Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“You never wanted to see your family again?” she asked.
Knox didn’t answer right away. His gaze was distant, lost in memory. Then, suddenly, he said, “There’s no point. It’s been too many years. They wouldn’t know me, nor I them.” He looked down at her. “Now, your turn. Why was that man chasing you?”
With what he had shared, she had no trouble telling him the truth, at least part of it.
“Hennie was boasting about men—how some were exceptional lovers, making any man who followed seem disappointing. Birdie said she wished she had one. If Seth had found out, he’d have beaten her senseless, so I lied to misdirect him.”
Knox arched a brow. “To you?”
“Aye. Birdie stood no chance with him. I knew I could outrun him.”
“And if he caught you?”
Dru grinned. “I had a secret weapon… you.”
Knox let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “And what if I hadn’t intervened?”
She chuckled. “There were enough turnips there to knock him out.”
Their laughter faded into thought and silence settled between them.
He didn’t want to think of what might have happened to her if he hadn’t been there. Seth had enough bulk on him to do her serious harm. And if he had… he would have made him suffer for it.
Dru could see the wheels turning in Knox’s head—just as they were in hers. There was much to consider, much to be concerned about, much that could prove dangerous, but what thought was the foremost in her mind?
Her slight hesitation when he asked her if she was fond enough to make the marriage permanent? Why the pause? She had no answer and that troubled her.
As dusk fell followed by a crisp autumn night, Knox found a place for them to camp. They ate some of the food the nuns had generously packed for them while few words were exchanged.
“You need to sleep,” Knox said, seeing the way she struggled to keep her eyes open. “Once we’re done at Dugan’s place, we’ll head on. It will be a long day.”
“Aye, I could use the sleep,” Dru said and stretched out on the ground, wrapping her threadbare wool cloak around her as tight as she could.
The fire spread warmth, but the ground was cold, and her worn cloak held little protection against it. She couldn’t stop the shivers from settling in down to her bones.
Knox added more wood to the fire, hoping it would help ease her shivers. When it didn’t, he went to her and lay beside her, taking her in his arms. He tucked her tight against him and shared his cloak, throwing it over her, and tucking it firmly around her.
She would have never allowed a man to get as close to her as Knox had, but he had made it clear when she was naked in front of him that he had no intimate interest in her. So, she had no worries about that. Besides, the heat that radiated off him was a comfort she gladly welcomed.
“Thank you, husband, that is most considerate of you,” Dru said as she settled her head comfortably on his chest, though hard with muscle, surprisingly comfortable.
“You are my wife. It is my duty to take care of you.”
It was a stoic response, not a bit of feeling to it. Duty. She was nothing more than a duty to him. Shouldn’t she be relieved to know that? Whatever was the matter with her thinking otherwise? And she was sure some of the food the nuns had given her was partially rotted since that strange feeling returned to disturb her stomach.
She was glad she was too tired for her thoughts to keep her awake and her husband’s warmth made all the difference. It allowed her to drift off to sleep.
Not so, Knox. His wee wife was proving difficult after only one day of marriage. He had been forced to steel himself against any feelings after only a few days with the mercenaries. If he hadn’t, he would have never survived. Some days he hadn’t wanted to. Death was a better preference. But he had survived and lying here with his wife in his arms, he thought how nice it would be if it was real. That she actually cared for him if only a little.
Foolishness, he silently warned himself.
He allowed himself to be lured into a false sense of comfort and absurd hope. He needed to concentrate on finding Autumn, returning her to Lord Torrance and claiming the land he promised him. There was where he would find true comfort and hopefully peace.
He smiled at the slight scent of turnips that drifted off his wife just before falling asleep.
Dru stirred beneath her cloak, shifting against the cool ground, then blinked awake. The campfire had burned low, its embers casting a faint, flickering glow against the darkened forest.