Darach watched as she turned her back to him and stomped away. He debated whether it was the right thing to follow her and then decided against it.
* * *
Jane rushed forward, determined to put as much space as she could between herself and him. He wouldn’t know, but she hadn’t run away because of his words. She ran because of how his fingers on her cheek had made her feel.
His hand had been rough yet warm. She couldn’t understand why she had reacted the way she had. When he’d touched her cheek, the mere contact had unleashed a streak of bliss straight to her core, causing her legs to clench.
It had been hard to resist the urge to arch farther into his touch, and she could hardly recognize the breathy, feminine sounds that had pushed up from her throat. Thank goodness that she’d swallowed them down quickly. She’d once overheard the maids in her father’s keep describing the intimate things that went on between a man and his woman…
In her young life, Jane had never felt anything like that overcome her… until meeting him.
She shook her head vigorously to free it of such thoughts. “It was naething,” she whispered to herself. “It was naething.” She gathered her skirts closer around her body and hopped over the stone fence dividing the outer keep from the lands beyond.
It was her first time alone, and she decided to spend her afternoon studying the keep’s defenses and looking for a possible escape route. Darach hadn’t given her any choice in the matter, and though he’d given her his word to protect her, Jane couldn’t feel comfortable around him.
She could not understand the man, and the prophecy haunted her still. He might truly do his best to protect her, but she couldn’t put her faith in him. She knew well enough how quickly people could change. She used to be her father’s favorite, and it had only taken him a few days to despise her. Their mother had only taken a week to grow poorly, and then she had been ripped from them forever.
Jane couldn’t stay here—she couldn’t trust a man whose thoughts and decisions could change on a whim.
She kept an eye around her and chose the path that led closest to the lake. There were fewer guards stationed on that side of the castle. She'd rather stay out of their way so no one had to cart her back. She breathed easier when she crept beneath the shade of the trees. She could move in relative obscurity and follow the lake until she was gone.
Her thoughts turned to her situation. Was her father already planning an attack on the Robertson clan? He had to know Darach Robertson was the one who had kidnapped her. Would heconsider a prisoner exchange, or would he prefer to rescue her himself? What would heexpect of her?
Questions burned her mind, and it frustrated her that she could provide no answers. Her mind returned to the laird. He seemed a strange man with strange humors. Each of their encounters revealed a different side to himself.
Jane recalled how the corners of his mouth had lifted in a smile. She’d been shocked and transfixed at the change such a gesture had wrought on his features.
My, but Darach Robertson is quite handsome.
The smile had softened his warrior exterior—rendering him younger, tender. He had looked the same when she had caught him asleep.
Hewasa warrior. The laird was anything but gentle, and no one knew how many men he'd killed in battle. With his fingers, he could probably snap someone's neck—certainly hers. She couldn'ttrust him. He was the enemy.
Jane continued walking until she noticed that the sounds of the keep had ceased. The lake had also faded from view, and she was still in the shade of the trees.
She was lost.
She quickly considered the matter of just where she would travel to find her way back, but there was no obvious choice to make. The spring air had a decided nip, and suddenly, the decision to walk as far as she could didn’t seem so wise.
Jane was starting to despair when she saw Lorna running down the hillside, waving her hand to her. She sighed and sagged against a tree, waiting for her to reach her as she caught her breath.
“There ye are!” Lorna cried. Her face split into a wide grin, and she leaned against the tree beside her. “I have been searching for ye for the past hour.”
“I got lost.”
“I ken.” Lorna grinned. “Ye may yet ken the grounds well before ye depart. Are ye feeling more yerself yet?”
Her question had been asked in a sweet, polite voice, and Jane couldn’t help but warm up to her. “I feel much better,” she said. “I think the soreness in my ankle is also getting better.”
“I’m glad.”
They both stared at the leaves overhead.
“Did the laird send ye?”
Lorna smiled and nodded again. “Darach told me ye’d come this way. I take it yer talk with him didnae end well?”
Jane shrugged. “He told me ye spoke on my behalf. Thank ye. He was easier tae speak tae for once. And he smiled. I didnae think I’d ever see that.”