Page 172 of Wicked Highland Heroes

“I will walk.”

“You are safe with me, Lady Rhoslyn,” St. Claire said. “No one will ever again harm you.”

She snapped her head up, startled by the harshness in his voice. The hard line of his mouth was set in the granite of his face.

“Put me down,” she whispered. He didn’t respond. “St. Claire!”

He halted and looked at her.

Ross reached his side and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Lad, mayhap we can find a more discreet exit. If ye carry your wife out the front door there will be talk. ‘Tis best for Lady Rhoslyn if we avoid gossip.”

St. Claire stared down at her, intense eyes filled with an emotion she didn’t understand. The need to cry nearly overwhelmed her.

“I will walk,” she managed in a shaky voice.

He hesitated, then lowered her feet to the floor. The tremble in her stomach reached her legs and she feared her knees wouldn’t hold her weight. She couldn’t deny that she was thankful he kept a strong arm around her back.

“There must be a servants’ entrance, Ross,” St. Claire said.

He nodded and left. Rhoslyn realized she was alone with the man whose brother had violated her. Her husband. Suddenly, she wanted to be as far away from him as possible, as far away from anyone as was possible.

“You do not know where he went?” St. Claire asked.

He spoke soft and low, but Rhoslyn discerned the ice in his voice. “He did no’ tell me,” she replied. “Though I believe he wanted to speak with the captain of a ship.”

St. Claire’s gaze sharpened. “Which ship?”

She shook her head.

“He gave no hint of anything?”

Oh, he gave a great many hints; said too many things. A noise in the hallway caused her to start. St. Claire laid a hand on her arm. She jumped back.

“No one will ever harm you again, Lady Rhoslyn,” he said.

Ross appeared in the doorway. “There is a servants’ entrance, just as ye said. But we must make haste.”

St. Claire took a step toward him. “Has Dayton returned?”

“Nay, but Seward has arrived.”

“Damn him,” St. Claire cursed in unison with her “Sweet Jesu.”

“He must no’ know—” Her voice broke.

St. Claire hesitated.

“Please,” Rhoslyn begged. “My grandfather can never know what happened here.”

He nodded. “Ross, take Lady Rhoslyn out the back way and go to the inn on the way out of town. I will deal with Seward and meet you there.”

“He will want to see me,” Rhoslyn said.

“Leave him to me. By the time we meet again, you will be—” his mouth thinned “—more rested. Lust for my brother’s blood will distract him once I assure him you are safely away.” He looked at Ross. “Engage a room for Lady Rhoslyn. See to it her room is guarded at all times. No one save myself or her grandfather is allowed in.”

She fought the sudden desire to cry. Ross nodded. Rhoslyn sent up a prayer to Saint George for strength to get through the day.

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