Page 17 of Much Ado About a Scot

Graham’s face darkened as he turned and headed back for the trees.

When he was gone from view, Xander faced her. “Is it only David Graham who has been after your land? Or have his ancestors tried to regain what was given by his grandfather?”

“David Graham has been the only one to my knowledge. At least, my parents never said anything about his father trying to negotiate with them.”

Xander frowned. “How much do you know about your neighbor?”

She shrugged. “I’ve lived beside him my whole life. I know as much as anyone. He didn’t start being so angry or aggressive with me until after the death of his sister.”

“When we are done in the fields tonight, you and I need to talk. I want to go over the estate records as well. If we are going to deal with the man in order to keep your estate, we’d better know as much as we can about the situation.”

Isobel’s heartbeat quickened. It sounded as though he was offering to help her with more than simply the harvest. “Do you have legal experience?”

“Enough to read through the paperwork and figure out a next step if there is one.”

Next step. That sounded hopeful. “Anything you can do would be helpful.” After Xander went back to cutting the grain, Isobel gathered the stalks of rye once more. It was early afternoon. By tonight they would have finished harvesting the field at the front of the estate. That left the barley at the field behind her house to finish tomorrow.

After completing another stack, she moved farther down the field, taking a moment to wipe the beads of perspiration from her brow with the back of her sleeve. The sun shone strong and bright, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of freshly cut grain. The smell always instilled in her a bit of nostalgia. Isobel felt suddenly as she had when she was a little girl running through the fields at twilight. The world seemed enveloped in a soft golden haze in which life was calm and peaceful and filled with endless possibilities.

Was that only wishful thinking on her part? Or could Xander truly help her hold on to what she most desired?

Chapter Seven

It was long past dusk when they stopped for the night. They had made significant progress, but there was still so much more that needed harvesting. After a simple supper of smoked meat and cheese, Freya had taken Jamie upstairs to put him to bed. Exhausted from the long day of hard labor, Brodie had excused himself after that, leaving Isobel and Xander alone to take baths. She had taken hers in the kitchen while he had opted for his chamber.

Isobel had finished her ablutions a while ago. She waited in the kitchen for Xander to emerge so they could have that discussion he had requested. She’d gathered the box where she kept all her important papers from her hiding place in her chamber and set it on the kitchen table. Perhaps he would find something she had overlooked on the deed to the estate.

Standing near the hearth to dry her hair, she studied the flickering red-gold flames of the fire and listened for any sound coming from the chamber down the hallway. It wasn’t hard to imagine Xander relaxing in his bath inside the cozy room. She didn’t need to see him to picture him in her thoughts. A hot shiver moved through her. His presence had come to dominate all her thoughts.

Sweet heavens, she didn’t want to feel this way. Every part of her body burned with a hunger she recognized. A breeze slipped beneath the back door to slide through the chamber to caress the flames and send them dancing and writhing, making twisting shadows on the walls then vanishing down the hallway.

Isobel’s gaze shifted to the closed door as her heart pounded in her chest. All she had to do was go to him and he would know what she offered. He’d already suggested she owed him that much for agreeing to this marriage.

She took two steps toward his chamber then paused. Was it right to start something with him when he’d already said he would be leaving as soon as the harvest was through? Could her heart handle yet another loss when that time came?

Or was she being a fool? There was nothing holding her back from enjoying what he offered. This world had taken enough from her. It only seemed right she should take something back.

Something inside her loosened. Her heart was pounding so hard with excitement, she could scarcely breathe. She was no inexperienced maiden who did not know how to keep part of herself in check. She could hold back from giving herself completely while another part of her welcomed him.

Her bare feet padding on the floorboards, she moved toward Xander’s chamber. She wouldn’t allow herself to think on the future, not now. There was only this moment and the next and the next.

*

Xander leaned back in the tub. The warmth of the fire and the warmth surrounding him soothed him as the water washed him clean of all the chaff that had invaded every part of his body. Despite a certain unwillingness to dwell on what had happened today with Graham and Isobel, his thoughts turned to her as he stared into the flickering flames of the fire in his chamber.

He was here for one purpose only; yet listening to that betrayer of his country threaten her had brought forth a fierce protectiveness he hadn’t known he possessed. Could he help her keep her estate? Not just by bringing in the harvest, but by seeking out the terms of the land agreement put into place by Graham’s ancestor all those years ago?

But there was more than protectiveness where Isobel was concerned. His body ached for her. His mind reached for the image of her standing in the fields earlier today.

“Xander . . .?”

Startled that his thoughts had called her forth, he straightened and with a small splash glanced toward the door.

Her eyes flared with raw desire at the sight of him. “I did not know you were still at your bath . . .” Her voice trailed off.

His mouth went dry even as his manhood swelled. His gaze traveled upward, taking in the slenderness of her waist, the swell of her firm breasts, the fairness of her skin, the way her still-damp hair cascaded over her shoulders from her own bath.

With an effort he tore his gaze away from her sheer beauty as she stood there dressed in a simple shift and with bare feet. The soft scent of roses swirled through his senses as she turned to leave.