Page 28 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
She spun to face Arthur.“DidIdo that?”
Arthur laughed.“You certainly did.Back home, that technique is what we call a Dorset flop.”
Roderick threw up his hands.“I’ve heard enough about yer strange rules!We’re not in Wales.This is Scotland, and we’ll play the game the way God intended.”
Arthur opened his mouth to argue, but all conversation paused when Iain seized Kate’s jacket sleeve.
Roderick grabbed Iain by the wrist, yanking him off.“Just what do ye think ye’re doing?”
“You lost fair and square,” Colin said.“Now leave Kit alone.”
“You don’t understand,” Iain said.“He’s been lying to you this whole time!Heis a?—”
“Iain.”
Andrew Thompson’s voice might have been high-pitched and reedy, but it held an unmistakable note of authority.Their bickering ceased at once.
Kate’s heart was still racing.Iain knew.She was all but certain of it.At any moment, he was going to accuse her of being a woman, and her dream of working as a scientific illustrator was going to come crashing down.
“But—” Iain protested.
“We need to have a talk.”Andrew put a hand on Iain’s shoulder, steering him across the courtyard.
Iain went, but not before casting a scowl in Kate’s direction.
Nathaniel appeared in his wake.“Well done, Kit.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, cheeks flushing.
He nodded toward the retreating figures.“I’d better go and help Andrew.But I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”
“I’ll be ready.Goodnight.”
“Well.”Colin clapped her on the back.“You showed him.”
They returned to their table inside, and Kate saw neither Iain nor Nathaniel for the rest of the evening.
But she had a horrible feeling that this wasn’t the last she had heard from Iain Galbreath.
Chapter13
The following morning, Kate was waiting with her trunk in front of a boardinghouse catering to university students in Old Town.The fact that she was not a resident of that particular boardinghouse was neither here nor there.In order to explain her impending absence to her aunt, Kate had forged a letter from her sister, Clarissa, claiming that she and her new husband, Rupert, would be spending the next month in Inverness, and inviting Kate to join them for a visit.Clarissa had spent the last three months flitting from place to place, so Kate was crossing her fingers and hoping that Clarissa remained in parts unknown for a little while longer and would thus be unavailable to disprove Kate’s cover story.
A hackney carriage pulled to the curb, and Nathaniel climbed out.He and the driver hoisted Kate’s trunk onto the boot, and they departed for the dockyards at Leith.
Kate was excited but also nervous about the prospect of her first voyage at sea.She felt much the same way about the prospect of spending the next month keeping company with Nathaniel.
They boarded the ship, a small vessel called theThurso Thistle.A junior officer showed them to their quarters.Kate tried not to let her dismay show when he led them to a single cabin containing a pair of bunk beds.Of course, quarters would be tight onboard a ship, and Nathaniel was a young academic subsisting on a fellowship.She had known they would not be traveling in luxurious style.
But it had honestly not occurred to her that they might be expected to share a room.She immediately felt foolish.As far as Nathaniel knew, she was a young man.There was no earthly reason they might not bunk together.
One blessing in disguise was that their quarters were in the interior of the ship and therefore lacked a window.They might be sharing a room, but Nathaniel wouldn’t be able to see much in the dark, cramped space.
Soon, they were underway.It was hard to feel trepidation on such a bright, sunny morning with a brilliant blue sky.Kate removed a sketchpad from her trunk and found a relatively quiet spot near the front of the ship.She sketched the puffins as they flitted across the surface of the Firth of Forth.
She heard a laugh from behind her.“I might have known,” Nathaniel said, coming to join her.He had his satchel slung over his shoulder.He gestured to her sketchpad.“May I see?”
He expressed admiration for her puffins but then made a sound of dismay.“You’ve already filled five sheets.As much as I hate to discourage you, we can’t have you running out of drawing paper before we even reach our destination.I doubt you’ll be able to purchase more supplies at any price at most of the places we’re going.”
