Page 107 of Laird of Smoke
There was silence.And then she was rocked by the movement of his low laughter.
She turned on him, annoyed.“What?”
“Then we’re definitely meant to be together.”
“Oh.”She’d forgotten about that.“Adam and Eve.Aye, I suppose we are.”
She wouldn’t tell him the other part.That she was not just Eve.She wasSisterEve.Now that she’d decided to change her fate, perhaps that revelation was unnecessary.Perhaps she could quietly leave the convent and never again mention her former calling.Keep her past a secret and avoid a lot of awkward exchanges.
Her father, of course, would be disappointed when he learned she was no longer a nun.He liked having a representative of his clan in a holy order.Though he oft complained that Eve didn’t have a suitable temperament for the convent, he figured marriage to the church was more attainable for her than finding a bridegroom who would put up with her wild and impulsive nature.
But she’d show him.She’d found Adam.He was everything she could hope for in a husband.Honorable.Kind.Strong.Brave.Generous.And, except for the minor detail of his profession, everything her father would find acceptable in a son.
In time, she knew, the two of them would have to meet.
The fact that they’d expressed their devotion and consummated their love meant they were as good as wed.But even as the youngest daughter, Eve felt compelled to seek her father’s permission for marriage.
Eventually she’d have to reveal her true identity to Adam.She’d tell him she was the daughter of a wealthy merchant.That would probably come as a troubling shock.He’d likely prefer she were his equal.A commoner.And an outlaw like him.
“Shall we dress,” Adam said, nudging her from her thoughts, “before rumors arise about the pair of terrible archers trystin’ outside the gaol?”
She snickered.
As they slipped back into their clothes, she wondered again how her satchel had come into the possession of Lady Feiyan.
“What did ye do withmysatchel?”She already knew the answer, but she wondered what he’d tell her.
He shook his head.“Gone.To be fair, I didn’t think I’d see ye again.”There was a touch of melancholy in his voice.A melancholy she well understood.
“What about my coin?”
“Spent.”
“Spent?”That startled her.That much coin was meant to last at least half a year.“All of it?”
“Ye left me with next to naught to wear,” he said defensively.“I couldn’t exactly fit into any o’ your gowns.I had to purchase new armor.”
“And a new beard, I see,” she said, eyeing the thick growth on his chin.“Or did ye make that out o’ the hair ye chopped off your head?”
He scoffed.“I grew this beard myself, ye wicked vixen.”
She giggled.He was an easy target for her teasing.“And what about my gowns?”she asked casually.“What did ye do with them?”She lowered her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t lie to her.
“Gave them away to those less fortunate.”
His answer was cursory, but accurate enough.Lady Feiyanhaddonated the garments to the convent.
After they dressed, he scrutinized her costume, straightening her cap.Then he shouldered the satchel.
“I’ll go first,” he said.“Ye follow at a distance.”
“Wait.”She’d only just reunited with him.She couldn’t bear the thought of parting so soon.“When will we…” She caught her lip under her teeth and dipped her eyes in suggestion.“Meet…again?”
He returned her smoky look.
She could read his thoughts in his smoldering gaze.He wanted to hold her again.Caress her again.Ride the waves of surrender with her again.She blushed.
But after a moment his brow creased.“We can’t be caught together at the tournament.’Tis too risky.”
