Henry stiffened. “You insult us if you think we would allow a ward of ours to?—”
“I was once one of your wards, Sire.” Sin gazed at Henry, his face expressionless.
Guilt flashed in Henry’s eyes before he recovered himself. “Fine, then. Take him if you must.”
Without another word, Sin picked Jamie up. The lad threw his arms around his neck and held him tight. She saw the confusion in Sin’s eyes.
“I like you even if you are an English dog,” Jamie announced, pulling back to pat Sin’s head. “You’re my favorite one. Well, you and Simon.”
Sin gave a crooked smile. “Then I thank you, I think.”
Jamie grinned as Sin put Jamie on a horse of his own. Without another comment, Sin pulled himself up into his saddle.
Henry took the bridle of Sin’s mount and looked up at him. “We want word the minute you arrive at the MacNeely’s castle and a note for every week thereafter. Should we not receive it, we will send an army to determine your well-being.”
Sin looked much less than amused. “I will be fine.”
Henry nodded a farewell and then they were off.
Sin led the group while Simon and Jamie rode abreast of Callie. Luckily, they traveled light. She and Jamie had brought very little with them in the first place, and Simon and Sin seemed to need nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
But then she had already learned her husband wasn’t the typical Englishman who needed an entire entourage with him at all times with trunks and trunks of clothes. He was a man of very simple needs.
They rode well into the afternoon before stopping for a small repast.
As soon as they dismounted, Jamie bounded off into the woods to heed nature’s call while Callie set about unpacking some of the foodstuffs Aelfa had gathered for them.
They had left London behind hours ago, and all she could do was look forward to when she would be home again.
Closing her eyes, she swore she could almost feel her crisp, heather-scented highlands seeping into her weary bones. She’d been gone far too long, but then even a week away from home seemed an eternity.
Jamie came bounding back out of the woods at the speed of a dodging hare and accidentally ran into Sin as he fed the horses. The grain spilled all over Sin’s boots and made a huge mess.
Callie held her breath, half expecting Sin to strike out or at the very least shout at the lad’s clumsiness. He didn’t. Instead, he picked the lad up and made sure he was unhurt, then brushed Jamie off and sent him on his way with a hushed warning to be more careful lest he hurt himself.
Once Jamie was hurtling toward Simon, Sin dropped to his knees and silently cleaned up the mess Jamie had made.
His gentleness amazed her. The other Englishmen had never once hesitated to cuff the lad for such carelessness. Even her Uncle Aster and Dermot were quite intolerant of Jamie’s clumsy ways. Sin said nothing more about it. Not even when he had to remove his right boot and dump grain out of it.
As Simon and Jamie ran past him, Sin caught the lad up in his arms and tossed him up over his shoulder to dangle down his back as he walked. Jamie squealed with laughter as Sin toted him to where she sat with the food.
“Put me down!” Jamie said, his voice broken by laughter.
“You need to eat if you’re to grow to any size.” Sin flipped him over his shoulder and laid him gently on the ground by Callie’s side.
Jamie scrambled up, but before he could run again, Sin caught him. “Must I tie you down?”
Jamie laughed, then dropped to the ground and sat with his legs crossed while Simon joined them.
“Will we camp outside the entire way?” She handed Jamie some bread and chicken.
Sin shook his head. “There should be inns most of the way and Simon’s brother lives farther north as well. Two days hence, we’ll stop on his lands. So, you’ll have a bed every night until we reach Scotland.”
Heat descended over her face as a memory of last night flared. She remembered standing naked with her husband and holding him in her hand.
It pained her that she couldn’t remember exactly what they’d done. She’d overheard many women through the years talking about what went on with men and women in the night. And once her friends had started marrying, she’d heard even more details about it. She’d never dared tell anyone how many nights she’d lain awake in her bed wondering if she’d ever experience it herself, and now that she had...
Well, it was quite unfair to have no memory of it.
