Page 21 of Taken By the Highland Villain
Jude scowled, remembering the way Nathan had stared at Valerie.
Any further discussion was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Craig smiled and bowed. “If ye’ll excuse me, My Laird. It seems that yer morning meal is here.”
Before Jude could say anything, his second-in-command opened the door and slipped through it, leaving him alone with the person standing on the other side—andnotthe person he’d expected to be delivering his breakfast tray.
“What the devil—” Jude broke off, staring in mingled bemusement and irritation at the slim form of his new seamstress standing in the doorway.
He’d decided to break his fast in his study for the same reason he’d chosen to have supper in his rooms the night before—in order to have a reprieve from her presence.
The emotions and feelings Valerie Blackwood evoked in him were difficult to tolerate and impossible to dismiss, and he’d spent much of the night brooding on them before retiring to his bed—though it hadn’t helped much.
She made him feel protective as he hadn’t since Kendra’s disappearance. Her jesting remarks about his appearance the day before had prompted him to consider things he’d long considered too trivial to bother with—like keeping his hair and beard neat, and when he’d last bathed.
Having her close brought warmth back to the cold center of his being and thawed emotions he’d thought frozen and dead for seasons. She’d actually amused him with some of herremarks the day before, and earned his respect with her shrewd bargaining skills.
Valerie Blackwood…
She’d been in his castle for only two days, only mended one pair of trews for him, and had already wrought such subtle changes in him that it had made his sleep far more restless than it generally was.
He’d wanted to take some time to think through the encounters and events of yesterday. Instead, the very woman who so troubled his mind was standing in his study doorway, his breakfast tray in her hands as she marched inside.
“What are ye doin’ here, lass?”
Dear Lord, that man, Craig. He knew who it was even before opening the door, I wager. And if he and Moira didnae plan this together, then I’ll eat my boots.
“As I told ye before, my name is Valerie. Feel free to use it instead of callin’ me ‘lass’ all the time. After all, ye didnae seem to have any trouble using it yesterday in the village.”
She set his tray down with a thump, and he realized there were utensils for two, along with food for two.
He also noted that Valerie was wearing a sturdy, utilitarian apron with pockets that bulged with all manner of tools,including objects he had no idea what they might be used for, such as the pouch of charcoal stubs. He spotted needles, the handles of shears, and what looked like the outline of a bundle of knotted twine.
Jude furrowed his brow. “What’s all that?”
“They are the tools of my trade. I have work to do, and the first thing I need to do is take yer measurements.”
Valerie studied him for a moment, then scowled and stalked past him to the windows. With a jerk, she dragged the right-hand curtain on the farthest window open and tied it off, then repeated the process with the left-hand curtain.
Jude winced as the bright morning sunlight spilled through the windows. “I didnae say ye could do that. This is my study, and I dinnae recall sayin’ ye could just?—”
“Och, hush. Ye dinnae need to act so stern. I need the light to be able to see and take yer measurements properly. Ye wouldnae want me to make a mistake just because I couldnae see clearly.” Valerie turned to face him with a frown. “Besides, a little more sun wouldnae harm ye. A gloomy home makes a gloomy mind, or so my sister Lily always says.”
“I didnae ask for yer sister’s opinion,” Jude huffed.
However, he made no move to stop her. Instead, he turned his attention to his plate and poured himself a cup of strong tea.He’d rather have whiskey or ale, but he supposed the tea would help clear his head.
“But I suppose ye’ll do as ye like, and as ye feel ye must.”
“When it comes to my work, aye.” Valerie pulled open the second set of curtains, then the third, and secured them. “Now, let me see what I have to work with.”
She turned back to face him, then frowned, before moving closer and staring intently at his face. “Did ye… trim yer beard?”
Jude felt heat rising in his cheeks and was glad it was obscured by his facial hair. “Mayhap I did, mayhap I didnae. It doesnae matter. All that should matter to ye is doin’ yer job. Dinnae forget,Valerie, ye’re here for me to test yer skills, nae for ye to test my limits.”
To his surprise, Valerie countered his embarrassed glower with a raised eyebrow and a teasing, challenging expression. “And what happens if I do test yer limits, My Laird?”
Without thinking, Jude leaned close to her—close enough that their breaths mingled and he could smell the heather-scented soap she’d used to bathe.