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She nodded, not caring. Why would Dougal Fraser’s name appear on one of Aidan’s papers? What would an aging wool merchant have to do with the pirate who’d kidnapped him?
And what was her father doing meeting with the likes of Fraser, anyway? Surely it just had something to do with wool, but Da was pitifully lacking in good sense, and she hoped he wouldn’t get both of them in trouble.
“This word, though … this is shoulder?”
She glanced to where Aidan pointed. “Yes. Very good. Shoulder. ”
How on earth might a knit export business be connected to the man who’d kidnapped Aidan? Had it something to do with ships? She thought of the paper she’d stolen. Was it a dead end? Or did it hold a pertinent clue? She wondered if she shouldn’t just sneak it back among Aidan’s papers.
“So then, regarding this figure here,” he said, pointing to a number. “You should account for it differently. Shoulder wool is finer. ”
“Yes. ” She glanced at the tally. “Finer. ”
When she went to Fraser’s office, she didn’t know who he was or what she’d find. And she certainly hadn’t wanted to betray her identity. Her plan had been simply to feign innocence, get a sense of what he was about, and scuttle home again.
But he’d recognized her name, and now she seemed to find herself in a fix she didn’t quite understand. At the end of their interview, he’d patted her hand, and his touch had made her flesh creep. Its implication had made her deeply uneasy. Not to mention, she hadn’t uncovered any clues as to Aidan’s predicament, leaving her more confused than ever.
She realized Aidan hadn’t spoken for a time, and she looked at him.
He raised a brow. “Are you paying attention?”
“Beg pardon?”
“You’re distracted, Beth. I’ve just pointed out a way you can double your profits, yet you seem to be off gathering wool of a different sort. ”
She stared back at him, utterly baffled.
“Woolgathering. As in daydreaming. ” He put her account book down. He’d been so excited to see her, wondering how he might steal another kiss. Yet she seemed to be a thousand leagues away.
Had he frightened her with his kiss? Put her off? But he knew those fears were unfounded. She’d kissed him back with the enthusiasm of a wanton—just the memory of it drove him wild.
She was likely preoccupied with troubles of her own. He knew she had them in droves, and he was trying hard to help her. His reading had improved enough to double-check her tallies, but not so much that he could be the man he wanted to be. A learned man, who could handle all the accounting, all of the bills and correspondence required of a responsible gentleman.
He stole a look at her. She was deep in concentration, her lips pursed into the most unintentionally sexy little pout. It was all he could do not to toss her papers to the ground and simply claim that mouth with his.
No, he decided, feeling more determined than ever, he needed to be a learned man, an erudite man. A man able to read her sonnets as they lay beneath a tangle of sheets, their bodies entwined.
She looked to him, catching his stare. He gave her a smile, and for once it didn’t smooth the furrow from her brow.
“Never you mind it,” he said, shutting the book. He’d just have to work harder so he could shoulder more of her burdens. She thought the work was tedious, but he found himself dreaming of such duties. He’d enjoy things like minding the monthly accounts, would enjoy a farm to call his own, and a wife like her to share it with.
“I’m sorry. I suppose I am woolgathering. ” She gave an absentminded half smile. “It’s just … do you think your pirate is in Aberdeen? If you’d let me read your papers, I could help you search for clues. ”
He stiffened. He’d known when he found her that day in his room that trouble lay on the horizon. “I’ve told you. My papers are private. ”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Her delicate brow was furrowed, and he was sorry to have been the one to put the worry there. “On the contrary, I trust you more than I trust any other soul. ”
“Then what is this business you’re about?”
“My business is to keep you safe,” he answered without thinking.
“Truly, Aidan?” Light snapped to life in her eyes, dancing clear and bright. She smiled at him—for him— and he felt his heart swell. “Truly you want to keep me safe?”
He stared at her a moment, taking in those all-seeing eyes, her gentle countenance, and her face, fine as porcelain. She was kind and good, sweet thoughtfulness and artless honesty. She was all that had been taken from him so long ago—and all that he desired now. He realized how true his words had been. He did want to care for her.
And it unsettled him.
