Page 90 of Highland Renegade
“It could have been worn then?”
“’Tis possible.”
She studied him. “But you do not think it was an accident.”
“If it had been worn so thin that it was a danger, Jamie would have replaced it.” He was quiet for a moment. “The only people who were aware ye would be riding this morning were my…my kin.”
His eyes were sorrowful and his mouth drawn as he uttered the words. Emily reached out to touch his cheek. “Do ye really think someone in your family capable of murdering me?”
Ian caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her fingertips. “I doona want to think that. Devon—”
“No.” Emily shook her head. “I know your brother hates the English. He has good reason after what he went through. And I have been told that I look like Isobel—”
“Ye are nothing like her!”
“That is my point. Although Devon stays angry much of the time, I do not think him mad. He knows I am not like his stepmother. And,” she added, “I do not think him capable of killing a woman.”
“I hope ye are right.”
“I think I am. Remember, there were servants in our dining room last night. Any one of them might have mentioned my intent to ride this morning.” She smiled. “Servants, regardless if they are part of the clan, love to gossip. Sharing private information about what thelairdand his family are up to moves them up a notch in the hierarchy, so to speak. Besides,” she added, “everyone here knows I like to ride. If the girth strap was truly compromised, someone could have done it earlier and just waited for the next time I rode out.”
“Ye seem to be taking this newaccidentverra well. Are ye nae afraid?”
“I have been thinking,” Emily replied. “Lord Bute explained to me that when your name is restored—”
“It could beif.”
“When,” she said, “your name is restored, there is a real possibility that you will be able to reclaim your land, or some of it anyhow.”
“If that happens, I will nae toss ye out.” Ian’s brow furrowed and then cleared. “Aye! I should have thought of it myself! If we marry, the problem is solved!”
“What?” Emily stared at him, not sure she’d heard correctly. “That is not a solution.”
“Nae?” He looked puzzled. “Ye will be totally under my protection if ye are my wife. ’Tis settled.”
“No.”
He tilted his head to look at her as though she were some strange creature he’d never encountered and she supposed, maybe she was. There were probably a dozen women—certainly Breena—who would leap at the chance to marry Ian, for whatever reason, but she wasn’t one of them.
He’d never understand how much she valued her freedom. She held the title to Castle Strae. How many women could own land in their own right? She would have enoughdiscretionaryincome—herownincome from additional profits at the distillery—that no man could tell her how to spend. She could give Lorelei her Season in London and Juliana, too, if she wanted it.
“No one woulddareharm ye, if ye were mywife.”
Emily chewed her lip. “I thank you for the offer, but I cannot accept.” She’d married out of necessity once and she was not going to travel that road again. Certainly, Ian was nothing like her late husband. Ian would never hurt her, she instinctively knew that. And he would protect her. She knew that, too. But it wasn’t enough. Her parents had loved each other and if she couldn’t have that, she would not marry again. And he had said nothing about love. His proposal was simply a solution to a problem. She laid her hand on his arm. “Please understand. It is not that I do not desire you—”
“Ye desire me?”
“Yes…” She didn’t get to finish the sentence because his lips were on hers.
Ian edged closer and gathered her to him. She sighed and relaxed in his embrace, her arms going around his neck as she parted her lips to allow him entrance. His tongue swept in, hot and firm, claiming her mouth, demanding she yield to him. His arms wrapped tight around her, crushing her breasts against him as he angled his head to better capture the kiss.
And then he pulled back, his hands sliding up her arms to push her back gently. “What am I thinking? Ye just had a hard knock on your head—”
“Which has not altered my thinking.” She slid her fingers down his chest. “I do not want to stop.”
He took a shuddering breath and laid his forehead against her. “Neither do I, lass, neither do I. But this is nae the time nor the place.”
“But…” A knock at the door interrupted her argument. Ian stood quickly as it opened and Maggie stuck her head around.
