Her head nodded first, bowing over her chest before falling backward. She snapped awake, only to repeat the awkward gesture.
Suddenly, the strong wall of Drake’s torso was there.
“Ye can rest against me to sleep.” His voice was gentle and low in her ear.
A shiver of chills tickled over her skin. But nothing like the revulsion that assaulted her with other men. Nay, this was far warmer and certainly welcome.
Sensual.
But he mistook the shiver for something else and stiffened. “I willna take advantage of ye, Greer,” he said vehemently. “I meant what I said last night, lass.” His voice was a whisper to keep Bean from hearing, and it was like velvet against her ear. “I’ll no’ let anyone hurt ye.”
She nodded in acknowledgment and relaxed back against Drake’s strong chest, letting her head rest to the side. He was warm and solid, with his light scent of leather and horse and a spicy, unfamiliar yet entirely pleasant smell that made the place between her thighs begin to pulse.
Her nostrils flared slightly as she breathed him in, reveling in his heat and power. She recalled how he had promised to protect her, and a strange sensation loosened in her chest.
Safe.
For the first time in her life, she felt safe.
His heartbeat thudded against her cheek where she lay her head. It was to that rhythmic beat that she finally found herself drifting off to sleep.
She didn’t know how long she remained thus, but her awareness roused when the horse’s steady swaying came to a stop.
“Greer,” his voice was scarcely a whisper in her ear as if he worried that he might frighten her.
Only then did the bustle of people and chatter of voices fill her awareness. She blinked her eyes open to find they were on the outskirts of a village. But it was not yet night.
“What are we doing?” she asked, her mind still addled with exhaustion.
“We need provisions,” Drake said. “I thought ye’d prefer to wake before we went into the village.”
Heat flooded Greer’s cheeks, and she sat upright. “Aye, thank ye.” She frowned. “I thought we had provisions. The meat and cheese from this morn.”
Drake cleared his throat. “They were consumed.”
Bean shrank into his shoulder guiltily as his cheeks flushed. “I was still hungry,” he offered by way of scant apology.
She couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Mac was always the same way, eating whatever he could lay his hands on, oftentimes even when it was meant to be supper.
“’Tis the way with lads,” she offered in sympathy, which earned her a grateful smile from the adolescent.
In truth, she did not mind the diversion. It would offer her an opportunity to pilfer a few items. While she would be arriving in Lochmaben sooner, her purse would still be near empty and lacking the bribe needed to free her brother.
Drake leapt from his horse, and she accepted his help down, unable to keep from noticing how he handled her as though she were something fragile that might break.
Together they led the horses into the village, where the press of people at its center indicated market day was in full swing. How fortuitous!
Pockets were heavier on market day, and larger crowds were the perfect shield for her clandestine acts.
She brushed past a man in a leather jerkin and slid the purse from his side. It was not weighty enough for its absence to be noted but still had several coins within. It passed easily into her bag. She scanned the square to confirm no one had seen her.
She wandered toward a woman wearing an elegant silk gown, the hem dusty from where it carelessly dragged in the dirt. A sweep past her with a steady hand loosened the thin gold chain that had been clasped around the woman’s kirtle. It fell into Greer’s palm, the metal cold against the heat of her skin.
Except she was not as lucky as before and her action did not go unnoticed. Nay—this time, she had been snared by Bean’s pointed gaze.
“She’s stealing again,” Bean hissed.
“How do ye know?” Drake turned to where Greer glanced nonchalantly away from them and wandered toward a small stand of pastries shimmering with a coat of honey over their flaky crusts.
“I saw her.” Bean didn’t take his eyes from her as he spoke. “She slipped the woman’s gold belt off.”
The woman he referenced continued to walk about the market, inspecting a bolt of fabric with a slight scowl before moving onto a merchant selling ribbons in myriad colorful streamers that danced in the breeze. She appeared unaware of her lost item.
The trip into the village was supposed to be a swift one, most especially not one steeped in thievery. Drake didn’t bother to hide his wariness as Greer approached them with two pastries in her hand.
“Did ye steal those?” Bean asked.
Her mouth fell open in offense. “Of course no’, but I did get ye one.” She handed a pastry to Bean.
The sweet, honeyed scent of the treat wafted up toward Drake. Surely the lad was tempted, yet Bean still didn’t accept it and instead turned away. “I’ll no’ eat something stolen.”
“I dinna steal it.” She turned and waved to the man who sold the pastries. He held up a hand back, his face set in a wide grin.
That was enough to convince Bean, who plucked the treasure from her hand. He paused only to murmur a quick thanks before sinking his teeth into the flaky sweet.
Greer’s green eyes boldly met Drake’s. “I’ll split mine with ye.” She set her fingers at the back while holding the sides with her thumb in preparation for halving it.
Drake shook his head. “Nay, ye bought it. Keep it for yerself but thank ye.”
“I dinna buy it.”
Bean stopped chewing, and his eyes went wide.
She laughed. “He gave them to me.”
“Why?” Bean asked.
“Because I asked.” She shrugged and took a bite.
