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Dinah tried to change positions, but there were only so many ways she could sit with her arms tied to a large wooden post behind her. Her shoulders ached, her seat ached, her legs ached. Honestly, she was running out of areas on her person thatdidn’tache.
She pulled her feet to one side, her skirt sweeping bits of hay with the movement. This was the third barn in as many days she’d been confined in. The temperature had begun to drop, so evening was probably near. That meant, soon, the men would return and demand she get up and they begin traveling once more. Since they traveled only at night, she’d struggled to keep track of their direction. She had only been able to determine they were moving Southwest.
The barn door opened with a screech, and Blue-Eyes stepped inside. A couple of the other men traveling with them had called him Spade a few times, but hadn’t Henry said the man changed names as often as he changed shirts? Though, taking into account the dirt stains on his current shirt, it seemed he probably changed namesmoreoften.
He knelt down next to her and began undoing the knots about her wrists. “The Earl of Stanton should be on the road by now. That is, if he intends to pay for you after all.”
Dinah kept her gaze trained on a point on the distant wall and her mouth shut.
“Tell me, did you expect your husband to dish out a small fortune in exchange for you?”
Dinah remained silent.
With only a few knots left, he paused, rocking back on his heels. “Some men prefer women over money. Me, I prefer blunt I can hold in my hand. But your odious husband has made it impossible for me to stay in England. And I very well can’t set up a comfortable life for myself without some means.” He leaned in close, barely inches from her ear. “Then again, I almost hope he doesn’t show up. Then I can just takeyouwith me.”
Dinah breathed in and out slowly; she would not rise to his insults and taunting. He wanted to see her grow angry again, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
With a chuckle, he returned to the knots. Pulling the rope away from her wrists, he then took hold of her elbow and dragged Dinah to her feet.
She struggled to stand without toppling into him. After not standing since before the sun had risen that morning, her feet and legs tingled painfully.
Blue-Eyes all but dragged her toward the barn door. “Time to saddle up for one last ride.”
