This knowledge saddened her for a moment, but then she remembered her plan. It made her smile. It made that burden go away.
With that, Avery and Joan left the room, gently closing the door behind them, giving Keira the solitude she needed.
Keira took a deep breath, the weight of the moment sinking in. She tried to stay focused on the task at hand, organizing her belongings and double-checking her essentials. She didn’t want to consider how her friends might be right. How this whole deal might affect her. Surely she wouldn’t let herself fall for a man this arrogant.
It was just as she said. One last adventure before returning to her duties.
Jasper was still frowning, a whole minute after Raphael had informed him of his plans. The man just stood there as if the weight of the announcement was yet to dawn on him. Raphael felt it was his duty to inform his friend and host of his plans .
“She is a city lass, Raphael,” Jasper finally spoke. “She isnae used to the way we run things here.”
Raphael shrugged. “I dinnae mean to do anythin’ to her, Jasper. Ye ken me. I will merely have her as me guest, nothin’ else.”
“I do.” Jasper nodded. “I ken ye. I ken the sort of man ye are. That is why all this is such a surprise. Ye’re nae a man subject to his whims, and this is exactly what it is. A whim, somethin’ ye do in the spur of the moment, without any prior thought, and such things dinnae always end well.”
“That may be so,” Raphael could agree that much, and to his surprise, it amused him greatly. “There is something about this lass that is making me do things the unorthodox way.”
“Orthodox or nae, ye need to be careful, Raphael,” Jasper told him gravely as he walked over to him.
His study allowed the two men a private conversation, and Raphael had known Jasper well enough to sense that he would get his honest opinion on the matter at hand.
“Keira is Joan’s friend. She is a good lass. They all are. And I willnae stand for them bein’ disrespected. Ye ken what I mean?”
“Of course,” Raphael assured, pressing his hand to his friend’s shoulder. “The lass merely wished to do some Highland sightseein’, and I was happy to oblige, especially with the cèilidh at our home bein’ organized soon.”
“Aye.” Jasper nodded.
Something told Raphael that his friend wasn’t all that convinced, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that Raphael was leaving Jasper’s home with Keira joining him in the carriage. As for what would happen later… well, he would happily cross that bridge when he got to it.
“I’ll go see if the lass is ready,” Raphael said, and without waiting for Jasper’s response, left the study and headed down the corridor, in the direction of Keira’s chamber.
He knocked on her door only twice, sturdily. Her voice came from within, and upon being called, he opened the door. She was still in the process of packing her suitcase, which seemed already full to the brim. With a nightgown folded in her hands, she lifted her head to him.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said, smiling.
“Were ye expectin’ someone else?” he teased, entering, then closing the door behind him.
“I thought the girls returned to give me more advice,” she revealed.
“Ah.” He nodded, walking around the bed over to her.
She hastily placed the delicate nightgown in the suitcase and closed it, as if she were hiding a most secretive thing from his sight.
“Did they advise ye not to come?” he inquired, eyeing her playfully.
To be quite honest, it was difficult to look at anything else. She was utterly mesmerizing, and the way she blushed every time he made her self-conscious about something made this game even more fun.
“No,” she said quickly. Suspiciously quickly.
He stepped closer to her. Now, they were standing face to face, and he was staring at her like an animal about to attack its prey. He thought she would look away, but she held his gaze, surprising him.
“Then, ye must not have told them all the conditions of our wee deal,” he surmised. The blush on her cheeks assured him he was right in thinking so. “And I thought they were yer best friends. Dinnae best friends share everythin’?”
She pouted before replying, “I tell my friends everything.”
“But this,” he reminded her.
She didn’t like that, and he liked it too much. His grin and her blush proved it.