“Because ye asked?” Drake narrowed his eyes, not understanding. “Did the lady also offer for ye to take her belt?”
Greer bit into her pastry again, as if she hadn’t heard him.
“Beathan, see to the horses,” Drake ordered, preferring the lad not to be around when having the necessary conversation with Greer.
Fortunately, Bean offered no protest as he returned to the horses, pastry in hand, still constrained to his role as the squire, even if Drake was not a knight. Yet.
“Ye asked, and he gave them to ye?” Drake pressed.
Greer tilted her head with exasperation. “I told him it was Bean’s natal day today, and I wanted a treat for him, but dinna have my purse on me. He offered me two.”
“So ye lied.” An ache was settling in Drake’s head, one he tried to ward off by pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Nay.” Greer blocked the sun with the flat of her hand as her mouth slid up into a crafty smile. “I dinna know when the actual date of his birth is. Indeed, it might have been today so far as I knew.”
“And the woman’s chain?” He tempered the rise of his anger. If it were known that he traveled with a thief, she could jeopardize his opportunity to become a knight. If she were caught and found in his care…
Greer pursed her lips. “Aye, I stole that.” She dropped her hand so the full light of the sun highlighted her brilliant eyes. “I’m assuming ye want me to return it.”
Drake gritted his back teeth, and Greer sighed. “Verra well.” She reached into her bag and withdrew a golden chain. It glinted against her raw palm, the fineness of the jewelry making the calluses and cracks of her worn hands all the more apparent.
With a resigned look up at him, she disappeared, blending into the crowd somehow.
Nay, not somehow—strategically. That much was evident in the way she hunched a little lower, ducked her head and rolled her shoulders forward. She was clever, he would give her that. But while she was skilled at thieving, she evidently did not shy from hard work, as was obvious by her hands.
But why had she stopped he
r hard work and resorted to stealing? What happened to bring her to Dunfermline?
In the distance, she approached the woman and offered a shy bow that appeared genuinely reticent. Drake couldn’t help but smirk. Greer was never reticent. But the woman did not appear put off. Rather, her face lit up in surprise as her hands went to her waist. She took the chain from Greer with a grateful incline of her head as her servant handed a coin to Greer, who readily pocketed the money.
Once the exchange was done, she strode back to him and tossed him a displeased look.
“Ye dinna tell her ye took it,” he surmised.
“At least I returned it,” she replied.
“And received payment for its return.”
She simply smiled at him.
“Greer,” he said in a quieter voice. “Ye canna steal while we’re traveling together.”
“We canna all afford to be as high and mighty as ye,” she shot back.
He pressed his lips together. She would never understand what he’d been through, not when she couldn’t see past his fine clothes and heavy purse. “Ye dinna have to steal.”
Her gaze drifted toward the market, distancing herself from their conversation. “Ye dinna know anything about my life.”
“I’d like to,” he answered earnestly. “I’d like to help, so ye dinna need to fall back on a life of thievery.”
“Ye want to help,” she repeated in a flat tone. “Fifty marks would do.”
He lifted his brows at the ridiculous sum. “Aye, I’m sure it would.”
Her mouth curled into a pretty smile. “There ye are, then.” With that, she strode back toward the horses, her shoulders still hunched forward. Though this time, he suspected it had little to do with blending in and more with the torrent of emotion behind her shielded expression.
She hesitated a moment in her path. Only then did he see a small child sitting against a wall of the alleyway, his palm upturned. Greer pulled the coin she had received from her pocket and placed it in his hand.
Drake knew exactly how precious that coin was to her and what a sacrifice it was for her to give it up.
The act was generous and one of the many reasons why Drake fought so hard to protect her. She was a good woman at her core. Surely, there were circumstances at work to make her do as she did.
And he would find out what they were.
He had hoped that her anger might cool in the time that he obtained provisions for a substantial lunch, but the flush to her cheeks when he returned indicated it had not. When they climbed onto the horse together, she did not lean back as she had before but remained stiffly in front of him.
He had liked that she had trusted him enough earlier in the day to have slept against him. And though he’d tried not to watch her, nor admit it to himself, she was bonny as she slumbered. She’d had her head resting on his chest, her auburn hair coming loose from its braid to whisper softly against her flushed cheeks. Any defenses she had up were lowered, her face relaxed with ease.
That fragile trust had no doubt been broken by their exchange and was something he needed to address when they were alone. To explain not only his ire but his life so that she would understand. And to learn why she stole in the first place, for he suspected there was a reason for her deeds, and he had to know.
8
Frustration knotted through Greer as they traveled in silence. Drake and Bean would be watching her wherever they went. Making sure she didn’t steal. Making sure she was living an honest life.
Ironically, that was all she’d ever wanted—an honest life.
Emotion welled in the back of her throat. She’d had that kind of existence and loved it. Before the wealthy noble took Mac and threw away her years of hard work.
If she couldn’t steal while she traveled, she’d have to do it near Lochmaben and in the surrounding villages. She was no fool—she knew how dangerous it would be to lift so many purses in such proximity. After only a couple of days, all the villagers would be on the lookout for her.
