“Yes,” she gasped.
“Then I must go.”
Propping up on an elbow, her lower lip jaunted out into a pout. “Will I see you later tonight?”
“If that is what ye wish,” he said as he climbed off the bed and dressed himself. The pout on her face was almost comical and he leaned down to run his fingers through her soft hair. The sound of the magpies chirping outside caught his attention and he knew he was running out of time.
“I ken that ye daenae like to have an escort around the castle,” Jude said rising from her. “But if ye promise me ye willnae go outside, I willnae have Felix or Ronan follow ye today.”
Cleo shot up. “You mean I won’t have a shadow following me?”
Jude closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’ll have Felix attend to Hugh instead.”
Cleo stared at him and he could see the disbelief and shock on her face. A part of him was pleased to see her in such spirits. He knew in the depths of his being that he wanted to please her in every way, even if that meant going against his better judgment.
A smile returned to her face. “I promise. I won’t go out without a guard. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled by the sudden change of heart, but what brought this on?”
“I have several men questionin’ the staff tryin’ to get to the bottom of why anyone would poison us. There have been a few new leads which I will address today and if all goes well, then we may have a suspect in the tower by tonight and the lock downs will be no longer needed,” he said.
“That’s fantastic news,” Cleo said. Jude’s heart swelled in his chest. Cleo’s smile was contagious and he smiled with her as she beamed like the sun in his eyes.
“Now, if ye’ll excuse me,” Jude said.
“Of course, my love,” Cleo said bowing her head.
“Is there anythin’ I can get ye before I go?”
“Do you suppose you could send Paige up?” Cleo asked. “I do not wish to ruin your day but perhaps having a good book in between a few bites of something to eat would brighten my spirits. After all,” she said, turning to the window. “I think the sky looks a bit gray. Perhaps it will rain.”
“Are ye daft?” Jude asked staring out the window to the bright sky.
“What?” Cleo asked as he caught her glancing at him in the corner of his eye.
“We have nae had rain in nearly three months,” Jude said.
“Then perhaps we shall today,” Cleo said with a smirk. “Perhaps today would be a good day to stay indoors. Or with Felix by my side, I could possibly practice outside again with bow and arrow. I’m sure Felix has a few pointers that he would like to give me. If it’s all right with you, of course?” Cleo asked as Jude tuck his shirt into his trews and slip into his boots.
There was no denying the fact that he enjoyed Cleo’s enthusiasm about learning how to use the bow and a smile drifted over his lips as he nodded.
“Ye may go to the courtyard, but I daenae want ye leavin’ the castle grounds.”
“I promise I will stay with Felix,” Cleo said as she crossed her fingers over her heart.
“Good,” Jude said as he leaned over the edge of the bed and planted a kiss on her forehead. He pulled away slowly. Regret filled him as he knew he had to leave her but there was so much that he needed to do and no one he could trust to see it done thoroughly. “I will see ye at dinner.”
Cleopatra nodded as she curled the blanket to her chest, her wild hair flowing freely around her shoulders causing Jude’s heart to flutter. It didn’t matter if she was looking prim and proper in her elegant dresses or if she laid disheveled with her hair flowing freely around her. She was still like a goddess to him, and he couldn’t help but feel like the luckiest guy on the planet for being with such an attractive and smart woman as Cleo.
“Until tonight then,” Jude said as he moved towards the door and pulled it open.
The servants were busying themselves in the hallway, cleaning the rooms and dusting fine furniture. He realized that Cleopatra was right about his stress levels. It seemed ever since he had finished making love to her everything had a brighter tint to it. The shadows that had been lingering in the back of his mind were pushed aside and he realized that perhaps she was right about him being paranoid.
“My Laird,” Ian said as he passed Jude in the hallway.
Jude stopped and waited for his mentor to come to him. As usual, Ian pushed paperwork into Jude’s hands. It was just as he suspected, there were tons of work to attend to, but he knew that there was no way he was going to be able to get Cleo off his mind. He nodded sharply to Ian and moved toward the study.
“Just to inform ye, sire,” Ian said, “but ye do have a tagalong in yer study today.”
Jude stopped and turned to look at Ian with a raised eyebrow. He tilted his head. “Excuse me?”
“The young master is in yer study.”
“Oh,” Jude said with a hint of a smile. If he knew anything about his son, he knew that Hugh was just as restless as Cleo was, and chances were, Hugh was there to gain as much attention from him as possible.
“Is it possible that ye may have been neglectin’ Hugh these past several weeks since Cleopatra has arrived?” Ian asked in a low muffed voice. Jude shook his head.
“If anythin’, he has had more attention. From me understandin’ Cleo has spent a lot of time teachin’ him to read and write,” Jude said.
“Aye, but when was the last time the boy went outside the castle? It’s been several weeks since ye locked
