Page 66 of Rose
Ian’s eyes lit up. “A cog! But…I…” His face beamed. “I cannot believe it. A cog!”
At that moment, Ramsay stood. “I’m sorry to break up yer reunion, but, Ian, ‘tis getting late.”
Immediately, Ian’s face grew serious. “Aye. Ye’re right.” He turned to Rose. “Forgive me. I must go. Ye understand, right?”
She nodded. Of course she did. He was in London for a purpose. Scotland needed him.
“Ye go ahead.” She raised her arms, and he scooped her into a hug. “Just ye be careful,” she whispered.
He nodded and smiled down at her. “Will ye meet me here at noon in two days’ time. I wish to see ye before ye sail home.”
She nodded. “I’ll be here. I promise.”
Ian kissed her on the cheek before he turned to Tristan. “Remember, I am one of five brothers. The others aren’t as nice as me.”
Kissing Rose on the cheek once more, he turned and followed Ramsay out the door.
Rose smiled at Tristan. “Well, now ye’ve met my youngest brother.”
Taking her hand, he leaned back in his chair and pulled her onto his lap. “That wasn’t too bad. He only tried to slit my throat.”
She laughed. “He was just trying to scare ye. MacVies aren’t murderers.”
Tristan cocked at brow at her. “Well, that’s comforting.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I have to ask, Rose. Why did you tell your brother that you set sail from Colonsay and not Jura?”
Her brows drew together. “Did I say that?”
He nodded. “You did.”
She winced. “I wasn’t perfectly honest when we first met, but in my defense, you were a stranger. Not knowing what sort of man you were, I didn’t want to tell you exactly where I lived. Just near enough so that after ye dropped me off, I could make my own way home.”
“That I can understand.” But, despite his apparent lack of concern, his brow furrowed.
“What is wrong then?” she asked.
“We have a problem. Now, it is not just my family who believes we are married.”
She touched her fingertips to her lips. “Ye’re right.” She groaned and rested her head on his shoulder. “Things just got even more complicated, didn’t they?”
“Aye, they did,” he said, imitating her accent. He pulled her close. “Aye, they did.”
