'A simple mistake, Alec,' Jamie argued. 'I have a fine sense of direction.'
'Have you been many places to test this theory?'
'No. And while you're scowling at me, I have another question to put to you.
Were you pleased with me last night?'
He looked as if he wanted to laugh. Jamie thought she'd kill him if he did.
'Well? Was I any good at it? And don't you dare ask me to explain my question.
You know very well what I'm talking about.'
She would die if he told her she wasn't any good. Her hands were squeezing the reins tightly, making indentations in her palms, so horribly nervous had she suddenly become, and she was furious with herself for asking. 'You'll get better.'
He knew exactly what to say to her to get her temper riled. She thought there might be fire in her eyes when she looked up at him.
Alec was smiling at her. The tenderness in his eyes told her he knew how important her question was to her. 'I'll get better?' she strangled out. 'Why you-'
'We'll practice, Jamie, once we get home, every single night, until you get it right.'
That promise given, he nudged his stallion forward. Jamie didn't know what to make of his outrageous remark. She thought he'd just insulted her, but the way he was looking at her when he said they were going to practice did make her think he was looking forward to it.
No matter how she looked at it, she always came up with the same conclusion:
Alec Kincaid had about as much compassion as a goat.
Still, she guessed she should give him his due. He had acted with true kindness when he allowed her to sleep well past dawn. She'd needed the additional rest, and though she blamed Alec for draining all the strength out of her the night before, she still admitted he'd shown a little mercy. Perhaps he wasn't completely hopeless, after all. Jamie changed her mind about her husband by late afternoon. They'd ridden through the woods most of the morning, pausing only once to refresh themselves by a rippling river. Alec barely spoke a civil word to her. He seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts. Jamie tried, several times in fact, to engage him in conversation, but Alec ignored her questions with a rudeness she found disconcerting. He stood on the grassy bank, his hands clasped behind his back. Jamie guessed he was impatient to continue their journey.
'Are you waiting for the horses to have their rest or for me?' she called out when she couldn't stand the silence a moment longer.
'The horses are ready,' he answered. He hadn't even bothered to look at her when he spoke. She briefly considered pushing him into the river to get his full attention, then decided against it. If he didn't drown, he would surely be spitting mad, and she had enough to worry about with her own aches and pains.
Listening to him rant and rave would only make her day all the more sour.
Jamie settled herself on Wildfire's back before calling out to Alec again. 'I'm ready now. Thank you for stopping.'
'You asked.'
His voice was so filled with surprise she was taken aback. 'I must always ask?'
'Of course.'
Well, hell, he could have mentioned that odd little rule hours sooner. 'And you'll always honor my requests, Alec?'
He swung up into his saddle before answering her. 'If it's possible.'
Their horses were so close together that Alec's leg brushed against hers.
'Then why didn't you stop when I asked you to last night?' she blurted out.
He grabbed hold of the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. Jamie clung to the saddle, trying to keep her balance.
He waited for her to look up at him, then easily captured her gaze. 'You didn't want me to.' He grinned at her.
'That is the most arrogant-'
He kissed her just to silence her. He meant only to remind her just who was the laird and who was the chattel, but her lips went all soft under his, reminding him just how good she really was. He swept the inside of her mouth with his tongue before pulling away from her. She looked totally bemused. Her hand rested on his cheek, her touch as light as a butterfly. He doubted she even realized she was still caressing him.
'I said I'd honor your requests whenever possible, Jamie. It wasn't possible for me to stop last night.'
'It wasn't?'
The woman was going to make him daft if she continued to ask him to repeat his every word. Alec let her see his exasperation. 'You may take the lead this time,' he announced, thinking to snap her back to the present.
Jamie nodded. She guided Wildfire around Alec's mount and was just ducking under a fat branch barring her way when Alec appeared at her side. The minute he took hold of her reins, she realized her error.
He didn't mention her pitiful sense of direction, and neither did she.
They stopped at sunset in the center of a wide meadow.
Alec reached out to pull on Wildfire's reins. When their mounts were side by side, he still didn't let go of the reins.
His face was impassive now and he stared straight ahead. 'Is there danger, Alec?'
She hadn't been able to keep her worry out of her voice.
Alec shook his head. Would he be sitting in the middle of such an open expanse if there was danger? Her question seemed absurd until he remembered she had no knowledge of the ways of fighting men.
Jamie thought she'd stretch her legs a bit but when she started to dismount, Alec stayed her action by placing his hand on her thigh. His grip wasn't at all gentle.
She caught his silent message quickly enough, but his behavior didn't make any sense to her. She folded her hands on the cantle of her saddle, patiently waiting for Alec to explain what he was doing.
A faint whistle sounded from the forest a fair distance away from them. The trees suddenly seemed to come alive when men wearing brown and yellow plaid began to walk toward them.
Jamie didn't realize she was clutching Alec's leg until his hand covered hers.
'They're allies, Jamie.'
She immediately let go of him, straightened her back, and refolded her hands in her lap. 'I guessed as much,' she whispered.
It was a lie, made blacker still when she added, 'Even from this distance I can see them smiling.'
'An eagle couldn't see their faces from this distance,' he answered dryly.
'We English have perfect eyesight.'
Alec finally turned to look at her. 'Are you jesting with me, wife?'
'You decide, husband.'
'Aye, you are,' Alec answered. 'I've already learned all about the English sense of humor.'
'And what have you learned?'
'You don't have any.'
'That isn't true,' Jamie argued. 'Why, I have the most wonderful sense of humor.' After making that emphatic statement, she turned her face away from him.
'Jamie?'
'Aye, Alec?'
'When they reach us, keep your gaze directed on me. Do not look at anyone else.
Do you understand?'
'You don't want me to look at any of them?'
'That's correct.'
'Why?'
'Don't question my motives, wife.'
His voice had become as brisk as the rising wind. 'Should I speak to them?'
'No.'
'They'll think me rude.'
'They'll think you subservient.'
