Page 77 of The Scottish Bride
“Gideon said Selkirk is too far to reach today.”
“I know it is important for you to get there. I understand it better now. But your wellbeing is more important to me. Selkirk is on the far side of an enormous tract of forestland. The route is not always easy nor safe.”
“But when will we be there?”
“I must beg patience from an impatient lady. I promise you will get there soon.”
She gave a heavy sigh. “I was foolish to think I could leave Dalrinnie and rush to Selkirk, then Kincraig, and do it quickly.”
“You do not travel much on your own, I think.”
“I always traveled with an escort. Sometimes I wanted to hurry but it seemed they never did.” She looked at Liam, his profile clean in the sunlight, his dark hair waving back in the breeze. “I suppose I do not have a good sense of how to find Selkirk. I am very glad of your help.”
“You should not look for your bookseller on your own. Certainly not with Sir Malise searching for you.”
She sighed, trying to remind herself of all she could be thankful for that day, from the rescue to Liam’s company now, to the placid horse that responded readily to her commands. She glanced at Liam again. “He is determined to find me.”
“He wants you, without a doubt.”
“You want me too,” she blurted.
“Of course I do,” he said easily.
“I mean, you want me for the Rhymer’s book.”
His lips twitched. “Surely you can think of other reasons.”
Aware she had spoken too quickly, she shook her head. “You set aside your concerns to take me hither and yon. This book has brought such trouble. I wish I had never—”
“Damn the book,” he growled. “I am here for you, Tamsin Keith. You have been under constant threat, and I mean to take you where you cannot be found so easily. Then let us worry about this book.”
“What about your orders from King Edward?”
“You need not worry over that.”
“I do worry, since you will not tell me all of it.”
“I did say Bruce might want the pages. We will find time to discuss the rest.”
“Will we? You tell me little enough, so perhaps you are a threat to me after all. Perhaps you think to tuck me away somewhere and take the Rhymer’s pages according to your own judgment. So I do worry about the book.” She flashed him a sharp glance, impatience and temper flaring.
“True. I do what I think I must. As do you.” He guided his horse on in silence.
A little flare of doubt and anger seared through her, freshening her resolve to protect the book. But she needed Liam—not just to guide her to Selkirk. She needed him, wanted him, and hesitated to fully admit it even to herself. But so long as he had orders from Edward and had yet to explain them, she had to be wary.
A wave of loneliness hit her, and with it the sense of isolation and self-protection she had felt at Dalrinnie, trapped in a loveless marriage. For a moment that feeling swamped her. But she was no longer in that situation. This impromptu marriage might last beyond handfasting. Yet Liam Seton kept a barrier around him, just as she did. She desperately wanted to break through that.
As they rode, the silence hung heavily between them. She felt alone in her promise, and in the uneasy sense that Comyn might always be a threat. Liam knew about her ability, but she felt safe in that. Malise suspected it—and could try to ruin her.
Glancing at Liam now, she regretted her bluntness. She felt a wash of gratitude, that he had come into her life when she needed him most. Or was that love she felt? Not so quickly, surely. Affection, thankfulness, tempered with caution. But she did not want to feel this tension. Not now, when he had saved her life earlier. He had proven over and over a caliber of steadfastness that she was not sure she deserved.
“Sir William,” she said, breaking the silence. He frowned at her. In the cool sunlight, his black-lashed eyes were like blue glass above purplish shadows, and the tender curve of his mouth was grim. He looked tired. Her heart wrenched.
He lifted his brows as if to invite whatever she had to say.
“I know I am not an easy charge,” she said. “I am grateful for what you have done, and I promise you will not have to rescue me again.”
His laugh was curt. “I hope it is not necessary, but I will be there if it is.”
