Sadness filled her at the sincerity in his voice. “I cannot.” And sadly, never could.
Canna? She could, but the lass was afraid of whoever sought her. Colyne took in the bruise on her cheek, disgusted by men who found strength in battering women. If the scoundrel who’d struck her stood before him, he would serve the bastard his own brand of justice. “You are exhausted and need to try to sleep.”
Alesia glanced toward the cave’s entry. “The men—”
“I will keep watch.”
She scraped her teeth across her lower lip. “Only for a short while.”
“Go to sleep,” he said, evading any agreement to her request. Unless absolutely necessary, he would allow her to rest until she awoke on her own.
With a yawn, she walked toward the back of the cave, lost in shadows.
“Where are you going?”
“Behind this ledge is a small chamber. While you slept, I crafted a bed from dry grass and leaves.” Pink crept up her cheeks in a flattering hue. “For you to use once I had left. If the men did a quick search of the cave while you were asleep, you had the chance of being overlooked.”
“And why have you nae slept there?” he asked, impressed by her tactical measure. “It would have offered you more comfort than on the cold, hard ground.”
“While you were asleep, you developed a fever, one that thankfully went away before you awoke. I could not risk leaving you alone.”
Moved by her sacrifice, he stepped toward her. “So you slept by my side until the fever broke?”
Her blush deepened. “Oui.”
Caught off guard by her sudden shyness, he halted, too easily picturing her moss-colored eyes dark with passion. “Go to sleep,” he whispered. Before he did something foolish like kiss her.
With a blush on her cheeks, she slipped from view. Dried grass and leaves rustled as she settled behind the wall of uneven rock.
Colyne blew out a rough breath and walked outside. Alesia’s genuine nature bespoke a nurturer, a woman given to helping others. How had he wondered if she was King Philip’s bastard daughter? Nae that she couldn’t be as giving, but raised beneath a royal hand and without ever having a need, he had his doubts.
After a quick survey of the surroundings, he leaned against a boulder at an angle, where he could spot riders in the distance, but close enough to the entry so he could hear her if she called.
He rubbed his temple and tried to ignore the throbbing in his left shoulder and the dizziness he couldna shake. He needed to deliverthe missive to King Philip, nae ponder the thoughts Alesia inspired. A sword’s wrath! The only reason he’d agreed to escort her to his friend was that ’twas too dangerous for her to be in the Highlands alone.
Disgusted with that lie, he shot a cool look to where he knew she lay. Aye, and so what if she intrigued him? ’Twas nae the same feelings he had had for Elizabet. Pain lanced his heart at the thought of the woman he loved. With a grimace, he scanned the surroundings. She was happy now. He should be happy for her. And he would be. When was another matter.
Two days later, Colyne strode through the forest with Alesia at his side. Though his body hadna fully recovered and against her objections, he’d announced it was time for them to leave.
A grim smile touched his lips. For his sanity, he couldna remain trapped within the cave with her another day. It had taken every ounce of his willpower nae to satisfy his question of how her mouth would feel beneath his.
“How is your shoulder?” she asked, her tone crisp.
“Am I slowing you?”
Impatience simmered in her eyes. “Not at the moment.”
Colyne laughed. He should have found disapproval in her outspoken manner. Instead, he was fascinated by her intelligence, impressed by her ability to debate him on the most insignificant of issues and, on occasion, to reason a point to where he conceded to her view.
He didna have the heart to inform the lass that he’d kept his pace slow more out of concern for her than his injury. He’d dealt with worse discomfort in his life, but traveling afoot through the Highlands proved an arduous trek for a knight familiar with such demands, much less a gentlewoman. And the slippers she wore offered her little protection against the sticks and rocks strewn about the forest floor.
At the break in the trees, a glen lay before them, thick with rich blades of grass scattered with heather. He scanned the familiar, narrowed tract of land. Soon they would arrive at Stephano’s home. His friend would secure her safe passage to France. With a fresh mount and Alesia in trusted hands, he would be on his way.
And he would miss her.
Greatly.
“You said you had three sisters and a brother?” She glanced over, her eyes bright with interest. “Are you close?”
