Gretna hurried to the second landing and started toward her room, but stopped, her mind whirling. She needed to hide somewhere for a while so that she could make plans to leave. James would likely come to her chamber first, but what would happen if he found her there? Would he force himself on her?
Her heart hammering in her chest, Gretna moved away from her chamber and started up the third landing, where Remy told her that he and the guards were staying. The hallways were dimmer and colder there, the stones uneven, but she didn’t care. James might come looking for her there, but he wouldn’t sway Remy to give her up.
Remy would protect her.
A small nagging thought crossed her mind as she thought about the night of the dancing and how Remy had been engrossed with that maid. What if she was there in his room now? Gretna’s heart hurt in her chest at the thought. While James having a maid in his room aggravated her, Remy doing it would break her heart.
Still, she had to take the chance. Gretna pounded on the first door she found, praying that it was Remy’s, and when the door opened, she sobbed in relief. “Remy.”
“Gretna?” he asked, grasping her arm and pulling her inside. “Wot is wrong? Wot happened?”
Gretna didn’t answer, looking around the small room with relief. There was no one else there but Remy and he was, oh my. “Where is yer clothing?” she blurted out, taking in the bare-chested Remy that stood before her. His hair was wet and he held a towel in his hand as if he had just finished bathing.
“I was readying for bed, lass,” he said, releasing her but making no move to cover up his muscular torso. Gretna’s mouth went dry at the sight, her eyes roving over his well-formed chestand abdomen, her cheeks red when she followed the line of hair down to his waistband.
Gods above, he was a fine specimen!
“Gretna,” Remy said urgently, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Wot happened?”
Right. The reason she had come. Gretna wiped the tears from her cheeks and pulled herself back together. “I just, I witnessed James. The maid.” The words were coming out but making no sense to her ears. “We need tae leave, now.”
Remy eyed her. “We canna leave now, lass. There is a storm outside and it would mean death tae attempt it.” He placed the towel on the narrow bed and reached out, grasping her upper arms gently. “Tell mah why we are in a hurry and who I need tae run mah sword through.”
Gretna gasped in laughter and a dimple appeared on Remy’s cheeks. “There ye go,” he said softly, his hands rubbing her arms. “Git yerself back together so ye can tell mah wot truly is going on, lass.”
Now Gretna understood why she had been thinking of Remy for a while. He never failed to do this, to calm her when she needed it the most. “I caught James kissing one of the maids,” she finally said. “But I donna think that was all they were doing.”
Remy’s jaw worked. “Aye, I suspected that. The maids have loose tongues when they have had too much ale.”
Gretna’s last shred of hope withered and she hung her head. “ I canna marry him.” Ian would be disappointed in her, but Gretna would rather wed a poor Scot than an unfaithful one and she doubted that James would stop after they said their vows. “Tis all mah fault.”
Remy’s fingers touched her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. He looked, well, angered but instead of being afraid of him, Gretna was breathless. “Wot do ye mean, lass? Ye didna push those women into his bed.”
“But I had such hopes for this one,” she said softly. “Mah choice of suitors is starting tae stretch painfully thin, Remy. I canna go back a failure, but I also canna wed him.”
“Nay, lass, ye canna,” he said. “If we could leave tonight, I would get ye out of here.”
Gretna believed him. When it came to Remy, he was all honesty and no lies with her. It was at that moment that Gretna realized that Remy was the type of man she was looking for. He was honest, cared about her safety, helped her through difficult times, and made her laugh. She didn’t even care that he was a warrior with no lofty title.
He was a man that she could fall madly in love with.
His thumb rubbed along the line of her jaw and Gretna’s lips parted, feeling the roughness of his skin next to hers. “Remy,” she whispered, hoping that she wasn’t the only one feeling this way. All along, her answer had been right in front of her and she had been too blinded by what she thought she needed to even see it.
He shook his head. “Nay, lass,” he said, stepping back. “I will take ye back tae yer room and we will depart in the morn.”
Gretna continued to look at him, seeing how he rubbed the back of his neck nervously as if he didn’t know what he truly wished to do with her. Could she have any hope that he felt something for her? “I donna wish tae leave.”
Remy let out a choked laugh, putting even more distance between them to the point that Gretna thought he was going to run into the fireplace. “Ye are safe in yer chambers, Gretna. I will post one of mah own guards tae ensure it.”
Gretna took a bold step forward, her thoughts and feelings becoming clearer by the moment. How could she have been so blind? The seed was there and while she didn’t love him right at this moment, she cared for Remy far more than she wanted to admit.
What did that mean for her future? Gretna didn’t want to think of it now. She only wanted one thing.
Remy’s eyes widened as she closed the distance between them.
“Remy, I want ye tae kiss mah.” She wanted to feel for the first time in her life.
“Nay, lass,” Remy said quickly. “I canna, I shouldna.”
