She rolled over, tugging the furs up over her shoulder, and she faced the wall, giving him the same privacy he’d offered to her earlier by turning his back. He smiled, amused by the idea that she’d think him modest enough to worry over undressing in front of her.
Still, it was sweet of her to consider his desires on the matter.
Though he wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, he decided it couldn’t hurt to sleep with her once more. Somehow, he thought that if he were to refuse, that she’d not take the rejection well. She was a sweet lass, and he wanted to spare her feelings at all cost.
Deciding it would be better to simply wear his clothing to bed, he carefully pulled back the furs and slid into the bed beside her.
He could feel her warmth even across the empty space between them, and her scent whispered intoxicatingly through his nostrils. Her soap was delicately scented. A flower in spring.
He reached for the candle at his bedside and blew out the flame, dousing the room in semidarkness. Only the light from the fire in the hearth illuminated the room.
Beside him, Eveline rolled back over and before he could wonder what her intentions were, she snuggled up to his side, laying her head over his shoulder.
He lay there completely still as she melted against him, going limp as she relaxed more and more. She emitted a sleepy sounding sigh and burrowed her head deeper into the crook of his arm. In a moment, her soft, even breathing filled his ears, and he realized that she was already asleep.
As content as a kitten on a fur, she was wedged tightly against him, her legs flush against the side of his.
Sleep was a long time coming.
CHAPTER 18
When Eveline rose the next morning, she went to the window and rolled up one corner of the furs and tied them back with a leather strip. Then she tested the chill in the air, allowing the breeze to blow over her face. Already the sun was high enough to bathe the earth in a warm glow and chase away the morning crispness.
In the distance, the river beckoned. There was a spot in the bend, where the water snaked in its path around one side of the keep. Several trees and a natural boundary of rock outcroppings provided privacy, and it would be hard for someone not well above ground level to see her if she was bathing.
The light clean up she’d done the night before hadn’t been enough. She could still feel residual stickiness from the ale. Some had splashed into her hair and it would need a good washing. But she didn’t want to visit the bathhouse, where she’d be forced into the company of other Montgomery women.
If Rorie could be found, perhaps she could be persuaded to accompany Eveline and at least stand guard so that no one else would venture down to that particular spot in the river.
Satisfied with her plan and looking forward to a good swim, she collected a change of clothing, chose one of the warm blankets to dry on, and then dug out the sweet-smelling soaps she’d used to wash up with the night before.
Arms full, she left the chamber. She passed Rorie’s open door in the hall, and then she realized that since Rorie had already left her chamber that Eveline had no idea where to find her. Dread filled her stomach and she paused at the top of the stairs. Then anger tightened her lips. She wasn’t going to allow the Montgomery women the satisfaction of making her so afraid that she feared leaving her chamber.
She marched down the stairs and entered the great hall, head held high like she owned the place. She never paused even though many, as they’d done the day before, stopped in their duties to stare at her.
She donned her haughtiest look, put her nose in the air, and continued through the doorway that led to the small accounting room where Rorie had taken her yesterday.
When she pushed open the door, to her relief, Rorie was sitting at the desk, quill in hand as she studied one of the scrolls.
Rorie looked up, blinking in surprise as Eveline stood there, arms loaded down with clothing and the blanket.
“Are you moving chambers again, Eveline?”
Eveline grinned and shook her head. She put the armload down on the desk, and then she pointed to Rorie and then gestured out the window.
“You want me to jump out the window?”
Eveline’s smile broadened and her shoulders shook in silent laughter. She pointed to herself, then pointed out the window and then put both arms together and extended them, making a swimming motion.
After that, she wrinkled her nose in distaste and gestured toward her skin and hair, pinching her fingers over her nose to get her point across.
“You want to go swimming … so you can bathe?” Rorie asked. “Do you even know how to swim?”
Eveline nodded vigorously.
“Eveline, ’tis chilly, not so much out in the sunlight, but the water will be frigid.”
Eveline shrugged. It wasn’t as if she was unused to such things. The water was just as cold at Armstrong Keep as it was here.
“Graeme won’t like this.”
Eveline frowned fiercely at Rorie and then shook her head. Then she pointed back to Rorie and then back at herself.
Rorie laughed. “Oh, you want me to go with you so Graeme doesn’t find out.”
Eveline shook her head. Then she put her hands on the desk so Rorie could see. She pointed to herself and then placed that finger on the desk and made circling motions as if it were her swimming. Then she pointed to Rorie and then put her on the desk a goodly distance away from Eveline. Once she was sure Rorie understood where she would be positioned, she picked up her hands, pointed to Rorie and then crossed her arms over her chest and put on a forbidding face and puffed up like a warrior.
Rorie threw her head back and laughed harder. “Oh my,” she said when she finally stopped shaking. “You want me to stand guard. That’s amusing. You and I are likely the two smallest lasses in this clan, save those much younger than us, and you want me to frighten away anyone who would come close to where you’re bathing.”