Page 44 of A Scot for Bethan
“Christ, of course, I did not act on it! What kind of a man do you take me for? It wouldn’t have been right. I was escorting you to your future husband, my own nephew! In those circumstances, I could hardly allow myself to be overwhelmed by my desire for you.”
“Why not? You knew I was no longer an innocent virgin,” she argued. “I was already ruined for my husband. Another man in my bed would have made little difference.”
“God’s blood!Anotherman! Stop making yourself sound like the most seasoned harlot!” Cameron erupted. “Of course, our lovemaking would have been different. None of your other lovers had been your betrothed’s uncle, as far as I know?”
This was an irrefutable argument, but Bethan was so raw, she felt so betrayed that she refused to be pacified so easily. They remained on either side of the fire, glaring at each other, the heat of the flames the perfect illustration of the anger boiling inside them.
“You said the other day that I was now free to choose my husband and I will,” she said defiantly “This time I will not let any man dictate my future, for whatever reason, however much they want to sway me with their skill in bed.”
“I did not try to?—”
“You have escorted me out of Scotland, ensuring that I did not fall into the arms of Malcolm McDonald or anyone else,” she cut in. “I thank you for that, but I am now safe from them. So tomorrow I will take my leave and carry on alone.”
Wales was still some distance away, but she was not far from Sheridan Manor, a two days’ ride at the most. There she would find men to ride with her to Castell Esgyrn. Or she could go to William… After having been made a knight, he had been given a modest castle on the other side of the forest. Yes. That was even better. Her friend would welcome her with no questions asked and keep her presence in England a secret.
“You will do no such thing,” Cameron snapped.
“All danger of abduction has passed. I can very well?—”
“This is not a request, Ealasaid. You might be free from unscrupulous Scottish lairds now that we’re in England, but you’d still be a woman traveling on her own if I left you. ’Tis not safe.”
Bethan’s shoulders sagged. There would be no arguing with Cameron in this mood. She’d always been wise enough to choose her battles and knew she would never win this one. Besides, he was right. It was dangerous for a woman, rich or not, to be alone and unprotected on the road. She would be foolish to insist and put pride above security.
“Very well.”
Without a word, she sat back down on the ground and settled herself for the night, doing her best to keep her tears at bay. How could it end this way? But what else had she hoped for? Parting ways with Cameron now or in a week’s time, once they had reached Wales, would change little. They were destined to go their separate ways in the end. And if she had briefly entertained the notion that there could be a future for them, then it only showed that she really was a fool.
She would wait until she was closer to William’s castle to slip away. Having never heard of her friend, Cameron wouldn’t know where to look for her. Even if he went to Sheridan Manor because he remembered it was the English seat of the Hunter family, he would only be told that no one had seen her. It would be as if she had vanished into thin air. Yes, it was the perfect solution.
Now all she had to do was to convince her heart that she was happy with that decision.
The wretched woman!
Throwing another log into the fire, Cameron cursed Bethan for the thousandth time. How could she inflict such worry on him? He hadn’t slept properly for three nights, ever since he had woken up one morning and found the nest where she had curled up the evening before empty.
The two days before her disappearance had been tense, which was little wonder considering their heated arguments the day of the mist, but he had forced himself to patience. Bethan was no fool, but an uncommonly sensible and honest woman. Confident she would eventually calm down and understand thathe had not tried to trap her into anything, he had wanted to give her the time she needed to deal with the events of the past few weeks in her own time. It had been an upheaval, undoubtedly, but she would see that he was nothing like those bastards who’d thought to rape and abduct her. He had taken her to bed because he had been unable to resist the torturing desire he felt for her, desire she shared, no matter how much she pretended she didn’t.
But less than three days later, she had vanished into thin air.
Where the devil had she gone? He had scoured the countryside around, to no avail, and was doing his best to convince himself she had found a hiding place, rather than been attacked and left for dead in a ditch. Why, oh, why, had he not tied her to a tree before going to sleep each night? It would have been safer.
Cameron let out a snort. Of course, he could not have done such a thing as tie a woman to a tree! He was losing his mind. But he desperately wanted to find her, know that she was all right.
After a week of ceaseless wanderings, he understood that he would never find her. His chest churning with anger, resentment, and frustration, he gave up the search and went back home. If she wanted to punish him for doing nothing more than trying to take his responsibility, then let her. He was done acting like an idiot and would not be manipulated a moment longer.
But as the leaves on the hills around Nead an Diabhail turned from vivid green to burnt orange, Cameron understood that he would never be able to let it go. He could not live his life not knowing what had happened to his Ealasaid. Then one day a conversation with Murdo reminded him that there was somewhere she could have taken refuge.
Sheridan Manor, Connor Hunter’s English seat. Of course… How had he not guessed that was where she would have gone? It had been less than a half day’s ride away from the place he’d last seen her. It could not be a coincidence. Hope surged through him, bringing life flowing back in his veins.
The following morning, he was back on his horse, galloping on the road to England.
Chapter Fourteen
“I’m sorry, but we haven’t seen Bethan in almost a year.”
Cameron stared at Matthew Hunter, Lord Sheridan’s brother, refusing to accept what he was being told, that he had come all the way here for nothing. It couldn’t be. “Do you ken if she has gone back to Castell Esgyrn?” he asked, trying his best not to let his dismay show.
It would make sense if she had. If he had to push on all the way to Wales to see her, then he would do it. He would not go back home before he had explored all possible options and found out her whereabouts because he knew he would never be able to settle otherwise.
