need, throbbed. For an instant, he imagined drawing her down with him on the bed and opening her shift. Finding her breasts. He already knew what her nipple would feel like in his warm mouth, for they’d been naked together in his dreams.
Yet another part of Lennox sensed something was wrong. His strong inner voice was telling him to stop. Tasting salt in her kiss, he drew back. Could it be that she was weeping?
“Nora!”
“Don’t you want me?” she whispered.
“By God, I want ye far too much, but this is not right. I cannot lie with a woman like you in such a way, and I know damned well ye don’t want that either. Not truly. Did you think, if ye gave your body to me, that would persuade me to take ye away?” He heard the ragged emotion in his own voice.
“Isn’t that the way of it with men?” Nora covered her face and turned away from him, clearly ashamed. “It seemed my simple plea was not enough, and I have nothing else to offer.”
Lennox leaned forward and firmly closed the front of her cloak. “Ye misjudge me, lass. I am not like those other men. Tell me plainly why ye must leave Stirling, so I may make a reasoned decision.”
“Why can you not trust me when I say it is a matter of true urgency?”
Just as he tried to get a clearer view of her face, a cloud covered the moon, and the chamber grew even darker. “What does this mean? Are ye in danger?”
Nora stared at him. As their eyes met for a long moment, he seemed to see into her soul. “If I stay,” came her soft reply, “I truly do not know what would become of me.” She swallowed. “I am filled with fear. I have no choice but to leave, quickly.”
“What of your da? Can he not protect you?”
“It is Father who may well threaten me,” Nora whispered urgently. “Please believe me when I say that I simply cannot speak of this matter. Do not ask me to say more.”
He drew a deep, scorching breath. “Aye, then. I will do it.”
For some reason, he expected her to react as other women had when he he’d granted a heartfelt plea, exclaiming in joy and coming into his arms. But Nora Brodie’s response was merely a solemn nod.
“I have prayed you would agree,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Just before dawn, I will come to your door. Listen for my one soft tap.”
“I am truly grateful.” Her chin trembled for only an instant before she rose and started toward the door.
This is mad, Lennox thought again, remembering William Brodie. “Nora, what about your da? Do ye intend to leave his care without a word? He will believe I’ve kidnapped his fair daughter and raise a hue and cry!”
“Nay. I have already written a letter. I will leave it behind, so he understands I have gone by choice.” The faintest of smiles touched her mouth. “In it, I have reminded him that I am two-and-twenty years of age. A woman grown. And this is Scotland, where I am free to live my life as I choose.”
* * *
Back in her own bed, Nora lay awake for the next few hours. Everything was in readiness. She had packed only a few essentials into a satchel, yet in a weak moment, Nora had slipped out to the workroom and taken a few finger-shaped wooden bobbins of her favorite yarns, dyed in bright hues by mixing herbs like weld, madder, and woad. She also rolled up and stowed two smaller tapestries. One choice was purely sentimental: the first little tapestry she’d woven as a child. It portrayed her pet rabbit, one ear up and one down, the weaving neater, tighter, cleaner on the top than the bottom. Nora had never forgotten the strange thrill she’d felt as she became increasingly capable of weaving at a small loom without her father’s assistance. It was a passion that only grew stronger through the years as her skills sharpened.
Before dawn, Nora rose and washed one more time. She was grateful to feel numb again, for if she stopped to truly consider what she was doing, she might have wept. All her life, her father had been her guide and often her only friend, the one person who understood her. It would break his heart, she knew, to find that she had run away.
Yet there simply was no other choice. It was impossible to tell her