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“Well, I can finish walking Princess, since I am not going up to the house today. Mary isn’t with me today. We are expecting dinner guests and she told me to just go on up for a ride. She had some things to do and the squire did not at all object.”
“And you mean to say that David did not escort you here?” He sounded surprised.
“No, why would I allow him to do so?” She realized to say more would put her in a position where she would have to explain. “At any rate, David was called unexpectedly to London.”
“Was he? On business, no doubt?”
“I don’t know. He sent a note round to his mother saying he would only be gone a day or so.”
“Odd,” his lordship said with a frown.
“Everything about David Horwich is odd, but why should his going off to London seem odd to you?”
“Because Jerry Swit left us suddenly this morning also saying he was off for London. He too expects to be back within a day or so.”
Her brows raised. “Yup, that is an odd coincidence.” She wondered if she should tell him what she knew. She wanted to say that David and Swit were working together as smugglers. She said instead, “I’m not much on coincidences.” She almost told him then what she had overheard, but then thought better of it. She bit her bottom lip as she stopped herself from further remarking.
He raised a brow. “What, lass?”
“Oh, nothing. How do you English say it? Oh that’s right…naught.” She tried to make light of it and turn him off to something new.
“You know, even when you are fibbing you are bewitching,” he said on a soft note.
“Thank you and may I return the compliment by saying…er…so are you, very charming, when you are fibbing.”
He laughed and she smiled as she realized she would rather be in Hunter’s company than with anyone else. She was falling hard and she was helpless to stop it from happening. In fact, maybe she had already fallen.
“Should I ask you what you think I am fibbing about?”
“Oh no, don’t go there,” she answered saucily. “I don’t want to encourage more lies out of you.”
“Och lass, lass if this was another time, another place…” he allowed his words to trail off.
“You are a heart-raker, Hunter MacTorry. If a woman allows, you would reach in and take her heart and when you were done with her, you would think you have given it back. But you can’t manage that, not until she wants it back.” She shook her head. “I have my eyes wide open. I don’t want your heart. Furthermore, I’m not giving you mine.” She was lying to herself as well as to him, but she sounded convincing.
“So then, heart-breaker is what you have labeled me?” he sounded surprised.
“Oh no, I said, heart-raker, and here is the difference. Heart-breakers are wildly captivating, which you are, but they give false promises and false hope. You don’t do that. You offer nothing but pleasure and walk away casually. “Ah-huh, you are a cold-blooded heart-raker.”
“Cold-blooded, eh? Is that how you see me?” he sounded offended.
“Well, as one of your victims, I stand prejudiced against you.” She saw his expression and laughed.
“A victim? Did you not know what you were doing when you let me…kiss you?” he asked on a husky note.
“Yes, my lord, I knew,” she said playfully.
“Then, no victim,” he returned as he came in closer and let his hand slide down her arm and take hold.
“Yes, a victim, but a willing one,” and she looked into those blues. This was it. She was throwing herself at him. She had never done anything like that before.
“Och, lass,” he said sounding a bit frenzied. Suddenly he took her horse in tow and stepped away. “Come on, I shall put Princess in her stall and then see ye home.”
“Oh,” she said suddenly wondering if she had gone too far with her teasing.
He turned and grinned at her, “Aye and we’ll have to stop at the cottage on our way. I think I may have left something behind, when we were there last.”
“Oh,” she said and could not stop herself from smiling.
