to sit, sensing he needed this moment of quiet. She undressed him. Sweat and dirt stained his shirt. Fortunately, the streaks of dirt on his breeches could easily be brushed out.
“Your neck cloth and coat will hide the soil on your shirt, at least long enough for us to get away.”
He nodded.
His strange manner was unsettling.
She knelt in front of him. “Aidan, has something horrible happened?”
He made more of an effort then. “It’s been a long night.”
“When will we know if you’ve succeeded?”
Shrugging, he asked, “What time is it?”
“Almost four, I suspect.”
He nodded, but when he didn’t speak, she took his hand in hers. “Let’s return to bed. It is out of our hands now. You have done everything you could.”
“Yes.”
Expecting him to lie down, she started to rise, but he caught her by the shoulders. He pulled her into his lap and hugged her close, his arms like strong bands around her. He held her tightly.
“Aidan, what is wrong?” she whispered in his ear.
“I killed a man, Anne.”
The words were etched in such deep regret they were almost painful to hear. She brought her arms around him. “You had no choice?”
For the first time since he’d entered the room, Aidan’s gaze met hers. “I had no choice.”
She cradled the side of his whiskered jaw with her hand. Tears welled in her eyes. She felt his anguish as if it were her own. “My poor love. My poor, poor love.”
For a long time they sat this way…and then he began kissing her. “I need you, Anne. I need you.” His hand loosened her sheet.
“I know.” She shifted so the sheet could slip down around her waist.
His fingertips lightly outlined her lips. “You are right. No one wins at war.”
She didn’t know what to say. No words were adequate. Instead, she opened her arms and he came to her. She hugged him close, her fingers combing his hair.
“Anne,” he whispered against her breast. His tongue flicked the sensitive nipple before he lowered her onto the mattress.
They made love. This time, it was different than it had been during the joyful afternoon when they had been enamored with the excitement of discovery.
Now their lovemaking was a solace, a search for meaning in a world that often seems senseless. A bonding.
When they were done, he was able to sleep.
But Anne couldn’t. She held him in her arms and kept watch, praying his sacrifice was enough to free them—knowing that if it wasn’t, she would follow him anywhere, even to death.
Well past dawn, Anne heard shouting. Aidan woke. They both lay still, listening.
Booted footsteps bounded up the stairs and pounded on the room belonging to Major Lambert. He summoned the messenger in. A second later, he swore with frustration.
She strained to hear what was being said but there was too much noise. Aidan rose from the bed and crossed over to the window, heedless of his nakedness.
“What is happening?” she asked.
“I don’t know—yet.” He turned from the window and gave her a inscrutable smile. Aidan’s smile. Whatever had haunted him the night before had passed. The ends of his newly cut hair stood up every which way, and he needed a shave.
She didn’t think he’d ever appeared more handsome.
Colonel Witherspoon was now awake. He stopped outside their door in the hall. “What is it, Major? What is going on?”
Anne reached for Aidan’s hand, uncertain of what to expect. Aidan was as tense as she was.
“It’s the prisoner,” Major Lambert said, lowering his voice. “Robbie Gunn is dead.”
Chapter 16
“The devil you say,” the colonel snapped. Aidan pulled Anne away from the door.
“Get dressed,” he whispered. He reached for his breeches hanging over the back of the chair.
“But Aidan, they’ve killed Robbie Gunn.” The implications of their act overwhelmed her. The Highlands would be set aflame with war and strife. Kelwin and all the people who made it special could be destroyed.
“Anne, get dressed,” he ordered. He was already buttoning his breeches.
“Aidan—?”
Suddenly he was in front of her, silencing her protest with a kiss, his hands gripping her arms. He broke the kiss, his gaze intent. “I ask you to trust me. Now, do as I say. We don’t have much time.”
Woodenly, she moved to obey. She reached for her chemise at the end of the bed and dropped the sheet to the floor. Aidan pushed his head through the neck of his shirt and shrugged on his vest, buttoning the front so the worst of the dirt stains were effectively hidden. Then, without warning, he