His eyes flicked downwards to her mouth. ‘On that, we can agree.’
***
They rode in silence for miles, thundering along the rough road to Fallstairs, and Jasper was content with that. Rowenna was an excellent rider, and her horse was nimble, so his heavier beast only just kept up.
Why the hell had he forced his company on Rowenna MacCreadie when he should have run from the lass as quickly as he could? The setting sun turned her hair to warm gold, and he tried not to look at her but could not help himself. She was thinner than before, harried, and with dark shadows beneath her eyes. Her brother had most likely betrayed him, so why offer the lass protection? He could have left her to the mercy of whatever thug followed her, but something had stopped him. Though it seemed he would get little thanks for doingthe honourable thing. Rowenna clearly saw his company as an ordeal, judging by the look on her bonnie face.
They were almost upon Fallstairs when they had to slow their pace to traverse thick woodland. The silence lay heavy between them in the gathering darkness.
‘Are you going to speak, lass?’ said Jasper.
‘I prefer silence.’ Rowenna glowered at him. Her wide brown eyes were fearful yet defiant. She had some steel in her spine, this one, more than her brother and father could summon.
‘So, your sister has run away.’
‘We do not know that for certain.’
‘Word has it, she was not too pleased with your father’s choice of husband.’
‘You should not believe idle gossip,’ she said, staring straight ahead, avoiding his gaze.
‘Come on, admit it. Rufus wanted me to take Cecily in payment of his debts. Your father is not a subtle man. Perhaps I should be offended, as it seems your sister was not best fond of me.’
‘You do not know anything and…’
‘I could tell by the dour look on her face in your father’s hall that she did not consider me the best of prospects,’ he said, cutting her off. ‘Come to think of it, I didn’t care much for her either.’
Rowenna turned to look at him. ‘But Cecily is the beauty of the county.’
He shrugged. ‘Aye, she has the kind of beauty that is obvious. It screams in your face, demanding adoration. But I prefer aquiet kind of beauty, the gentle kind that beckons, not screams. You have that, Rowenna.’
His compliment sounded clumsy to his ears, and she would not take it.
‘Save your flattery for fools who will believe it,’ she said.
‘Trust in this advice, lass. Do not spend your life down on your knees, humbled by your sister’s beauty.’
‘I am not.’
He laughed. ‘I would say that you are. And whatever you think, know this. Cecily did not stir me, and her kind never will.’
‘You are cruel to speak that way about my sister when she is lost.’
He paused, then pressed on. She had a right to know. ‘As I hear it, Cecily is not lost.’
Rowenna pulled up her horse. He had her full attention now. ‘What do you mean?’ she said.
‘I do not know the whole truth of it, but there is a rumour that she was seen in the company of a man out on Crichton Moor.’
‘What man?
‘A man with black hair. Not from around here, by all accounts. It could be idle gossip which, as you say, I should pay no heed to.’
She ignored his teasing. ‘Why would she be meeting a stranger?’
He laughed. ‘Why does any lass go and meet a dark stranger on the moors in secret? Surely you cannot be so innocent, lass?’
‘I…but…you cannot know that for certain.’ Her cheeks had reddened.
