Page 46 of Keeping Kate
“So you do have experience to know that much,” she said, laughing.
“Some, but not much. Look here, Jeanie will not be long. The wee beastie can wait. See, he is fine now.” He jiggled the child, who regarded him with a bewildered expression. “He looks like a wee monkey I saw in the Tower zoo. Oh aye, you are Jack MacDonald’s bairn, you,” he said affectionately. Kate tipped her head, watching them.
“I think Jack is handsome,” she said. “And you are too.”
He glanced up with a quick smile. She dazzled him, fascinated him, without any deliberate allure. He wanted to savor the sight of her—but glanced away.
“I hope Jack is safe and turns up soon,” she said. “I feel responsible, since he led the soldiers away from us. But they came here to the inn—does that mean he might have come to harm?”
“It likely means the opposite, that he evaded and frustrated them, and they gave up the chase.” Alec frowned. “None of them mentioned pursuing a carriage before they came here, which is encouraging. Jack may be hiding out somewhere for the night and plans to meet us at dawn. There is naught we can do but wait.” The baby writhed in his arms, tiny fists waving, face reddening with fresh wails. “Here, take him, do.”
“He is fine with you.” She stretched, yawned. “So he is Jack’s and not yours?”
“There was never a chance he could be mine. Jeanie gave her heart to that lad, and this followed. At any rate, I do not go about bedding innkeepers’ daughters. Laundresses, on the other hand—” He meant to tease only and lighten the air between them, captive and custodian. But the searing glance he received would have melted steel to its core.
But she sat beside him on the bed, the sagging mattress tipping her toward him. “He is calm now. You have a way with bairns.”
“He is calm because he just happily soiled himself,” he grumbled.
“And because you are steady and calm, and your voice is deep and quiet. He feels safe in your keeping. Anyone would. Hey laddie,” she added quickly, as if to cover what she had said, taking the baby’s tiny hand. “What is his name?”
“I have forgotten.” The world had gone still around him for a moment. Sensing the sweet warmth of the child in his arms and of the woman beside him, feeling the sudden, dangerous pull of that, he inhaled against it. This was too much what he longed for—a woman by his side, a child between them, all peaceful and content. That chance had been lost years ago; he had not let himself dream of it again.
Yet Kate, mysterious and enchanting, brought the dream back in this moment. But it was just another aspect of her strange effect on him. He shook his head. “This wee one is too young to care who holds him. He is just glad to be comfortable and safe.”
“Sometimes that is all we need, all of us.” She laughed, touched the baby’s head.
“Perhaps.” He was keenly aware of her body leaning into him at shoulder and hip, courtesy of the sagging bed. Yet he felt a natural ease and comfort between them just now. He frowned as if to dispel it.
“Do you think Jack and Jean will marry?”
“I do not know. It is their business, not mine.” He shrugged.
“I suppose it is.” Kate rose and went to the window to part the curtain and look out over the yard. Her taut profile showed a spark of temper and pride. “I should have escaped when I had the chance.”
He was surprised at that admission. “You would not have left the child alone.”
“True. But I should have found a way. You are—you can be disagreeable as an old bear, Captain Fraser, but you have your good moments as well. But you are only my captor, and I must remind myself of that.”
A memory of the tent and this girl in his arms flashed through. “Kate—”
She held up a hand. “And when we arrive in Edinburgh, I am only going to prison.” She glanced at him. “I could walk out now, while you are holding the bairn. You could not run after me with him. No one would stop yourwife,” she added.
“You could beg a ride from Grant’s men,” he suggested, temper stirring. “Or try the window. Not easy in the dark, though you are a wildcat and could manage. But I do know you will not do any of that.”
“Oh, and how do you know?”
“Because you are telling me about it instead of running.” He stood, set the infant in the center of the bed, plumped pillows to each side of him, and turned. Kate whirled toward the door, and he strode after her.
But a sharp knock at the door made him pause. Kate froze, hand to her bodice, breath heaving in alarm. She looked at him, eyes wide.
“Alec—the soldiers—”
He reached out as the door creaked open. Jean peered in and slipped inside, and Alec dropped his hand away, blowing out a breath in relief.
“Oh, my laddie,” Jean crooned, sweeping toward the bed, setting aside the folded linens in her arms to scoop up the babe. Alec smiled, though his heart was beating fast. Kate stood still and silent, cheeks a little pale.
“Thank you for watching him,” Jean said, cuddling her son.
