“Ask her why she has no escort!” Lady Bamburgh snapped, awake after all, startling them both.
Julianna pinned her dark gaze on the old lady and fought the temptation to snap right back. “My escort was murdered last eve by a band of robbers. I was able to fight my way out of their grasps and escape. I am returning home now to bring my dear mother the antidote she needs to live.”
Lady Bamburgh gaped at her and then scowled even harder. Julianna knew the look. Dissatisfaction, as if Julianna had anything to do with what happened to her. If it had happened, that was. There was little mercy from the noble born toward anyone who was beneath their station. She’d seen it growing up. She was guilty of it toward others.
She was surprised to find the viscount still smiling at her. She blushed a little, hating that it made her ever redder, but glad that the flare of her dry temper didn’t anger him.
“How did you manage to escape?” he asked, feigning surprise.
She quirked her lips and met his gaze. “I jabbed out one’s eyes and drove my knife into one’s temple, sure to—”
His smile faded as he held up his hand to stop her. There wasn’t much room in the carriage and his hand nearly struck her. She flinched backward and reached for her knife.
His grandmother caught her eye. For an instant, her gaze softened on Julianna, but just as quickly, it cooled.
The viscount apologized profusely and kept the conversation light. Julianna kept it lighter.
They arrived at a large marketplace in Rothbury a few hours later and Julianna stepped out of the carriage and looked around. How far was Lismoor from here? She had no horse and no idea which way to go.
“Can we take you somewhere, Miss Fenly?” Viscount Bamburgh asked, coming up behind her.
She turned to find his chaperon wrapped and returned to his head, keeping his head warm.
“We have a private carriage coming to pick us up and take us home,” he continued when she didn’t answer right away. His gaze fell to the red curls falling freely over her eye, the curls he’d nuzzled his face in to avoid his grandmother’s smell.
“What about your grandmother?” she asked, sizing him up.
He laughed softly and she thought he was quite pretty, with an extremely charming smile. But he was not to her liking. Not anymore.
“It was her idea to invite you.”
Hmm. Julianna glanced at the old woman being aided into another, more ornate carriage pulled by two beautiful white horses. Curious, she thought and nodded. Why not? Lady Bamburgh might offer an interesting ride.
Suddenly, the thought of going any further scared the hell out of her. Why did she think William might be there? Why had she already spent a small fortune on the hope that he would be? What if he wasn’t? Chances were, he wasn’t.
She could no longer deny her madness. She missed William. Traitor or not, damn her. She just wanted to see him again. She would be content then. He would stop haunting her then.
“All right,” Julianna accepted. “Do you know the way to Lismoor?”
Chapter Two
Julianna left LadyBamburgh’s carriage in Lismoor’s quiet village and took a look around. The village was close to the castle, and it was a good estimation of how the lord took care of the people living closest to him. There were a few women outside in the early winter chill. They looked at her and spread a word or two among some men where they worked close by—a miller, a tanner, a smith, a few males stepping out of their homes and seeing her. The people appeared well fed and content.
She smiled slightly and waited until one of the men who’d left his home reached her.
“Who are you?” he asked. He didn’t sound like a Scot. He was average height, with graying hair cut short around his head. He had a bit of a belly protruding out from over his belt.
“Miss Julianna Feathers,” she answered, keeping her eyes on his. It was the first place a thought was revealed. She didn’t need to look at his hands to know if he was going to strike.
“Welcome to Lismoor, Miss. I am Walter. I’m the reeve here” He smiled back. He didn’t look as if he were oppressed. “Are you here for the governess position?”
She nodded and followed him to a large stable. He didn’t say another word while he and a groom, who wasn’t William, saddled two horses.
“I will take you to the gates, Miss Feathers,” Walter said and led her out of the stable once they were both ready. She caught him take notice of her straddling her saddle and she would have sworn he smiled ever so lightly. “Come.”
Julianna looked up at the castle perched at the top of a hill, in the middle of the forest. Its stone keep was wide and built to withstand battle. On one side, a small walkway connected it to a tower. A tall curtain wall and occupied battlements surrounded the other three sides. She swallowed. It was patrolled by Scots. Highlanders, by the steely look of them. It was time to gather her wits and present a few charms of her own. Though she found the thought of the savages terrifying and repugnant, she needed this work and the coin now more than ever. She also hoped to find William in the bargain. If she needed to plow her way through a few Highlanders to do it, she would.
She and her escort were given entrance into the main gate, where she was asked to dismount and bid farewell to Walter. A Highlander took her by the elbow and led her toward the keep and the long, narrow stairs leading up to the doors.
