Page 25 of Sweet Hellion

Chapter Nine

Rhys couldn’t allow himself to look into the storm of Emma’s blue eyes. If he did, he would throw all caution to the wind, knock the heads of the two soldiers together, then kill Munro and run off with her. Rage boiled deep in his gut as he turned his horse away from her and started down the road, the major general in the lead, the two soldiers on either side of him and Munro in the rear.

Munro. The bastard had touched Emma.

He ignored the stares of passersby. The major general had been right about one thing. He shouldn’t have spent a single night under her roof. Good God, he should never have let matters progress so far out of hand. How could he have risked shaming Tory’s sister with an out-of-wedlock child?

Worse, Munro would seek her out just to prove his dominance over Rhys.

He had to clear his name. Once his rank was restored, he could protect her. Marry her.

Rhys recalled the rumor that another Green Jacket had survived the battle. So many men had fallen on the battlefield that day, he couldn’t know who the few survivors might be. The unnamed witness could be one of so many men. If the story were true.

He was such a fool not to have left for England two months ago when the rumor first reached him at Blackstone Abbey. He had to go. Now. But first, he had to get Emma to safety. His imprisonment in the Inverness jail allowed Munro unchallenged access to her. Munro would do as he pleased, and Rhys knew exactly what the man pleased. Rhys had one option: Blackstone Abbey.

He would send a message to Ewan, asking that he come with Kyla and take Emma to Blackstone Abbey where she would be safe until Rhys returned. Would she agree to go? His chest tightened. He would beg her to go. If she refused, when he escaped, he would take her there by force.

It could be months before he saw her again. If he didn’t find the witness, he might never be able to return.

In that case, he would find a way to bring her to France. He would find honest work and care for her.

He groaned inwardly. She was just as likely to think of accompanying him to England. Would she truly chance marriage to an escaped deserter? Her sweet face rose in memory. She deserved a safe home. The Colonies, perhaps. No one would follow them there. Nae, he had to clear his name here, in Scotland, and reclaim his estate. He had an obligation to Ewan and the others at Blackstone Abbey.

They turned right onto another street. Rhys closed his eyes and recalled the warm press of her mouth against his. Her soft gasp when he entered her. Rhys cut off the fantasy. He would drive himself insane if he wasn’t careful. Emma would go to Blackstone Abbey and he would go to England.

***

After the jailhouse lamps were extinguished, Rhys fell into a fitful sleep. The creak of a door opening yanked him awake. He pushed off the thin mattress on the floor and approached the bars. Lamplight lit the far end of the jail’s short corridor. He was the only prisoner. A late-night visitor could not be a good thing. A man’s form came into view, a lantern in hand. Beside him—

Rhys drew a sharp breath. He would recognize that cloaked figure anywhere. Emma threw back her hood and Rhys said, “What the bloody hell are you doing here, Emma?”

They reached his cell and the man said, “Ye have five minutes,” then retreated to the far cell and set the lantern at his feet.

Emma stepped close to the bars. “Are you unharmed?”

“Emma, you are to go home and never return here,” he growled.

“I sent a message to your friends at Blackstone Abbey,” she said, as if he’d not spoken.

“Blackstone Abbey?” he repeated.

She very well may have saved them.

Rhys stepped closer to the bars. “Listen to me, when Ewan arrives, you are to go to Blackstone Abbey with him.”

“What?” Her brow furrowed. “Nae. I will not leave you.”

“You will do as I say,” he said.

She shook her head. “I will not let them put you in prison.”

Rhys glanced toward the jailer who leaned against the wall, eyes closed, then murmured, “I have no intention of going to prison. But I cannae’ clear my name knowing you are in danger.”

“You are going to clear your name? I can help.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “I am going to England.”

“England? But why?”