And, of course, there was the bathtub.
A large copper tub gleamed before the fire, steam rising from the hot water inside. The faint scent of lavender made Evander’s nostrils twitch. Sure enough, when he leaned forward, he saw sprigs of purple lavender and even rose petals floating in the water.
“Janie had drawn ye a fine bath,” he remarked. “And look, a nightdress and a drying sheet hanging by the fire. What a treat, eh?”
Skye bit her lip, staring at the bath as if it were going to bite her.
“I thought there would be a wee washroom,” she confessed.
He shook his head. “They daenae have spare space for such things here. Ahh, I understand. It’s privacy ye are worried about.”
She reddened. “I’d like to bathe in peace.”
“Well, fear nae. I’m nae going to ogle ye.”
“Ye arenae going toleave?”
“May I remind ye that I have to keep yer safe?” he retorted. “Yer cousin saw yer return. Everybody kens that ye are back. If ye were to disappear now, when ye are in me sole care, that wouldguaranteewar. I cannae risk it. So, ye and I are joined at the hip until I am confident I’ve addressed whatever happened to make ye disappear before. Hence, we’re sharing the room.”
She was quiet for a moment, no doubt processing what he’d said. Evander watched her closely, letting her think.
A faint blush crawled over her cheeks. He watched it spread down her jaw and inch down her neck. She rarely blushed, making her behavior today a little odd. In fact, when he’d first met her, it almost seemed as though she were made of marble.
She’d had to be, of course. A woman like Skye could never cede control to anyone, and she was far too used to being in charge of everything, including her own emotions. She couldn’t let go, not even for a moment.
I believed that I could help her let go.
He pushed the thought aside. Now wasn’t the time, not by a long shot.
“Look,” he said with a sigh. “Yer water is getting cold. I’ll go over to this end of the room and turn me back. Ye undress and get in, and then once ye are in the tub, all will be well. I’ll nae see a thing. We’ll do the same when ye want to get out.”
She worried her lower lip. “Ye willnae peek?”
“Wouldnae dream of it.”
She blinked, clearly unhappy with the situation, but it was pretty clear there was no alternative.
“Fine. Turn around.”
He obediently turned, facing the rough stone wall of the room. Janie and her parents ran a decent inn, but their profits did not extend to hanging tapestries on the walls.
Fair enough.
Behind him, he heard nothing but silence. No doubt Skye’s eyes were boring into his back, waiting for him to do something to prove her right. To turn or steal a glance.
“We havenae got all night, lassie,” he remarked idly, turning up his eyes. “I, for one, am exhausted. If ye hope to see that soft, fluffy bed at all before dawn, I suggest ye hurry.”
She bit back a growl of annoyance. For a moment, he was sure that she would do nothing and just let the bathwater go cold out of spite. Then he heard the rustle of fabric.
In the silence, the sounds seemed to echo. He could trace every noise—the rasp of her kirtle strings loosening, the breathy sigh of a petticoat falling to the floor in a crumpled mess.
“Did ye injure yerself today?” he asked, and heard a rustling flinch.
“What?”
She sounded tentative. A muffledplopmade him think that she’d dipped her hand into the bathwater, testing its temperature.
“It’s easily done. Are ye hurt, lass? I never stopped to check.”
