And she’d been satisfied wearing ragged clothes and cosmetics to conceal her beauty. Nay, not just satisfied, butpleasedalmost, to be going on this adventure dressed like a normal woman.
Shite.
He’d been so certain he understood her, but the last few hours alone—not to mention the days before when she’d offered a stranger food and a place to rest—were changing his opinion of her.
Perhaps she wasn’t the bitch he’d thought she was.
Oh, come off it. She’s no’ a bitch, and ye ken it. She’s a sweet girl, who cares about others, and ye like her.
He didn’t want to like her. She’d said some nasty things about his brother.
She didnae ken ye were listening.
That didn’t make it any better.
True.
But he still wanted to kiss her.
Also true.
And that desire—which was quickly becoming aneed—didn’t help his quandary.
“You are frowning again. Is it because you are not in charge? Do you want to be in charge?”
At her words—vaguely mocking—his head jerked up from where it had been resting against his chest. “I’m fine.” He scowled.
Her beautiful blue eyes—no amount of cosmetics or ugly caps could hide those—widened innocently. “Is it your leg?” she whispered, falsely sympathetic. “Your mystery ailment is bothering you?”
Reluctantly, one corner of his lips twitched. “It’s no’ my mystery ailment.”
“So you admit your ailment is a mystery?”
“Verra mysterious,” he deadpanned.
“Lunzie, we are stuck together for the next two days and do not think I fail to appreciate it.” She resettled herself in her seat so she wasn’t quite blocking him out anymore. “God forbid I could travel alone, and I could not tell any Oliphants where I was going. I know you wear the Oliphant plaid—and you do it well, despite how barbaric you look—but for some reason, I trust you not to tell my mother where I have been.” With a sigh, she shifted her gaze out the window again. “I trust you. I had not expected that, but you have done nothing to make me think I should doubt you. It seems…strangethat I trusted you so quickly.”
She was right. And for his part, he hadn’t expected to realize she was different from what he’d assumed. At least not so quickly. It was almost as if…
“I dinnae believe in magic,” he snorted.
When she pursed her lips and looked at him strangely, he shrugged.
“So what were you thinking about, pouting silently over here?”
He wasn’t about to tell her the truth, that he’d been wrong about her. So instead, he tried a charming smile. “I was thinking about our bargain. I’m owed a kiss after all.”
To his delight, she blushed and dropped her gaze to her lap, which allowed him to study her to his heart’s content. She really was beautiful, even with the cosmetics.
“I trust you, Lunzie, but I cannot kiss you,” she whispered.
His rebuttal was immediate. “Yet. When I help ye complete yer mission, then ye’ll owe me a kiss.”
“Indeed.” In her lap, her fingers twined together, and he resisted the urge to reach over and cover her hands with one of his. “But a gentleman would not force me to?—”
“I’m no’ a gentleman, and ye’re no’ a lady, remember?”
She was silent for a long moment before she nodded. “I amgladyou are not a gentleman, Lunzie. If you were…”
