A Year and a Day by Virginia Henley

Author:Virginia Henley [Henley, Virginia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780440222071
Publisher: Island
Published: 1998-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

19

In the morning Jane awoke alone in her bed. She had not heard Lynx leave. Could she have just dreamed that he’d slept nestled against her? No, his body had left its imprint in the feather bed. Her hand touched the linen sheet, imagining she could still feel his warmth. She wondered why he had come to her. Was he troubled? He hadn’t come to talk, and it certainly wasn’t desire that had brought him to her bed. There was only one answer: his unborn child had drawn him to her.

Jane wished with all her heart it were otherwise, but she decided she wasn’t going to waste her day longing for the impossible. When she was dressed, she made her way to the kitchens, secured a leg of mutton for the lynx, and wrapped it in a linen towel. His wound had almost healed and she hoped that within another week he would be able to hunt for himself.

To avoid being followed by Keith, she did not go near the stables, which was the shortest route to the forest pool, but instead walked across the clearing behind the laundry, toward the trees.

From his chamber window in the Master Tower, Lynx watched Jane as she headed toward the woods. Where the devil was she going and what was she carrying? He had asked her brother Keith to keep an eye on her, but it looked as if she were deliberately avoiding the stables. As Lynx watched her, he knew she was not out for a morning stroll, but had a definite purpose in mind.

He had been mulling over whether to pen a letter to the governor or go to Edinburgh himself, but Jane’s actions now filled his thoughts and he knew his mind would not rest until he discovered what she was up to. Lynx made his way to the laundry, then crossed the clearing and entered the forest at the spot where he had seen Jane disappear. He did not resort to stealth, but strode through the trees knowing instinctively which direction to take. It wasn’t long before he glimpsed her some distance ahead of him. He saw her pause and turn with alarm, ready for flight.

“Jane, hold!” he commanded her. She stopped in her tracks as if rooted to the spot, as he closed the distance between them. The look on her face clearly betrayed the fact that he had caught her at something she didn’t want him to know about and that she wished him a thousand miles away.

“What are you doing?” he asked bluntly.

“What do you mean, ray lord?”

“It’s a simple enough question. What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Her breasts rose and fell with her agitation.

“Clearly, you have come to the forest for some purpose.”

“I have come to gather herbs,” she said, indicating her cloth bag, yet gripping it close as if she would keep the contents from him.

Lynx raised a powerful hand and took the bag from her. He did not know what he expected to find, but it was certainly not a leg of mutton and a pot of ointment.

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