And if she were caught…
Nay, she wouldn’t think of that. She couldn’t. Not with the price so high.
She clenched her fist with the determination to rescue Mac, no matter what it took.
They did not stop to rest that afternoon and instead ate as they traveled, but whatever conversation had blossomed between them the day prior fell away into nothing. Tension hummed in the air, and Greer had been the cause.
Guilt caught at her, followed immediately by the grip of helplessness at her predicament.
The makings of a solution did not come to her until they were at the inn. The establishment was of finer quality than the one the night before, its slate roof absent of white-streaked stains and its tavern area spread with fresh rushes that tempered the oily odor of tallow candles. They had few rooms to spare, and though Drake had been able to procure three for their group, they would not be near one another.
Suddenly a possibility blossomed in Greer’s thoughts.
She could leave.
They had journeyed quite a distance already. The trip to Lochmaben would be considerably reduced by how far they’d traveled by horseback. It would give her the opportunity to pilfer the amount she needed while traveling.
But the idea did not bring her the relief she had hoped. Especially when she sat across from Drake and his dark eyes settled on hers. There was something in them she couldn’t read, something that made a place in her chest grow warm.
After a few minutes passed without being approached for food and ale, Bean darted off to track down the barmaid, leaving her alone with Drake for a short moment. It was then he finally spoke for the first time since he’d caught her stealing in the village. “Greer, I—”
Bean came rushing back and plopped down on the bench with the pent-up energy of a boy who hadn’t been able to run about all day. While Greer was left exhausted from the ride, no doubt Bean was grateful for a chance to stretch his long, skinny legs.
“She’s coming,” the lad said with a wide grin. “The innkeeper needed help with some blankets.” He abruptly cut off and looked between them, his eyes narrowed with suspicion, but he didn’t say anything more.
The ache was back in Greer’s chest. She might never see Bean again after departing tonight. Or Drake.
She could recall too vividly how comfortable Drake’s body had been while he cradled her to sleep on the horse. And how the moonlight had caressed his naked torso, unveiling his sculpted muscle in shadowed, sensual detail. Her cheeks blazed hot and she turned her attention to the bag at her side rather than allow Drake to see her flushed face.
Not that she ought to allow her attention to stray for even an instant. She still had the man’s purse neither Bean nor Drake had seen her lift. Which meant she hadn’t been forced to return it. While she hadn’t had an opportunity to count out the coins, she guessed there were at least half a dozen, given the way the metal knocked about one another when she’d discreetly shaken it.
Mayhap there would be more.
“Is something amiss?” Bean asked.
“Nay,” Greer and Drake said at the same time.
She frowned to herself. She knew why she was suddenly acting strangely, but why was Drake?
Bean’s eyes narrowed further still, his skepticism evident. “What is—”
Before he could finish the question, the barmaid showed up with a platter of food, and his mouth was too busy for inquiries. But Greer had not forgotten and continued to observe Drake through the meal. Aye, he was indeed watching her, his expression unreadable.
As full of energy as Bean had been at the start of the meal, he was practically falling asleep where he sat after he’d eaten his fill, which made encouraging him up the flight of stairs to their rooms an easy task. Drake led the way, as sure and confident as always. Greer hesitated outside her door as Drake showed the lad to his room, hoping he would turn back to her and finish what it was he had to say.
He did exactly that and her heart galloped w
ith a frenzy of anticipation.
His lips parted as if he wished to speak as he studied her. Something twisted inside her and told her she wouldn’t like what he had to say. Was it another lecture on morality? Surely, it wasn’t a proposition that would make him like every other man who had offered to help her. But what if it was? Or mayhap it was something that alluded to the sadness lingering in his gaze, something that would make abandoning him impossible.
“Rest well,” she quickly said before he could fill the quiet between them with words she could not stand to hear.
He nodded once. “And ye.”
She clutched her bag tight to her chest and pushed through her door. She unplaited her hair and pulled off her shoes as she waited for his heavy footsteps strode away. When the sound of his departure dissipated, she tugged her bag open and dug out the small purse she’d taken. It was newer, the leather still stiff as she loosened its laces and dumped the contents into her hand. Only five coins glinted dully up at her.
It was better than nothing, but such a bounty would be needed dozens of times over to equal the fifty marks she required. Disappointment left her limbs heavy, and her hands sagged into her lap. There was nothing for it—she would have to depart the following morning before Drake and Bean woke. To venture out on her own so she could steal enough funds to afford her brother’s freedom.
A knock sounded at the door, so unexpected that she nearly dropped the precious coins. She curled her hand into a fist and silently returned the money back into the purse and then into her bag before cautiously standing. “Who is it?”
When no one answered, she crept closer, her skin prickling with the awareness of exactly who it might be.
Drake.
There shouldn’t be an attraction to such a consideration, but she could not quell the flip of her stomach at the very idea. If he were coming to her in the evening, it could doubtless be for only one purpose. It was not as unappealing as she had once thought. Indeed, an intoxicating warmth spreading in her veins said it was rather the opposite.
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