“Where is she now?”
“I assume in the tent, but she is probably listening for you. Thought you should be warned. She’ll want to know where you have been.”
“Thank you for that.”
She started to turn except Silas asked, “Wherehaveyou been?”
Kate straightened. So, now the lying begins. “I couldn’t sleep. I went for a walk. However, now, I find myself very tired. I’m for my bed. And you?”
He answered, “Kate, do you know what you are doing?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Silas took a step closer to her. “You do. I don’t know where you’ve been. However, I have an idea of what you’ve been up to. Young men take on crazy ideas. They don’t know boundaries. You are usually careful about such things.”
He thought she’d been with Winderton. Kate decided not to correct him. Brandon was her secret.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Silas. It was that what she had experienced tonight with Brandon was very new and fraught with many potential hazards. Kate was a master at the art of being wary.
“I went for a walk, Silas. I appreciate you and Jess being concerned.” She silently dared him to challenge her.
Seconds passed like minutes and then he stepped back. “Very well. As you say. A walk. I beg pardon.”
“Thank you. You also need your sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
“Aye.” There was a pause and then he said, “We will be going to London soon, won’t we?”
“Of course.”
He nodded and his features relaxed slightly.
“Come, let’s go to bed.” She spoke quietly and his shoulders suddenly sagged as if he, too, carried a great deal of worry.
Chances were he did. Silas was ever present. She didn’t know how she could have made it over the past years without him. She tucked her hand in his arm and walked with him to the tents. At the door of the women’s tent, she gave him a peck on his furrowed forehead. “We both worry too much, Silas. The plans have not changed. There is no duke in my future. And I am grateful for your care and concern.” Those were the right words. He gave a short bow of his head and made his way to the men’s quarters.
Kate went inside her tent. A cave could not be darker. Mary snuffled softly in her sleep. Jess appeared asleep, although who knew? Kate removed the cloak and pulled the dress over her nightgown. She climbed into her cot. It was a far cry from Brandon’s mattress.
Her skin smelled of him. She stretched, recalling how it felt to have his body against hers, indentations that matched her own... the feel of him inside her.
And that was when she knew Jess was not asleep. She could feel the girl staring at her.
Her response was to turn on her side, giving Jess her back. In a blink, she fell into an easy sleep.
Bran woke surprised to see his bedroom was full of light. Usually he was up before dawn to give Orion a workout.
In truth, for the first time in what seemed ages, he felt fully rested—and then he remembered. Kate.
He was alone in his bed. There was even an indent in the mattress where she’d been.
Bran jumped up. His clothes were still on the floor; hers were gone.
A knock sounded on the door. “Who is it?”
“Randall, sir. Her Grace would like for you to come at your earliest convenience.”
“Oh, bother,” Bran said under his breath.
“Also, I brought over hot buns that Cook served at breakfast. You were missed this morning.”
