Page 29

Moving quietly, she left the chamber and located the staircase. Holding the blanket around her shoulders with one hand, she placed the other on the rope banister to guide her up the narrow, slippery stairs. Knowing there would be guards posted on the wall, she did not venture onto it, but instead stayed on the top step.

The cold breeze hit her full force and Davina welcomed its bracing crispness. She could feel the moisture hanging in the air and idly wondered if it would be rain or snow that fell. She tipped her head to the sky and breathed deeply, clearing her head and focusing on the best way to handle her current predicament.

She would have to leave, of course. ’Twould be impossible to stay beneath the same roof as James, as well as unfair to both of them. However, explaining her decision to Lady Aileen would prove difficult, as she could not tell that good woman why she must go without revealing her past relationship with James.

It was obvious that he had never spoken of it with his family, and while it pained her, Davina knew she had to respect that decision. Which left her with few logical reasons for a hasty departure.

’Tis a problem to ponder with a clear head, not with wits dulled from emotion and lack of sleep.

Davina took one final breath of cold air into her lungs, then carefully turned and negotiated her way down the staircase. When she reached the bottom she paused, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

A bolt of unease swept over her at the unexpected sound of footsteps approaching. She narrowed her gaze, peering ahead, her heart dropping into her stomach at the sight of a man. He took a step toward her and Davina felt her heart thudding into her throat.

“Jesus, Davina, I thought ye were a ghost.”

“James.” Davina wiped her sweaty palms on her nightgown. “Ye startled me.”

A shiver raced up her spine at the look he gave her. The voice inside her head was shouting for her to get away. But her feet refused to obey.

His eyes hardened. “I thought ye had gone to bed.”

Davina braced herself. She was shaking at his nearness, yet refused to let him see how intimidating she found him. “I felt the need fer some air.”

“Ye plan on climbing up to the battlements dressed in yer nightclothes?”

Unless ye offer to carry me.The thought struck, but wasn’t spoken. She no longer had the right to joke and tease with him.

“No one saw me. I stood at the top of the stairs in the shadows fer a few minutes.”

“The guards should be disciplined at their lack of attention, though I suppose ye are small enough to easily remain unseen.”

She thought she could see a flash of humor lurking in his eyes, but it was too dark to tell. “I wasn’t there very long,” she replied, not wanting to cause trouble.

“Come, I’ll escort ye to yer chamber.” James’s fingers closed around her upper arm.

Davina’s body tingled, the contact between them unsettling. “’Tis but a few steps away,” she protested. “I can see the door from here.”

She made to push past him. James immediately released her arm, but stepped in front of her.

“I dinnae believe my eyes when I entered the great hall and saw ye sitting so regally beside my brother, looking as though ye belonged there,” he said.

“I . . . uhm . . .” Davina’s mouth went dry. She swallowed and tried again. “Yer mother invited me to share the Christmas holiday.”

“So I’ve been told. Yet somehow that doesn’t ring true.” He leered down at her. “Why are ye really here, Davina? What cruel twist of fate has brought ye within my grasp, allowing ye yet another chance to torment me?”

Davina felt no surprise at the flash of anger in his eyes. After the way things had ended between them, she fully expected him to lash out at her. ’Twas no more than she deserved. Yet the sight wounded her all the same.

Trying to conceal her dismay, she answered him truthfully. “I had no idea that ye would be here, James. If I had known, I can assure ye, I never would have come.”

He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “Are ye going to marry my brother?”

The note of jealousy in his tone brought on a rush of melancholy. Avoiding James’s eyes, Davina deliberately gazed over his shoulder into the darkness. “Nay. I cannae marry Malcolm. I cannae marry any man.”

James growled. Grasping her chin, he forced her to look into his eyes. “God’s truth?”

“God’s truth,” she answered.

As quickly as it came, the anger seemed to suddenly drain out of him. “Christ’s bones, Davina, ye still have the power to unman me with a single look.”