As much as Robbie told himself that he must be half-crazed to let himself get carried away with the futility of her writing to Clifford, he couldn’t help being moved by her certainty and absolute belief in her brother. Robbie wanted to believe her. Wanted to believe it was possible. So much so that he’d gone against his instincts and done something he’d never thought he’d do in this lifetime: trusted an Englishman, or rather, woman.
Married?Christ, he still couldn’t believe it. Three weeks ago, the thought would never have crossed his mind. Even after what had happened between them, he’d never thought it possible. But Seton was right. He’d acted selfishly. He’d wanted to make her his, when he knew damned good and well she couldn’t be. He had to at least try to make it right. He just hoped to hell he wasn’t making a huge mistake.
Seton had been right about a lot of things, it turned out. And now Robbie’s future hinged on the good graces of Sir Robert Clifford. The whole world seemed to have turned upside down.
With a plan in place for how he could right at least part of it, Robbie waited for his opportunity. Getting her alone wasn’t easy with Elizabeth Douglas seemingly tied to her hip, but the moment Joanna and Elizabeth appeared in the Hall to prepare for the evening meal, he slid up the stairs to Rosalin’s chamber. She rarely ventured into the Hall unless she was certain he would be there.
She was turned away from the door, looking out the window, when she bade him enter. “Just put the tray on the table,” she said.
Instead, he slid his arm around her waist and lowered his mouth to whisper in her ear, “Looking for someone?”
She yelped and spun around. “You startled me!” He grinned, and she put her hands on her hips. “As a matter of fact, Iwaslooking for someone. I heard from Lady Joanna that Sir Thomas was expected in the next few days.”
He was beginning to understand why Douglas got so prickly every time Joanna mentioned Randolph’s name. He would have to keep her far away from MacGregor. He pulled her up hard against him and said darkly, “That isn’t funny, Rosalin.”
His warning tone had no effect on her grin and her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I disagree. I find it quite humorous. What is it about Sir Thomas that makes all the rest of you flare up like prickly bears? His handsome face? Those gorgeous blue eyes? The knightly—”
He stopped her with a kiss. A long, searing kiss that left them both flushed and breathing heavily.
“God, I missed you,” he groaned, sliding his mouth around to devour her neck.
He cupped her breasts and started to work the ties of her gown. “Wait,” she said, looking up at him. “Did my brother’s response arrive—is that why you are here?”
He shook his head, sorry to disappoint her. “Nay. I’m here because I couldn’t stay away any longer.” The feel of her body pressed against him was driving him wild.
But she pushed him back. “Whydidyou stay away?”
He’d hurt her, he’d realized—unintentionally. “I was trying to do the right thing.”
“Because of Sir Alex?”
He stiffened. “No.”
She didn’t believe him. “You have to talk to him.”
He clamped his jaw closed. “There is nothing to talk about.”
But she was right. The rift between him and Seton had never been so wide; the tension between them was so thick it seemed about to explode. He knew he probably owed him some kind of apology, but he kept waiting for Seton’s anger to die down like it always did. Except this time it didn’t. What really confused him, though, was why Seton hadn’t told anyone he’d bested him. Robbie would have thought he’d be shouting it from the damned parapets. God knew he had every right to. Robbie had been hard on him over the years. Maybe too hard, he acknowledged grimly.
“Saints, you are stubborn!”
She looked so put out he had to smile. “Aye. It’s one of my more endearing qualities.”
She let out a sharp laugh and shook her head. “Is that right? I’d hate to see the less endearing ones.”
He pushed her back up against the stone wall, pinning her hands to the sides of her head. “Do you want to keep talking about all my good qualities or should I show you a few?”
Her eyes flared with heat. “What did you have in mind?”
He moved his hips against hers, letting her feel exactly what he had in mind. “This, for one.”
Heat poured through his body and he groaned. It had been too long. She made the sweetest little gasp, and he was about to lean in and kiss her neck again when he heard a sound that made him glance out the window to his right.
He frowned.
“What is it?”
“Seton and Douglas. Damn it, I thought we’d have more time. They should have been gone for a couple more hours.”
