Page 10 of Wild Hearts

Tabby, forgetting her tantalizing state of undress, added, "I thought you would come to see me but not this way. My husband will kill you— perhaps I should let him."

Her words amused him. He laughed until the cords in his neck stood out, brown and strong.

Fear sprang into her eyes. "Hush, keep your voice low!" she begged. "Mrs. Hall, please don't inform on him, he will only stay a moment." She raised liquid eyes to his in supplication. "My lord, your last visit brought me nothing but misery. Please, I beg of you, don't spoil things for me now."

He was dazzled by her youthful loveliness. Never in his life had he wanted a prize more than this one. "Spoil things?" He raised an eyebrow, dark as a raven's wing. "You want this marriage?"

Her eyes glowed. "Of course, 'tis a dream come true. You know how many years I waited to be rescued from that place. I will be grateful to Mr. Abrahams for the rest of my life. He is my savior. Look"— she threw open the wardrobe door—"all these beautiful dresses were made for me. I've been living here for a week, to prepare for the wedding. It has been like heaven. The food! You wouldn't believe the food. I can eat as much as I want— he doesn't mind. I even have my own maid, Mrs. Hall. Mr. Abrahams delivered me from my purgatory. I feel I'm in paradise. He is the most generous man in the world, just like a fa—"

"Stop it," he ordered. "Dammit, he is not your father, wake up!"

Her eyes widened in fear. "Please don't shout, he will come in here."

"With my man's knife at his throat, he is hardly likely to do that. Mrs. Hall, pack her some clothes— one bag only," he cautioned.

"What are you doing?" she gasped in disbelief.

"Kidnapping you." He grinned, and his eyes sparkled.

"You cannot. You wouldn't! Oh, God, not when everything is so perfect." She wrung her hands in distress. He was ignoring her plight. She could see that her words would never sway him from his determined course. Her distress turned to anger at the sheer arrogance of the man. "I shan't go with you! Take yourself out the way you came in," she ordered.

"Will you dress, or will I take you in your underdrawers?" he said, smiling.

She went faint with shock as she realized that she stood arguing with him in a state of undress. Her hands trembled as she tried unsuccessfully to cover her half-exposed breasts from his avid gaze. "You are serious! You monster! Have you seen the beautiful bed I have to sleep in, with silken sheets?" she demanded.

He looked at her coldly. "Tabby, that is not the bed you will be sleeping in tonight. All things have to be paid for."

"But don't you see, the price is so small. He is giving me everything, and I am just giving him myself. It is the only thing I have to offer. It is the only reason I was chosen. I am willing to pay the price in return for all this," she explained.

He was astounded that anyone could be so innocent. He had expected gratitude, relief that he had come to rescue her; instead, she was begging him to let her stay!. He took her firmly by the arms. "Lass, you are too ignorant to even conceive of what it will be like." He had no intentions of being more graphic. She was like a fragile flower that could be crushed so easily. He realized he must protect her from herself as well as from others.

She fell to her knees before him. "Please, please, I beg of you not to take me. I could bear not having the pretty dresses and the big house and the servants, but the food! Do you know I've been hungry all my life?"

She had evoked such tender feelings deep within him, he felt both surprise and dismay at himself. It was a long time since he had been soft with a woman. He covered his vulnerability toward her with gruffness. "Enough, wench," he warned, pulling her to her feet.

Her eyes blazed purple. "Rogue- Cockburn, damn, you to hell! I should have known it was an omen for trouble when you fumed up at the wedding. I have only laid eyes on you three times, but those three encounters have turned out to be the unhappiest days of my life," she admitted wretchedly.

Mrs. Hall fell to her knees. "My Lord Cockburn, I didna recognize ye, sir. Please forgive the disrespect she shows Your Lordship. She-is just an ignorant lass!'

He grinned at the older woman to lessen her fear, "Can you ride, Mrs. Hall?"

"I'll ride. And willing, too. If ye left me behind, ye'd have no alternative but to silence me, since I can identify ye."

He frowned, annoyed that they thought him the villain of the piece, while Abrahams was the benefactor. "It is best she have a guardian who will be able to swear she still has her precious virginity." He looked at Tabby and mocked, "As soon as I collect your ransom, I will return you to the most generous man on earth!"

Her eyes closed for a moment as she finally realized her plight. Suddenly, she was frightened, really frightened. He was a law unto himself. Ruthless, savage, the outward layer of civilization so thin, she could see the brute male animal beneath. Mrs. Hall helped her into a woolen dress and brought a hooded cloak for each of them.

Paris studied her for a moment. She looked frightened enough to start screaming her head off once they were outside. "Give me a scarf or a stocking," he directed Mrs. Hall. "I'll have to gag you until we are out of Edinburgh," he apologized.

Tabby's eyes were like saucers, and her lower lip trembled. He murmured Iow, "Trust me, lass, I'd not harm you."

"I... I don't know how to ride," she whispered.

"You don't think I'd give you a horse to escape on, do you?" He chuckled as he gagged her with a silk scarf. He didn't use the window this time but calmly walked down the long flights of stairs as if he owned the house. All inside were well trussed and gagged, but he knew they wouldn't remain so long, once his men quit the house. He was gratified to see Venetia and her escorts riding up Castle Hill toward him. When she reached his side, he told her to wait until the guard was called before beginning her dash down the hill. Paris put his fingers to his lips and whistled sharply. When Troy rode up leading Paris's horse; Tabby found herself being lifted by one enormous redhead and passed up to the saddlebow of an equally enormous redhead. Fear of both the horse and the man held her paralyzed.

"Troy, I'll meet you at Dalkeith Palace. Take her. quickly." He had been confident his men would encounter no difficulties. His second-in-command, Ian Argyle, was like an extension of himself and could be trusted totally. Ian and his men quit the house at last, sheathed their swords and mounted up silently.

"We'll ride to Bothwell's Castle at Crichton. Its only eight miles off, and they'll never, catch up with us in eight miles. Being the King's High Sheriff, they won't dare enter his castle and challenge him." He grinned. "Throwing suspicion upon my friend Francis grieves me, but Bothwell boasts so damned much of his hospitality, I think you should sample it. I'll branch off before we get there." He signaled to his youngest man, Sandy. "Take this woman and her baggage to Magnus Cockburn's town house. Guard her well, for she can identify us. Tell my sister Venetia that she is to travel to the castle with her tomorrow. We cannot have her slowing us up tonight."

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