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She laughed aloud, confused. “’Tis an odd difference between your people and mine. In England, we do not boast of getting captured by the enemy.”

“I sacrificed myself to allow William to escape.” His smile widened. “In Scotland, we admire selflessness. A trait the English are unfamiliar with.”

She deserved that. Of sorts. “Not this Englishwoman.”

“Aye lass, of course. Not you.”

“You were willing to be captured? Killed? For him?”

His answer was immediate. “Aye.”

“I do not understand,” she said in earnest. But he was no longer listening. Galien was looking toward the shoreline.

“I hope you never need to,” he mumbled, still watching the trees. Reina quieted, waiting. Did he see something there? She had been so certain of their safety after evading her father’s men and moving so deep within the forest, Reina had nearly forgotten for a moment their lives were still very much in danger.

But he did not forget.

13

Galien hadn’t intended to give Reina such a show. But when he’d jumped from the river to its banks to confirm the movement was indeed an animal, and not a human, he had not been thinking of his companion’s sensibilities. When he covered himself and returned to her, however, the poor woman looked as if she’d just seen her father himself in the woods.

“You can close your mouth, lass. I’ve got nothing different than every other man. And you’ll be happy to know ’tis a wee squirrel following us is all.”

Realizing she wouldn’t get out of the river with him watching, and not wanting her to be swept away by the current, Galien turned his back, moving out of range from her clothing. “Your shift should be dry. Come out of there before the river claims you.” As Reina was not the only one affected by the state of their mutual undress, Galien steeled himself from turning around when he heard the splash of water behind him. “You can use your plaid to dry yourself.”

“Your plaid, you mean to say.”

She was behind him now. Galien closed his eyes and attempted to think of anything but Reina’s bare shoulders and what the rest of her might look like.

“’Tis yours now, lass.” He walked away. Galien could not be so near her any longer. Without turning back around, he scanned the area and, finding the perfect flat spot, began to dig with his hands. Hitting no roots, the hole big enough for a small fire, he called back to Reina, telling her he would return shortly.

Though he was reluctant to leave her alone, they needed to eat. It took him longer to hunt without weapons than he remembered, but silently thanking his father for teaching him such a skill, he returned with a skinned brown hare—not as easy without a knife—and got to work.

“A fire,” Reina said, sitting beside him on a flat rock. “Is that not dangerous?”

“It will be hidden inside the pit,” he said as the first spark he needed appeared. “The woods are dense enough to hide any smoke until it dissipates. We need to eat.”

After starting the fire, washing his hands in the river, cooking the rabbit, and moving a log to sit across from Reina to eat, Galien could no longer avoid looking at her.

My desire to see more of you, to touch you. That is to what I refer.

She was naive. Sheltered. Entirely too unsuspecting.

But also beautiful, strong, and trusting. Though a fault that could easily get her killed outside the safety of Anbarth’s walls, her easy trust in him also drew Galien to her. She was not his to despoil. Her lack of a maid did not mean he could take advantage of her. Reina was clearly an innocent, even more so than most.

And if she continued to look at him that way. . .

“Thank you for the meal,” she said, despite the fact that Lady Reina was accustomed to more refined ones than a bit of rabbit she now ate with her hands.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” he said, taking a bite.

Reina smiled. “Thank you for helping me discover the truth about my parents.”

Galien swallowed. “Thank you for trusting me.” He thought of their makeshift bath. “Though should you ever find yourself naked with a man that is not your husband, in a river. . . do not find yourself naked with a man that is not your husband, in a river.”

Her laugh settled into his soul. “I do not believe I should ever do so again, after today.”

“Unless we are in need of another good cleansing.”