer be a Shepherd; she would be a Radley.Offer her marriage.
It was tempting to suggest such a thing, but the time was not right. A forced marriage was exactly what he was helping her to escape. She had the right to choose whom she married. He did not want Leah agreeing to marry him purely out of desperation. Only if and when he was certain that he held her heart would he ask her to be his wife.
“Scotland sounds nice, and something we should seriously consider if it comes to it,” she replied.
But. There was a definitebuthanging on the end of that sentence. He waited.
“But there are some other more pressing matters to consider,” she added.
“Such as?”
“Such as what we are to do about sleeping arrangements. It is all well and good to be posing as a married couple outside our room, but you cannot sleep in an uncomfortable chair every night. Your back will be a mess of knots by the time this journey is over if you do that, so we need to find a solution that leaves us both satisfied,” she replied.
He stopped himself just in the nick of time. The thought of offering to share the bed would likely get him a hard slap across the face.
Long nights he had lain awake thinking of her, imagining how wonderful it would be to hold her naked in his arms. How it would feel to run his hands over her body, make love to her, and watch her face as he brought her to completion.
James dared not say anything of his thoughts aloud, but his lust-filled body was screaming. If only Leah had not mentioned the word ‘satisfied’. He fought in vain, but his cock hardened.
He struggled to his feet, turning quickly away from her. The evidence of his arousal was plain before him. “I just remembered I need to speak to the landlord about the horse. Hold that thought and I shall return shortly,” he said.
He staggered out of the room with undue haste, closing the door behind him. The bulge in his trousers was not the least bit amusing. He chided himself. He wasn’t a callow youth; he should be able to maintain his dignity around a woman.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. “Egbert, Aethelwulf, Aethelbald, Aethelbert, Alfred the Great . . .”
Reciting the long list of English monarchs was an effective trick handed down to all schoolboys upon experiencing the first unwelcome signs of puberty. As his body softened and came back under his control, James gathered his thoughts.
Last night he had been too tired to worry about his physical reaction to being close to Leah. Now he had a real problem on his hands. If he was to continue sharing the bedroom with her, he was going to have to deal with his lust. He had to come up with a new plan. One which didn’t involve her seeing the bulge in his trousers.
He had only just managed to get Leah to somewhat trust him; he didn’t need for her to start thinking he was a sex-starved blackguard.
A bright idea dropped into his mind. Since the innkeeper already thought they were a young married couple, it wouldn’t take much for James to convince the man of the need for him to sleep on the floor. Many a husband had been made unwelcome in his bed by an unhappy wife. That was a plausible enough excuse for him to ask for a spare mattress and blanket.
He was halfway down the stairs to speak to the innkeeper when a second idea struck him.
“Much better,” he muttered.
Chapter Thirty
“You told them I was with child and you had to sleep on the floor because I felt nauseous. Really? Was that the best idea you could have come up with?” said Leah.
James had returned to their room with a soft mattress slung over his shoulder, and a blanket tucked under his arm.
“The other option was to have told them we had a row, and that you refused to sleep with me. I thought that might be a tad embarrassing for us when we had to face them at breakfast tomorrow,” he replied.
