Highland Hellion (Highland Weddings #3)(30)

No, for all that she might think ill of him for bringing her to McTavish Castle, she could not accuse him of being dishonorable.

So she stripped down and climbed into the tub with a shiver because Ceit had yet to add any hot water. Katherine didn’t care. She started to rub a lump of soap across her arm, delighted to feel the grime being washed away.

*

“Do ye nae worry about yer hair being wet after the sun’s gone down?”

Katherine emerged from the bathhouse to find Adwin keeping watch. The captain was enjoying a thick piece of cheese he’d placed on a hunk of bread. His beard sported crumbles of bread as he chewed.

“I find myself more focused on the fact that it may be a long time before I am able to bathe, so it’s best not to waste my opportunity.”

Adwin swallowed. “It’s yer head, I suppose.” He jerked his toward the kitchens. “This way.”

She didn’t care for being under guard, but Adwin led her away from the cellars, so Katherine moved along without complaint. She heard him smacking his lips as he chewed, and the sound was nearly her undoing. Her mouth began to water as the ache in her belly became painful. The scent of meat had never struck her as so delicious before.

But Adwin didn’t stop in the kitchens. He led her through them as she fought to control her disappointment.

Such seemed her lot among the McTavishes. Well, she’d weather it. Take what Fate was forcing on her. Just as she always had. The only true choice she had was how she stood up to it all.

Hellion?

It sounded far better than pitiful, so she would embrace it.

*

“Ye countermanded me orders.”

Rolfe stood firm in the face of his father’s displeasure and looked him straight in the eye. “I did.”

William snorted and lifted his mug, but he stopped short of drinking from it. “Ye brought her here for gain.”

“Ye wanted to break her,” Rolfe replied. “I told ye, I owe her a debt of gratitude. She should be treated as her station demands.”

“It was a necessary action, brought on by her own escape attempt,” his father responded firmly. “I’ll no’ have that hellion turning me house on its ear.”

“The MacPhersons will no’ be happy to hear how she’s been treated,” Rolfe said softly.

“Lecture me on that, will ye?” his father demanded. “Was it nae ye who told me that she needed a lesson?”

Rolfe nodded, earning a grunt of satisfaction from his sire.

“Ye are the one who tumbled her. Why do ye think I sent ye away?”

“I did no’ tumble her.”

His father choked on his amusement. “Everyone saw the hay sticking to her.”

“I stopped her from escaping,” Rolfe explained.

His father smiled brightly at him. “Mind ye, I’m rather relieved to see that shell of honor ye’ve always worn cracking. There are times a laird must employ a bit of deception to gain what he seeks. It’s canny.”

“I am not deceiving ye.”

William shook his head. “I’m missing part of me leg, no’ one of me eyes, boy. I saw the way that lass was looking at ye, her eyes wide and her lips swollen. Ye kissed her. Deny it, and I’ll call ye a liar.”

Rolfe snapped his jaw shut. His father roared with amusement.

“It’s no’ that I blame ye—she’s a fine sight—but I’ll no’ have ye taking up with any English chit.”

“Good night, Father.”

His sire slapped the arm of the chair he was sitting in. “Did ye hear me, Rolfe?”

Rolfe had started to turn away, but he stopped and made eye contact with his father. He gave him a hard nod before he left the study behind.

He had kissed her.

And he had scarcely stopped thinking about it since.

Perhaps the rest of the clan saw him as honorable, but the truth was that he’d been less than respectable in his dealings with Katherine.

He stopped in the passageway, quelling the urge to hit the wall out of frustration.

His position gave him a view of the great hall. Adwin was playing dice with Cedric and others. As it was late in the evening, supper had been cleared away and many had sought their beds. Rolfe looked toward the stairs that led to the top of the tower. He didn’t doubt that Adwin had made certain Katherine was secure in a chamber.

But he wanted to make sure.

The urge was strong, so much so that it made him hesitate.

But that was the extent of the hold his better judgment had on him. He was halfway up the tower stairs before he finished thinking the matter through. Was it truly a case of wanting to make certain she’d been treated fairly, or was he standing outside her chamber door because he just couldn’t stop thinking about how much he’d enjoyed the taste of her?

*

Someone knocked.

Katherine turned in time to see the chamber door opening. The stairwell was dark, but the candle she had burning in the chamber cast a yellow light over Rolfe. He found her quickly, his jaw tightening.

“Ye do nae have to be against the wall when this door opens,” he informed her.

“I was looking out the window.” She wasn’t sure why she wanted to soothe the anger in him. In some way, his ire should have pleased her, provided balm for her wounded pride. But it didn’t.