Nodding his thanks, he went upstairs to gather the women. He had enough problems of his own without adding a lonely lass to the equation.
He rapped his knuckles on the door and waited.
Mary answered. “Good morn, my lord.”
“’Twill be once we are on the road,” he said gruffly.
*
“I fear theearl is upset with me, Mary. Rightly so, I suppose.”
Lizzie had hardly slept all night. She just tossed and turned, kicking herself for the things she had said to Malcolm. It wasn’t her place and she should have just kept her mouth shut.
Her mama had oft told her it would get her into trouble one day. It appeared the day had come.
“I am certain he is only grumpy due to having to sleep on the floor again,” Mary offered, trying to make her feel better.
It didn’t help. She would apologize to Malcolm when they were on the road. Which would be soon, since he was here to gather them up.
His brows were furrowed as he entered the room and gave her a curt nod. His appearance seemed to suck all of the air out of the room.
She and Mary had been up since before dawn. All the tossing and turning she’d done had kept Mary awake, which she felt very bad about. She’d apologized multiple times, but Mary just swept her hand in dismissal. Tired of waiting for sleep to come, she gave up the fight and they both got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.
Because of their delays yesterday, she had an inkling Malcolm would want to be on the road as early as possible this morn, and she wasn’t wrong.
He picked up their bags. “Are these all ye have?” he asked gruffly.
“Aye.”
Without another word, he walked stiffly out of the room, his mouth in a thin line. They had no choice but to hurry after him. Divine smells from the kitchen wafted through the halls, assaulting her senses and her stomach growled in response. If Malcolm heard, he paid no attention and walked out the door into the cool morning air.
John was waiting for them to exit, stepping forward to take the bags from Malcolm and securing them to the back of the carriage.
Mary followed her inside and they settled on the bench, waiting for Malcolm to join them.
He poked his head inside. “I need to settle up with the innkeeper. I will be back shortly.” He backed out, but then stuck his head inside once again. “Dinna go anywhere.”
She wasn’t sure where he thought they would go. But she nodded and watched him leave.
When he returned a few moments later, he held a cloth covered basket that he brought inside the carriage.
Lizzie kenned what it was immediately. The same smells from the kitchen now filled the interior and as the carriage rocked to a start, she couldn’t stop looking longingly at the basket.
Would it be rude to ask if they could break their fast? She worried her lip as she thought about it.
It would, she decided. But then she remembered she had a more pressing matter to attend first.
“My lord,” she called, drawing his eyes from the window to her.
He didn’t say anything, just raised a brow in question. His blue eyes questioning as he met her own eyes in response.
“I feel I owe ye an apology. Sometimes I speak without thinking, and I fear I did just that last night. I shouldna have said those things, and I apologize for doing so.”
The way he looked at her was disconcerting. Was he trying to ascertain if she spoke the truth? She did indeed. She felt awful about what she’d said. It was why she couldn’t sleep last night.
After a long silence, he nodded. “Apology accepted. Though I should do the same. I wasna acting gentlemanly in any way.”
Pressing her lips together, she hid her smile behind her hand.
