Jasper shook his head. ‘Not any more. My heart healed from all that foolishness the moment it encountered you. Did I not prove that last night with my efforts, lass?’
Oh, he had, by making love to her for hours, tenderly, rapturously, as if he could not get enough of her. And she had given herself to him with abandon, even though her body was bruised and battered from being swept down the river. Even now, the sinfulness of her actions made her face glow. But a small part of Rowenna still could not trust in Jasper’s desire or in him.
‘Do not fish for compliments,’ she said briskly. ‘I will not indulge your vanity. And I cannot believe that the Strachan fellow was lying. Perhaps he was not in on the plan to kill you.’
‘Do you favour him, lass? He seemed very taken with you? Do I have a rival?’
‘It would be good if you did,’ thought Rowenna. But she swallowed down her resentment and said, ‘Of course not. But something about Strachan’s manner made me trust him.’
‘Well, I do not trust him.’
‘You don’t trust anyone, even me.’
‘I do trust you, especially now you’ve saved my life.’ Jasper put his hand to his throat as if remembering the bite of the noose.
‘Does it hurt?’
‘No more than my pride.’
‘Your pride will heal, and one day, you will get revenge on your enemies, Jasper. You just have to wait for the right moment and be certain who your enemy is before you strike.’
‘You are right. And the wound to my pride is not from the hanging. It is from being rescued by a lass.’
‘I was happy to do it.’
‘You were brave to do it’ He looked away from her, rubbing his thumb into his palm. ‘I am ashamed of myself, for I have sorely misjudged and mistreated you, Rowenna.’ He sighed. ‘I have a confession to make. When I first took you, I thought, ‘She should be grateful. Rowenna MacCreadie is poor and desperate. She is from a lowly clan and no fit wife for a man of my lofty station. But I want her, and she will do, if I am to get an heir.’
Rowenna bit her lip, for his words were hurtful, though he said them gently enough.
Jasper gave her an anguished look. ‘Now, I ask myself, ‘How can she be with me and bear me to touch her? Why does she want to lie down with me and let me inside her? How can I ever be worthy enough to hold onto Rowenna?’ He gave a little smile. ‘Can I ever get her to love me as much as I love her?’
Rowenna blinked away tears. ‘Must you talk such nonsense, Jasper Glendenning. I have no time for it.’ He pulled her to his chest and kissed her thoroughly. As her loins melted under his touch, she thought, ‘Maybe I can make time for his nonsense.’
But no, they had more pressing matters. ‘We are in this together, Jasper, to the bitter end. Your fate is mine. So what are you going to do?’
He stood up and strapped on his sword. ‘I am going to talk to Caolan Bannerman.’
‘Talk?’ she cried as he walked to the door.
‘Aye, there will be some talking involved,’ he said.
And much else besides, including violence, but there would be no stopping her husband if he was hell-bent on folly. These last weeks, she had learned that much. How strange it was that Jasper now treated her as a friend and confidante as well as a lover. She had once hated him. But he had rescued her from a terrible future at Fallstairs and made a woman of her. Jasper treated her as an equal, and her pride soared at that. They had come a long way to reach this place of love. Hopefully, they had many years of it to come, and she could not allow him to fight Caolan Bannerman and put that in jeopardy.
‘Jasper. Don’t go. I have a better plan. Come back to bed and do wicked, disgusting things to me. I am your slave, so take your pleasure in whatever way you desire. I will let you do anything you want, I swear.’
A wicked grin spread across his features, rendering his harsh face impossibly desirable. Rowenna meant what she said – she would let him do anything, not just now, always.
‘Tempting, but not this time, Rowenna. Keep your ardour warm for when I return, and I shall hold you to your vow. And my blood will be up, so you had best brace yourself for a long night.’ He winked and turned to go.
She called after him. ‘Jasper, what about Bran?’
‘He has gone. I set him free before we set off for the wedding. Put the bastard on a horse and pointed it south. I told him, if I ever set eyes on him again, I would open his throat.’
She wasn’t expecting that. She was going to plead for her brother’s release.
‘Are you angry? Did I do the wrong thing,’ said Jasper.
‘No.’
