the elder sister, innocent of the other sister’s acts. She had been trying to save him from the start, and all he’d done was abduct her at knifepoint, abuse her tender sensibilities with his temper, and force his attentions on her more than once.
Shame, an emotion that Brodie rarely felt, overpowered him in that moment. He’d ruined her life. She’d tried to help him that night, and he’d devastated her with his actions.
“Sorry, kitten, I am no gentleman, regardless of how I present myself in society. I am enjoying this little battle of wills between you two far too much.” Rafe chuckled in clear delight.
“Then you are worse than Mr. Kincade. At least he’s honest about his ill intentions,” Lydia accused. It was backhanded praise that was not at all deserved. Honest about his ill intentions? It only made Brodie’s guilt deepen until it felt like a great weight pulling down on his stomach.
He was a bastard. When his brothers found out, he would take a beating to be sure. Perhaps it was not too late to send her back? No. Her father was likely on their trail as it was, and given what he’d been capable of before, Brodie fully expected the man to be prepared to put a bullet through his heart.
He rushed back to his chamber to have Alan pack at once. He needed to reach Edinburgh, fast. He had to find a way to fix things. Not that he was sure that was even possible. The ways of English society were like a deep bog covered in reeds to provide the illusion of stable ground. It was more likely that he’d make matters worse somehow.
Perhaps he should take her to Castle Kincade instead? Let Joanna and Brock take care of her? They could escort her home and perhaps concoct some kind of story explaining her absence. At least then he could escape facing the girl’s father on the dueling field.
The one thing he could not do was let Lydia know he had learned the truth. She would want to go home to Bath, and he wasn’t ready to let her go. It was selfish, but he had to admit it. In the last two days, he had grown accustomed to waking with her in bed beside him. He was also completely addicted to kissing her. The innocence he had believed she feigned was already luring him in like a siren did a sailor to perilous rocks. He was hopelessly infatuated with her. And knowing that she was not the heartless chit who’d had him abducted, but rather that she was the sweet woman she’d appeared to be . . . It made him even more protective and possessive. He wouldn’t share her with anyone. Perhaps he truly should turn her into his official mistress and treat her as such, with all the pleasures and things that would see to her every comfort and desire.
If he did that, things would have to change, of course. She couldn’t travel unaccompanied any further. She needed a proper maid to look after her.
He called to his valet as he was finishing folding up a shirt to pack away. “Alan.”
“Yes, sir?” the young man answered.
“Run downstairs and inquire whether one of the more decent maids would be willing to work as a lady’s maid. Offer a proper wage.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.” The lad left the room, and Brodie paced back and forth, considering his options.
He would take Lydia to Edinburgh, and he would keep moving as long as he thought her father was still on their trail. Perhaps her father would give up before too long. Unlikely, but still a possibility.
“Mr. Kincade? I found a woman to be the lady’s maid,” Alan announced.
Brodie looked up to see the comely maid who had brought them breakfast.
“You agree to serve as a maid to my wife?” Brodie asked the girl. Behind her, Alan’s eyes widened when Brodie said my wife, but the young man made no other betrayal in his features.
“Yes, sir. I have been wanting to leave my employment at the inn for some time. My mother was a lady’s maid to a gentlewoman. I know what is expected.” The young woman bowed her head respectfully. “I also know that anything that I learn while in service will be kept a secret. I wouldn’t wish to endanger my ability to have a future reference should I leave your employment.”
“Ah..” Brodie sighed. “So you know then that the woman isna my wife?”