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Her cousin’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, that’s a splendid way for a nun to talk.”
“I amnota nun anymore!”
Her outburst shocked Alasdair into silence. Kendrick was beginning to look amused, but for once he had the sense to keep quiet.
She pressed her palms against her eyes, reaching deep inside for patience.
“Donella?” Alasdair asked in a cautious voice.
She dropped her hands. “Cousin, there is no reason for Uncle Riddick or anyone else to find out that Mr. Kendrick and I were forced to spend a night alone together.”
“Two nights, actually,” Kendrick added.
He wasverylucky the chamber pot was beyond reach. “Only for a few hours the first night, and you slept on the floor.”
“Two nights on the road, without a chaperone?” Alasdair sighed. “Who else saw you?”
“No one recognized me.”
“How is that possible?”
“I was dressed as a boy, travelling as Mr. Kendrick’s little brother.”
Her cousin finally seemed to notice what she was wearing. Then he glared at Kendrick. “And no one saw through this incredibly inept excuse for a disguise?”
“It’s not inept,” she protested.
The men ignored her.
Kendrick waggled a hand. “It wasn’t exactly foolproof. The men who were pursuing us certainly figured it out.”
“Then Donella’s reputation is on the brink of ruin,” Alasdair said. “If this gets out—”
“It won’t as long as we keep our mouths shut,” she snapped. “And deny everything, if necessary.”
Her cousin shot her an exasperated look. “I’ve got four of my men outside this cottage, keeping watch. They will certainly deduce that you and Kendrick were alone.”
Kendrick sank down on the bed and scrubbed a weary hand over his head. It made his already-messy hair stand straight up. “Of course you brought men with you. Iaskedyou to bring men with you.”
“Four witnesses,” Alasdair said.
Donella pressed her palms flat on the door, sudden panic making her dizzy. “Is Fergus out there?”
Her brotherwouldkill Logan—or force him to marry her at the point of a pistol.
“No, I sent him north along the road to Perth, just in case you’d had to double back.”
“You must never tell him about this, Alasdair. You know what he’s like.”
“Better than anyone,” he dryly replied.
When Alasdair refused to marry her, Fergus had challenged him to a duel.
Kendrick muttered something under his breath before exchanging a fraught glance with Alasdair.
“Well?” her cousin said to him in a challenging tone.
Kendrick let out another sigh and rose to his feet.
