Page 28 of The Villain
Rising from the writing desk, she placed the letter in the drawer and turned away, determined to get to the bottom of this. She started with a gasp when she found Maeve in the room, her concentration upon the letter having distracted her from hearing the woman enter.
“Apologies for startling you, my lady,” Maeve said with a soft smile. “Are you ready to dress for breakfast?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Is His Lordship in his study, or will he be joining me for the morning meal?”
Maeve smirked as she removed an emerald green gown from the armoire. “The Master rose early and has already taken his breakfast. He went to the stables just now to prepare for a morning ride.”
Despite her empty belly, Daphne would not be able to keep down a single bite until the inevitable confrontation had passed. “Then I would like to dress for riding … quickly, please, so I might catch up to him.”
Maeve’s smirk turned into a full-fledged smile, and she gave Daphne a knowing look.
She fought the urge to roll her eyes and inform the maid that she did not seek out her ‘Master’ for any amorous reasons she might be imagining. Quite the contrary—she pictured ripping his tongue out for the slanderous things he’d said about Bertram.
She hurried Maeve through helping her into a plain brown riding habit, her hair hastily braided into a single plait before she rushed from the room. The habit was well made, fitting her like a glove, and it reflected the latest military style with brass buttons and braided rope draping her from shoulder to shoulder. She felt very much like a soldier marching off to do battle with the man who had destroyed her family … who seemed determined to destroyher, despite the fact that she’d never knowingly done him harm. If she unraveled the entire mystery, surely, she would discover the answer.
Bursting through the front doors of the palace, she trotted down the front steps, hands balled into fists as she spotted the stable and Adam standing just outside it, the reins of a massive black stallion held in one fist. He turned as if feeling her heated gaze upon him and leaned against the animal’s flanks, raising an eyebrow when she drew near. He had done away with the finery of last evening, his white shirt unbuttoned to bare a wide swath of his chest, worn buff breeches clinging to his thighs.
She drew up short, self-preservation warning her not to come within arm’s length of him. He seemed to notice, his lips widening into a teasing grin as he raked her body from head to toe with his gaze.
“Well?” he prodded. “Will you tell me why you’ve come running from the house like your arse is on fire, or will you tell me what it is you want?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she fought for composure. If she allowed him to rile her, she would surely strike him, and after last night’s ‘punishment,’ she could not be certain what he would do to retaliate.
“There must be some mistake,” she blurted, not caring that the pleading tone of her voice made her sound desperate. “I know Bertram like no one else, and I could assure you he would never … he is not a rapist!”
Adam’s expression did not allow her any insight to what he might think of her outburst. His voice remained flat, indifferent, when he responded.
“A mistake,” he repeated, saying the words slowly as if tasting them, weighing them with his tongue.
“Yes,” she said with a resolute nod. “Some rumor you have heard, stories about my brother that could not possibly be true.”
Inclining his head at her, he scowled. “Are you in your brother’s company at all times, little dove?”
“Of course not,” she snapped.
“Then you cannot possibly know for certain, can you?” he countered.
She opened her mouth to reply, but then snapped it shut, realizing he was right about that, at least.
“Tell me what you know,” she whispered, lowering her eyes.
She had come here for the truth, after all. Perhaps someone had told Adam something that was untrue, or the situation had been misconstrued. A woman could be ruined for something as simple as a kiss … maybe what Bertram had done wasn’t as bad as he had been led to believe.
“Ride with me,” he replied. “And I will tell you.”
As if on cue, the dark stallion nickered and tossed his mane, impatient to be on their way. Glancing toward the stables, she realized her gelding had been trapped inside it since her arrival. It would be good to spend some time out of doors and get a bit of exercise. Besides, she was dressed for riding.
“Very well,” she relented.
Adam bellowed for a stable groom, who quickly went about preparing her horse. Daphne was pleased at the sight of her gelding, who seemed to have been well taken care of in her absence. She thanked the groom, then allowed Adam to help her up into the side saddle someone had placed on her horse’s back. Since she’d come wearing breeches, she had ridden astride, which left her wondering whose saddle she now occupied. Perhaps the woman who also happened to own those lace garments she’d seen.
One mystery at a time,she admonished herself.
Giving her horse a little nudge with her heels, she trailed Adam from the stable, following him between the cluster of outbuildings filling the bailey. Then, they approached the gatehouse, pausing long enough for the old gatekeeper to raise the portcullis for them. The moment it had lifted enough to allow them beneath it, Adam spurred his mount forward, and together, they left the imposing stone walls of Dunnottar. The morning sun shined into her eyes, causing her to squint as she tried to adjust to the change after days cloistered inside the castle.
Riding down the sloping pathway leading down the escarpment to the plains below, Daphne ignored the man at her side and drank in her environment. The Scottish countryside surrounding Dunnottar had seemed threatening in the dark of night—an expanse soaked by rain and cloaked by blackness. Today, with the sun shining over the plains and new blades of spring grass bending in the breeze like ripples on the surface of a pond, it proved simply breathtaking. With only an unpaved road leading away from the castle to disturb the natural landscape, the entire surrounding area looked like something out of a painting.
As they reached the bottom of the steep, inclined path, Daphne noticed clusters of whin, bell heather, and harebell in full bloom, their yellow, magenta, and lilac blossoms offering bursts of bright color here and there among the vibrant, green grass.
