Page 16 of Sweet Hellion

He halted in lifting the glass of wine to his lips. “Lass, I am a fool. I should have known.”

He looked at her with such compassion that her heart squeezed.

Was it so wrong that she wanted him to stay? She’d been wrong about Joseph, more wrong than she could have thought possible. Surely, she wasn’t wrong about Rhys Macleod.

She recalled Mrs. Babcock saying, “He will cast you aside just as Vicar Ramsay did.”

He wouldn’t, would he?

He might not mean to, but he would. He had a real life to return to. Perhaps Mrs. Babcock was right in her advice that she sell the shop. She could take what little money she got and go somewhere new. Start her own new life. But where? Even if she did that, could she lie to another man about her innocence?

A knock on the front door pulled her from her thoughts.

She started to rise, but Rhys shook his head. “Stay, lass. I will see who it is.”

Emma remained seated, but her heart raced. It wasn’t terribly late, but she never had visitors after dark.

The murmur of men’s voices drifted back to her. Could it be Lord Munro? Nae, the conversation wouldn’t be quiet. She heard another voice. Was that a woman? Emma rose and crept down the hallway. The door came into sight and she stopped short. Mrs. Babcock, a basket in hand, and her husband stood just inside the doorway.

Mrs. Babcock’s eyes locked onto Emma. “Emma, my dear,” she crooned. “How nice to see you.”

Emma approached them, then halted. “Mrs. Babcock,” she replied in a light tone she was far from feeling. “Mister Babcock.”

Mister Babcock gave a slight bow. “A pleasure to see you, Miss Bamfield.”

Emma looked back to Mrs. Babcock. “I didn’t expect you.”

“I know, dear. Please forgive the intrusion, but after our disagreement today, I hated to leave you so upset.”

Emma felt Rhys’s gaze on her, but said to Mrs. Babcock, “You are mistaken, Mrs. Babcock, I was not upset.”

“Is she not brave?” the older woman said, her voice all admiration. “Well, we just stopped by to give you this.” She thrust the basket toward Emma.

If not for Rhys, she would have told her to keep her gifts, but Emma couldn’t fuel Rhys’s curiosity, so she took the basket and looked inside to find freshly baked shortbread.

Emma looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you, Mrs. Babcock.”

Before Emma could stop her, the older woman pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, “If you are in any need, tell me now and my husband and I will take you away from here.”

Emma pulled back. “Thank you. Captain Macleod and I will enjoy the shortbread.”

Frustration flicked in her eyes, but Mrs. Babcock smiled and said, “That’s just fine. Well, we will be off. I hope to see you in the market again tomorrow, Emma.”

Emma nodded, and Rhys held the door until they’d left, then closed and locked it. They retuned to the kitchen and Emma put the short bread on the counter, then took her seat at the table.

“You and Mrs. Babcock met one another in the market today.”

Emma nodded and spooned stew into her mouth.

“And you were upset.”

“She’s a shameless gossip. I refused to listen and left her standing in the street.”

“Gossip, eh?” He sipped his wine. “Gossip about me.”

It wasn’t a question. Her cheeks flushed. “I was…warned about your character.”

He nodded slowly.