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with him for the rest of his days. He was sure he had
several more grey hairs than he had started out with that morning
and didn’t know whether to kiss her or lambast her for being so –
well, so female.
    “ Fine, thank you,” Cecily replied primly, her back ram-rod
straight.
    Jamie
felt slightly deflated that the perfect opportunity had been lost.
He wondered briefly if he should have given her what she had been
asking for; what they both desperately needed. Although she hadn’t
actually asked him to kiss her, he knew she wouldn’t have objected
if he had, but he didn’t want her to seek his affection purely
because she had been frightened and needed sanctuary. He wanted her
to want him for himself.
    “ I’ll go and get your horse,” Jonathan murmured, nudging his
horse toward the far corner of the field where Cecily’s mount now
stood munching grass without a care in the world.
    Despite
her bravado, Jamie could feel the fine tremors still coursing
through Cecily, and searched for some words of comfort. It behoved
him that he came up with naught. It wasn’t like him. Although he
was certainly no smooth talker, he could hold his own and as a
knowledgeable man of the world, usually had no hesitation in
entering into conversation with even the most introverted people.
For some reason though, this woman’s opinion of him really mattered
and he didn’t want to do anything; say anything that would cause
her to want to avoid him. After all, it would work out to his own
benefit if he was careful right now. They had enough problems on
their hands without him needing to persuade her to even give him
the time of day before he proposed to her.
     
     

CHAPTER THREE

    She was
tired, dirty and convinced that her bottom was going to be bruised
forever. She was struggling to walk properly and struggled to
retain some of her dignity as she staggered through the door of the
small coaching inn later that evening. Trying not to fidget, she
stood just inside the door and waited patiently for Jamie to secure
their rooms. Her chin tilted defiantly and she blithely ignored the
blatant stares that assessed each of them from head to toe. It was
virtually impossible though, to ignore the expectant silence that
had settled over the occupants as they observed the new arrivals
suspiciously.
    Although
she was glad to have finally gotten off that wretched horse, she
wished she was back on it now. It was certainly better being out
there than under the curious gazes of the assorted locals. The yard
had been empty of ostler or stable hands which, given the inn was
barely habitable was unsurprising. It was just what they needed for
tonight though and suited their purposes perfectly.
    It
didn’t come as any surprise when, moments later, Cecily was shown
to a tiny room at the back of the inn by a surly maid who merely
slammed the door open, nodded at her with a fierce scowl and
snapped, “In there,” before stomping off with a huff.
    Cecily
cautiously tiptoed into the cold and unlit room. It had about as
much appeal as a box in a hedge, but there was little she could do
about it. The bed was unmade but at least it had what looked like
clean sheets folded up on the bottom of it – waiting. She had no
aversion to making her own bed for the night, but was so tired, she
didn’t really care whether the bed was made or not. Quickly shaking
the sheets out, she didn’t bother to tuck them in, just threw them
across the bed before wearily slumping over them. She never
bothered with the jug and bowl on the wash stand, and was fast
asleep before her head hit the pillow.
     
    Jamie
frowned at the door and knocked again. He hated to simply barge in:
his room was next door and he had been listening for her leaving
the room in search of food but hadn’t heard anything from her for
some time now. While he had been organising rooms for them all,
Jonathan had completed a search of the upper floor of the tavern
which, if he was honest, hadn’t taken long at