“Well, you certainly accomplished that, didn’t you?” she snapped.
“Would you have preferred waking up on top of me?”
The harsh demand rattled about the room with an awareness that had both of them stopping and regarding the other. It was as if the kiss they had shared the night before was suddenly a vivid recollection between them.
He was curious to note that her face pinked slightly as she moved to the valise at the end of the bed. “I need to get dressed.”
He nearly asked what she was so eager to prepare for, but since it was the perfect time to make an exit without further shoving his foot into his mouth, he decided to retreat. “I’ll start some coffee.”
He wasn’t sure if she preferred tea, but he had become partial to the stronger drink in the mornings. If she didn’t like it, he would hand her a pot of water with his compliments.
Grabbing his things, he left the chamber and headed for the kitchen. He glanced at the clock on the wall and rather wished Miss Lindquist was bustling about the area again. He generally made do with toasted bread in the mornings, and he hoped Miss Lindquist preferred the same, because that was all he intended to offer. He used to employ a housekeeper to keep things nice and tidy about the cottage but there was no need for Mrs. Gwynn to arrive now. She would certainly chastise him about his charming captive.
As he set to work, he decided it was a good thing all these questions were left pending. He needed to remind himself that she wasn’t a woman he was courting with the intention that it might lead to something more. She was merely someone he needed to watch carefully. Once he could rest easy in the knowledge that she was only traveling to meet her brother, as she claimed, then he would release her without a second thought, perhaps as early as today.
That should have pleased him greatly, but instead, he found himself frowning as he set the kettle of water on to boil.
Leah sank backonto the bed when Harlan left the room. She rubbed her backside, which was still smarting from her untimely awakening. The man’s offenses kept piling up. The least of which was that he continued to wear that ridiculous mask. To believe at one time she had imagined such an accessory to be a romantic addition to a flowing cloak and proud, black stallion. How wrong she’d been. She yearned to rip the offending article from his face and toss it in the nearest rubbish bin.
It irritated her that he wouldn’t offer her that much consideration when he demanded to know so much about her. Not only that, but it had to be cumbersome to wear at all times. The famed Robin Hood hadn’t worn a mask, so why did Harlan deem it so necessary?
Leah blinked. Unless, of course, he was involved in something more nefarious than mere thievery?
Again, the prospect that they weren’t common highwayman crept back into her brain like the pins and needles she suffered when her foot started to awaken after being numb.
The possibility that they were gentlemen determined to find something more worthy than riches had already crossed her mind, but she had no idea what it might be. A stolen artifact, perhaps?
She tried to remember if she’d read anything in the papers recently, but nothing came to mind. If it was something that imperative, they would likely do their best to keep their intentions quiet before the masses discovered the truth.
But then, that didn’t explain why Harlan and the rest of his men had takenhercaptive. If it was because she’d been injured, then once he was assured that she had recovered, that should have been the end of it. Otherwise, it wasn’t as if she was of any value. Her brother certainly couldn’t be counted on to pay a hefty ransom for her release. He wasn’t that eager for her to take up residence with him as it was. He’d written to her only after she had informed him of her aunt’s death, and he’d told her, in no uncertain terms that he was taking her in out of charity alone. He hadn’t offered to help secure her passage to Birmingham, nor to meet her in London. He claimed that he couldn’t leave his flock unattended for such a length of time.
Leah had never felt more disheartened in her entire life. She had been moved around from one place to another for years, and suffered losses that made her uncertain of her future. She might not have been born with blue blood in her veins, but she despised feeling as though she was beholden to anyone for a scrap of food and a roof over her head.
For some strange reason, she didn’t feel that way with Harlan. She might have been angry with him the night before, and it wasn’t because she’d had to prepare her own food. She hadn’t liked having her limits tested, but it wasn’t until that shattering kiss that something had shifted. They’d shared a night together, however innocent that might have been, and yet Leah had begun to feel a connection to him that she’d never experienced with anyone else. While she wouldn’t call this cottage the home that she had always dreamed of having with someone who cared about her needs and desires, it was currently better than worrying what her brother had in mind for her.
With little choice but to don the same, soiled petticoats as the day before, Leah wondered about her fate. Everything she owned was in this single valise. Most of her possessions had been sold off to pay for her aunt’s funeral expenses, as well as her passage to England. The rest were sentimental pieces like her mother’s brooch and a miniature of her father, as well as a vanity set her aunt had gifted to her on her twenty-first birthday that she couldn’t dare part with. The rest were clothes that had witnessed the passage of time. She had worn her best gown to meet her brother and it was now in need of a good wash.
Leah withdrew a chartreuse overskirt, and once she’d brushed out her hair and secured it with the extra set of pins that she had in her valise, she was able to make herself somewhat presentable when she walked out of the chamber.
The first thing she noticed was the delightful scent of brewing coffee and toast. Her stomach rumbled with interest and she walked into the kitchen where she found her masked captor moving about as if he had accomplished this routine many times before.
He turned when she entered. “There is a cup in the cupboard just there.” He nodded. “I made coffee, but if you prefer tea, I have some water ready.”
She walked forward and withdrew a cup from the upper level. “You’re being rather hospitable this morning,” she noted warily.
“There is no point treating you as though you are in some sort of gaol.” His gaze flicked sharply to her. “As far as I’m aware, you haven’t done anything worth such a punishment.”
The way he looked at her made her wonder if he actually believed otherwise. “You would be correct on that score. The only offense I may have committed lately is wearing a wrinkled dress.” She waved a hand down her attire.
He glanced along her form and shook his head with a crooked smile. “I would not have noticed.”
It was the way his focus seemed to caress her that made her shiver slightly. A compliment coming from this man, who was so virile, even with that dreadful mask in place, sounded terribly appealing. She had certainly noticed his charming hazel eyes and that strong jawline that she yearned to caress.
She gestured to the kettle in his hand. “Might I try some of that?” she asked, holding her cup out.
He looked at her curiously but walked over and poured some into her cup. “Have you tried coffee before?”
“I have,” she noted. “But it has been some years. I’m curious if this is any better.”
