“Would you like me to remove my trousers so you can take a look?” She must have looked so surprised by that suggestion, he amended, “The wound is securely bandaged and no longer pains me very much, due to your ministrations.”
Was that a thank-you? She was incredulous until he added, “You can consider this rescue payment for healing me. Now that we’re even, you can go home.”
He meantherhome, not his. But the food was taking the edge off her hunger, so she tried not to let that comment darken her mood. “How did you find me?”
“Wolf led me this way.”
“Where is he?”
He snorted. “Probably still barking at the fox hole just south of here. I rode up here because I took shelter in these ruins myself one summer during a sudden storm. It’s the only shelter in these parts, so I figured you might have found the castle’s last intact room.”
She wouldn’t exactly call it intact, but realized Dominic’s big body was blocking much of the wind gusts that blew in. Was that why he’d lain down? If so, that was quite—chivalrous of him.
A dog started barking.
“There he is now looking for me.”
Was that Wolf suddenly barking out there? Or was the white dog still in the ruins, disturbed by the sound of Dominic’s voice and sensing a threat? But Dominic obviously assumed it was Wolf and called to his pet. Repeatedly. If it was Wolf, he’d probably caught the scent of the other dog because he was now howling mournfully, as if calling to it.
Dominic finally shouted, “Get in here!”
Brooke shrieked when Wolf came into the cubbyhole and shook the rain off his coat before lying down at Dominic’s feet with a whimper. Dominic grumbled. Brooke rolled her eyes as she wiped the spray off her face.
Watching her, he asked curiously, “How did you find these ruins in the rain?”
“With help.”
“From whom?”
“Witch spirits.” She grinned. He snorted, so she simply said, “I’d just passed by when the rain started, so it was easy to get back here.”
She didn’t think he’d believe that a dog had called her back this way.
“Your maid was frantic when you didn’t return from your ride after a few hours. Most of the men on my estate are out looking for you. I thought you’d finally come to your senses and left Rothdale for good.”
Then why had he bothered to look for her himself? she should ask, but guessed it would lead to an argument, and that’s the last thing she wanted in their small space. She couldn’t exactly leave or slam any doors here!
“At least you’re not on Shaw land.”
Thank goodness, a neutral subject! “Are we still on yours?”
“No. Whoever owns this stretch to the northwest of Rothdale has never occupied it or farmed on it as far as I know.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, thinking of the dog’s owner.
“Actually, no. I haven’t been up this way for several years. Hell, Ian Shaw might have purchased it for all I know.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing. Or were you going to court your Shaw neighbor in order to join your land to hers?”
“She’s a pretty girl.”
Brooke waited, but apparently he wasn’t going to say more, so she pointedly asked, “Do you love her?”
“I barely know her. It would merely have been a useful match to expand Rothdale and settle a couple of disputes.”
“Over land?”
“Ten years ago Ian Shaw promised to shoot any Wolfe on his land. I promised to have him thrown in prison if he even tried. But the animosity between our families didn’t start over land. Our ancestors five generations back dueled. They used swords back then. My ancestor lost a hand in that fight, which should have ended it, but didn’t. Then our great-great-aunts had a notorious physical brawl, which caused a scandal that lasted decades. Those are the two main clashes that I know of. There could have been others since the animosity apparently started long before that, around the same time that the infamous Wolfe curse began. As the story goes, the Shaws reviled and then shunned my ancestor Cornelius Wolfe for flaunting his lowborn mistress in front of them. Cornelius was a hedonist who cared only for his own whims and pleasures, the proverbial black sheep of the Wolfe family.”
