Regency Proposal. Ann Lethbridge

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СКАЧАТЬ dreams and wishes. Reality in the shape of his brothers’ shock at seeing them together had brought him back to earth, but he’d never stopped feeling guilty for the hurt look on her face at his rejection and cruel words spoken in parting. That guilt had sent Drew to his death. He would not let her influence him against his family again. But she had made up for it in part, at least, with tonight’s warning.

      ‘Thank you for coming tonight. Without your warning we would have been caught. I wish you had not come down to the beach, though. I would have handled it.’

      She sighed. ‘I thought the Revenue men would follow the goods and we could ride up the path on the other side.’

      He was surprised by the resignation in her voice. ‘How did you know of their plans?’

      ‘Through my father. I should have sought you out earlier in the day.’ She sighed. ‘I was almost too late.’ She shook her head. ‘Why risk lives for a few tuns of brandy? How will the women and children survive without their men?’

      She was lecturing him? After all her father had done to destroy their way of life? ‘They can’t live on fresh air.’

      ‘Well, they can’t live on brandy.’

      ‘You are a Sassenach. What do you know about what my people need?’

      She flinched and he felt like a brute. His rough direct ways did not suit a drawing-room miss. Not that she’d seemed much like a lady riding bareback to his rescue.

      ‘It brings money to purchase what they can live on,’ he explained. More than that, though—it was an investment in the future.

      After a few moments’ silence, she turned to face him. ‘Do you think we were recognised?’

      He shook his head. ‘They were too far away.’

      She breathed a sigh of relief. That small little breath, that mark of gladness, sparked warmth in his chest. Foolish warmth. She was the daughter of his clan’s worst enemy. He’d do well to keep that in mind.

      But she had risked a great deal tonight and he would not have her suffering for it. ‘The sooner we get you back to the keep, the better,’ he said, ‘before you are missed. Hold up your clothes to the fire so they will dry.’

      She did as he bid and they both sat toasting her clothes, watching the steam rise from them to mingle with the smoke from the fire.

      ‘Why do your people try to turn back the clocks? Bonnie Prince Charlie is never returning.’

      She understood nothing. ‘My people were here long before the English. Yes, they need to move with the times, but not give up who they are, their traditions or their homeland. All the great landowners are turning their land over to sheep. Or using it for sport. They are leaving nothing for the clan members. If you take away their livelihood, then they need other work to replace it. Instead of that, they are being left destitute, labouring in the kelp fields or smuggling whisky. Hundreds of them have shipped off to America. Soon there will be no Highlanders left.’

      She frowned. ‘Don’t the crofters earn enough to pay their rents?’

      ‘The rents keep going up.’ He combed his fingers through his almost-dry hair as he sought for a way to explain without giving away his plans. ‘The old ways, such as crofting, are no longer viable, but I believe other ways can be found to keep the people here. In Scotland. But the English, men like your father, pass laws that make it impossible for us to earn a living. Those are what need to be changed.’

      Her silence said she wasn’t convinced. Hell, he was barely convinced himself that changing the law would make a difference. Yet some men were making a go of it, but they were men who owned their estates, who had the power to decide the best way to proceed. If Albright decided to clear his lands, in the end there was little Ian could do about it.

      ‘Must we swim back?’ she asked.

      At last a question he could answer with confidence. ‘No. The cave has a back door. Or a front door, depending on your point of view.’

      ‘Then we should go. I cannot be found missing from my bed when the maid comes to light the fire.’ She shivered.

      Instinctively, his arm went around her. He touched her cheek. The skin was warm and alive beneath his fingers, her mouth so deliciously inviting. Her back was frigid beneath his arm. No wonder she had shivered.

      ‘We have to get you fully dry first.’

      ‘I am much warmer than I was.’

      ‘Aye, but not warm enough.’ He lifted her easily and set her between his legs, so her back was against the warmth of his body, her round little bottom nestled between his thighs. He almost groaned with the pleasure as his body hardened and he prayed she could not feel it through the blanket. He forced himself to ignore the delightful sensation and instead focused on the feel of her cold back permeating through her blanket and his. He pulled her close up against his chest.

      ‘What are you doing?’ she asked breathlessly.

      ‘Body heat. The closer we sit together, the warmer we will both be. Something I learned on cold nights when out on the hunt with the men of the clan.’

      She leaned back and hummed her approval. The sound struck low in his gut. His arousal swelled painfully. He forced himself to breathe and to think. This woman was not for him.

      She laughed a little.

      ‘What?’ he said through gritted teeth.

      ‘I’m thinking about a bunch of men snuggled together.’

      ‘Not pleasant, believe me. Men stink after days in the hills. But it saved us from freezing to death or returning empty-handed.’

      ‘The clan always protects its members.’

      ‘Aye.’

      ‘One of them gave you away tonight.’

      ‘Possibly.’ A traitor in their midst. The thought gave him a cold feeling in his gut. It would have to be addressed, though. As soon as the hue and cry died down. ‘You didn’t hear who spilled the beans?’

      ‘No.’

      Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy, would it?

      He rubbed her finely boned arms with his hands, taking care not to hurt her. Heat blossomed beneath his palms.

      ‘That feels good.’ She sighed.

      He wanted to do more than warm her arms. He wanted to take her with him to the stars and back. A boy’s long-ago dream. It was no more right today than it had been then.

      The sooner he got her home, the sooner he could be rid of temptation. It would lead to nothing but trouble for all of them.

      The thought of her leaving made the fire seem to blaze less brightly and the cave seem more cavernous and empty. Not since Drew’s departure had he enjoyed one of these night-time adventures, he realised, or shared his worries about the future.

      How much more disloyal could he be to his brother’s memory? Probably СКАЧАТЬ