‘My God, your tongue can cut like the sharpest blade, Maren.’
‘I only speak the truth as I see it. And I do not want to care for him, for he is something more I have to lose, and I am uncertain in his regard for me. Now, I have told you that you are in danger. What you do with this warning is up to you, but I can do no more for you, Lawson.’
‘If you return to this rich fellow, how will you explain your absence?’
‘I will think of something, but it will not be pretty. He will be angry, and I must talk him down.’
‘Then don’t go.’
Maren sighed. Men were so exasperating. ‘I don’t know why, but I have to. He and I are kindred spirits, and I cannot abandon him.’
‘Until he abandons you,’ said Lawson coldly. ‘If you must run back to this man, do not do it tonight. You cannot ride in darkness with this Drayton fellow abroad and all manner of other villains on the road. Stay with me, for old times’ sake, if nothing else.’ His hand slid into her hair, an invitation in his eyes. ‘Perhaps we can make our parting a memory that will sustain us in the trials to come.’
‘I will not be another notch on your bedpost, Lawson. I will stay the night in your cabin, but you should go home to your wife.’
‘I am bored with my wife. I need a diversion. After all, my life is in danger.’ His mouth edged closer – pink sensual lips in a forest of black beard. ‘These could be my last moments on earth.’
‘Come any closer, and they will be,’ said Maren, aiming the little pistol at his heart.
He took his hands from her and stepped back. ‘Foiled by my own gift. You do realise I could relieve you of that little pea shooter in seconds.’
‘But you will not.’
‘And why is that.’
‘Because we have been friends, and no matter your many grievous faults, you are too honourable to force your attentions on any woman.’
‘How well you know me, Maren, and how glorious we could have been together.’
Lawson stole a quick kiss, and she pushed him away, but her rejection slid off him. He just smirked. ‘I will live on your kiss for years. A wee dram to ease yourself into sleep, my sweetness?’ he said, grabbing a bottle of whisky and holding it out to her. ‘We can drink away our troubles, and then I swear, by all that is holy, that I will take my leave and find a hammock. Keep the pistol to hand in case any of my sailors wander in the night, or I fail in my resolve to keep hands from you.’
‘No. Best leave the whisky and go Lawson.’
He held his arms wide. ‘You should learn to be more trusting, lass,’ he said with a smirk, then he hunched through the cabin door and closed it with a bang.
Maren flopped down onto the narrow bunk that served as his bed. Her head ached, and her throat was dry. She was assailed by a need to sleep for a week as the gentle roll of the hull and the groan of its timbers lulled her. Yet her predicament intruded anew. She might have gotten Lawson clear of danger, but she was mired in it, up to her neck. There was only one way out.
Drayton Carver would be the end of her, or she the end of him.
Chapter Twenty
‘This is all your fault. Who said you could take Maren to Inverness without my say so. And how could you leave her alone?’ growled Bryce, pacing before the hearth in the great hall. ‘Have the men returned no news of her?’
‘No, son. They have searched every street and alley in Inverness, and no sign of her.’ Jasper gave a resigned shrug.
‘Well, she can’t have just disappeared?’ said Callum. ‘Does she have friends or family to whom she could have fled?’
Bryce shook his head. ‘Not that I know of.’
‘Aye, Maren is an orphan by all accounts,’ said Jasper
‘What do you mean by that?’ snarled Bryce.
‘Just that you seem to know very little about your new bride. Does the lass have no friends in this world? Have you ever met any of her old acquaintances, or did you just confine yourself to polite chit-chat in front of prison bars before you wed her and took her to bed?’ finished Jasper, with heavy implication.
‘Prison?’ said Callum, with a frown.
‘I will tell you later, Callum, when I am at leisure and my wife is not missing,’ said Bryce, his voice rising to a shout.
