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“Why dinnae ye escape before?” he asked.

“I was alone,” she said.

Evan nodded in understanding. Amelie pressed her lips together, feeling emotion swell inside her. It was still difficult for her to speak. The emotions careened through her body, becoming so tense that it almost hurt.

“I am sorry, for coming here… with him,” she said.

Evan clenched his jaw. “He must hae made ye feel special for ye tae gae off like this,” he said. Amelie heard the hitch in his voice. They were so close to death, however, that she didn’t want there to be anything left unsaid.

“It was nae him. It was ye… I… I was upset. After seeing ye with the maid…”

“She dinnae mean anything tae me, Amelie. I know I hae a wee bit of a reputation, but one of the reasons why there were sae many girls is because I was looking for something, something I was nae sure I would ever find. But I did find it with ye. I could share everything with ye. It was more real than anything I hae experienced before. I could nae keep my eyes off of ye, and all I wanted was tae see ye again.”

“Sae why dinnae ye come tae the nunnery?”

It was his turn to look away. “Because I remembered the way ye hae turned yer back on me. I knew ye dinnae want anything tae dae with me, and I thought that I would just be making ye uncomfortable. But then the chance tae see ye came. I thought that in time I might stop thinking about ye, but ye never left ye mind. I needed tae come tae ye and tell ye everything that was in my heart, but I thought I was tae late.”

Amelie gasped. “Dae ye really feel that way?”

Evan took her hands in his. “Amelie, I love ye,” he said. The words slipped out of his mouth as naturally as his breath. Never had she believed she would ever hear someone saying something so pure to her. She had always cast doubt whenever anyone had given her a compliment, always thought that there was some kind of trick being played, but it was time she accepted that Evan was being earnest. Their fingers entwined together. Being so close to him again stirred arousal and desire within her heart, and she found herself falling into him.

“I love ye tae,” she admitted, although her words were lost as she leaned into him and they shared another kiss. The sweet warmth ran through her body, making it tingle all the way to her core. The kiss was slow, their lips pressing together softly as they shared these deep emotions, and she thought herself a fool again for daring to believe that this had not been something profound.

They smiled shyly as they stopped to catch their breath. They pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes. Their breath swirled in the air.

He wore a broad smile, although it was tinged with something a little more serious. “As much as I would like tae keep on kissing ye, I dinnae think Munro is gaeing tae be gone for tae long. We should probably think of a plan tae escape. Dae ye know how many men he hae here? What are his habits like?”

“He stays in this inn, mostly. There hae been other men coming tae the room. I dinnae know how many exactly. He dinnae try tae hide himself, though. He must be comfortable here.”

Evan nodded. “And we shall hae tae wait for nightfall. I dinnae like our chances of escaping until then. I will get ye back tae ye brother safe and sound, Amelie. I promise. Munro might think he hae the upper hand, but he is nae gaeing tae get what he wants.”

Amelie believed his words. With Evan by her side, all the fear was fleeing her body. To prepare for their escape, though, they needed to make sure that Munro didn’t notice anything was different. They pulled the ropes over their wrists again, although left them loose so that Munro would not realize their arms were free. While they were alone, they took the opportunity to kiss again, and Amelie was amazed by how easily she could lean into these feelings. She was determined to not let Evan go again. Whatever he had done in his past did not matter. It was all about the future they were going to share with each other, a future they were going to have to fight for because Munro wished to take it from them.

“Ye hae a beautiful voice,” Evan murmured. This time Amelie didn’t try to disagree with him, nor did she dismiss his words as being hollow. After all, it wasn’t for her to say what he should find beautiful or not.