* * *
Erskine was still reeling as he stared at Laura sat on the trunk. Now he knew, and the pretense had gone, she was sat in such a feminine way he could scoff once more at his foolishness.
How could I have ever allowed meself to have been so duped?
He was not sure what had come over him when he helped her onto the trunk, but that brief touch had set a spark off inside him. Suddenly, there was no reason for him to be ashamed of his attraction to the person in front of him. She was a woman. He did not have to argue with himself anymore and could just allow it to happen.
She was looking down and pulling at the material of the breeches she wore. Erskine found himself staring at the way the breeches molded to her shapely legs. He was wondering too about her slim stature and how well the serving outfit hid her curves.
“I do not know,” she said eventually.
“Ye will have to hide somewhere, at least until they stop lookin’ for ye,” he was trying hard to control his temper, but it was extremely difficult. He was tempted to rile at Laura for longer, express just how furious he was that she had not only deceived him but confused him so much over these last few weeks. Her attractions had him questioning whether he knew himself at all.
“Yes,” she nodded. “I’ll need work too. A way to buy food.”
What was stopping Erskine from continuing with his rants was the desperate situation Laura was clearly in. Despite his fury, he would never send her back to Earl Moore. The thought of such a man forcing someone as delicate in stature as Laura into his bed, well, the thought made Erskine sick.
He could not leave her alone here.
He turned away from her and rubbed his face for a few minutes. An idea had occurred to him, and he was trying to think of another, perhaps a way to put distance between the two of them, but it was no use. The idea he had was a good one.
“Me faither’s castle is nae far from here,” he relented, refusing to look back. “Couple days more ride at most. The town itself is boomin’ with trade. I could offer ye a job there. Ye could hide there.”
He heard her jump down from the tree trunk. Involuntarily, his eyes slid back to her, unable to stay away. Now she was not wearing her hat, her features were completely visible, and those blue eyes were even more stunning than before in the strength of the day’s sunlight.
“You would do that?” she asked, her shock plain for him to see.
“Aye,” he sighed. “I am still angry,” he said matter-of-factly, to which she nodded, “and this argument is nae over.”
“I know.”
“There is someone there I can hide ye with whilst the fuss dies down. After that, ye can decide where ye want to go. How does that sound?” He was surprised to see her nodding eagerly again, clearly pleased with the idea. “We cannae tell the others who ye are.” Dearg popped into his head. “If they find out….”
Dearg had a certain love for money and his resentment of Laura being on their journey was already obvious. Erskine did not trust what could happen if Dearg discovered her identity.
“You do not think they would turn me in, do you?” Laura asked, stepping toward him. He stepped back, keeping the distance between them. He was startled to see the sadness his simple move caused in her features.
“I daenae ken,” he said, “but I daenae want to take the risk.” He picked the hat up off the floor he had thrown at the tree earlier and passed it to her. “Ye best put that back on.” She did as he instructed. “When we get into town, stay close behind me. We’ll get ye through and out quickly before the soldiers see ye. We need to leave fast—before any of the others see that sketch too.”
“Erskine,” her simple use of his name was spoken softly. It made him hesitate on the tree line, caught by that softness, though he still refused to look back to her. “Can you forgive me? For lying to you?”
This time, he let himself glance back.
“We’ll see,” his words only made that look of sadness return to her face. “I’m still angry, even though I am helpin’ ye. We will discuss this again.”
“As you wish,” she nodded and went to follow him.
As they walked quickly through the trees, Erskine felt his irritation return tenfold. Though it was not so much this time anger at Laura having lied to him, it was fury that he wanted to touch her again, to place his hands on her waist as he had done just a few minutes ago.
* * *
Erskine was surprised by how easy it was to hide Laura through the market as they went to collect the horse. For starters, their group seemed to give the English soldiers a wide berth, not in the slightest interested in who they could be looking for. Like Erskine, they had all been in enough battles to still harbor a little resentment of English soldiers.
As for the marketgoers, no one paid much attention to Laura, and those who glanced her way merely saw the clothes and assumed her a boy. No one attempted to see her face. More than once did Erskine glance between her and the redcoat soldiers still searching for her. He could not help but admire the ingenuity of her escape from London. The soldiers were looking for a young woman. Dressed as she was, the soldiers barely glanced her way.
Clever. I cannae deny it.
As they met the others in town, Erskine was careful to ensure Laura was stood between them all, her slight stature hidden between the tall frames in case anyone looked too long their way. Erskine explained quickly that they had discovered Laura’s aunt was dead, and they were to carry on, taking Laura with them.
