Little wonder the foolish little darling had convinced herself that she was some sort of curse, Daniel reflected, as he at last saw signs of what appeared to be a sizeable habitation just up ahead. It was utter nonsense, of course—a fact that he had every intention of making perfectly plain at the earliest opportunity. The underlying reason for this foolish notion had become increasingly clear to him too—she was determined never to form a deep attachment to another living soul, simply because she was desperate to avoid suffering the searing heartache she had all too frequently experienced in the past.
Sadly it was all so very understandable. Still, it was no way to live one’s life. It might take some time, but he would eventually peel away those protective layers in which she had shrouded herself, he thought determinedly, little realising that he had already begun to do so.
As Daniel, ever alert, paused for a moment to cast his eyes up the main street of the small market town they had just entered, Katherine stared up at him, her eyes resting for a moment on the square, powerful jaw, before studying the other strong contours of a face that was certainly not handsome, but full of character and ruggedly attractive. At least she found his physiognomy extremely appealing and, more surprisingly still, she was beginning to find his nature very engaging too.
Strong willed and determined, Daniel certainly possessed the power to annoy her from time to time by uttering some blunt remark. Yet beneath the brusque, no-nonsense manner was a wealth of tenderness, which manifested itself in quite touching displays of gentlemanly consideration.
More than once throughout the day he had kindly offered a helping hand to clamber over some gate or stile, and on one occasion, much to her intense annoyance, he had gone so far as to toss her over one brawny shoulder, as though she weighed no more than a sack of grain, and had carried her across a wide stream to save her feet and clothing from becoming sodden.
Although still faintly aggrieved at having been manhandled in such an odious fashion, Katherine couldn’t deny that, against all the odds, she was genuinely beginning to like and admire this occasionally infuriating man.
‘I don’t know about you, my little Amazon,’ Daniel announced, resorting to one of those many colourful epithets by which he was wont to address her, ‘but I’m feeling decidedly weary and in desperate need of sustenance. Are you willing to risk paying a visit to the inn up yonder?’
She didn’t need to take even a moment to consider the matter. Not a morsel of food, or a drop of liquid, had passed her lips since the morning, and she wasn’t in the least doubtful that she could do full justice to a substantial meal.
‘Very well,’ he added, after she had given several vigorous nods of assent, ‘but you must remain on your guard. And do not forget you’re supposed to be a native of this country. So for the Lord’s sake don’t relapse into English!’
Thus adjured, Katherine was quite content, as they entered the inn, to leave it entirely to Daniel to order their food, and left him to do precisely that whilst she seated herself at the vacant table in the corner of the room, well away from the other patrons who just might overhear her and guess her true nationality.
Fortunately the same would never be suspected of Daniel. She had discovered during the day that he had learned to speak the language fluently from his maternal grandmother, a Frenchwoman of immense character, according to Daniel, whom he had absolutely adored and then missed dreadfully after she had passed away shortly before he had embarked for India.
Apart from these few snippets Katherine had learned next to nothing about him. It wasn’t that she had gained the impression that he was disinclined to talk about himself, and therefore out of common courtesy she had not attempted to pry; it was simply that he had seemed interested to learn about her, and she had found herself quite surprisingly divulging far more about her past to Daniel than she had to another living soul.
What an enigma the man was turning out to be! she reflected, gazing across at the spot where he stood deep in conversation with mine host. How she wished now that she had paid more attention to what her aunt Lavinia had disclosed about him, when she had stayed in Hampshire for those two weeks. She frowned in an effort to remember, and vaguely recalled her aunt mentioning something about his returning from India to discover the woman he had loved riveted to his cousin.
Katherine surprisingly found herself experiencing a deal of animosity towards this unknown female. How heartless she must be to have dealt such a crushing blow! Yet, to be fair, the young woman whom Daniel had hoped to marry had hardly been in a position to inform him that she had experienced a change of heart, Katherine reminded herself. A letter would have taken months and months to reach him out there in India. Yet it was all so very sad. Daniel wasn’t in the least light-minded, and must have cared for the woman deeply to have wished to marry her. It went without saying that her betrayal must have been a bitter blow. Perhaps, Katherine mused, that was why he had never married, though it had to be said that he didn’t appear to be suffering now from the pain of unrequited love. Nevertheless, she didn’t suppose for a moment that he was the kind of man to wear his heart on his sleeve.
Although she was keen to discover much more about the man whom, against all the odds, she had begun to regard in a very favourable light, Katherine was aware that this was neither the time nor the place to satisfy her curiosity. Her command of the language was not sufficiently good to conduct an inquisition in French. Besides which, she didn’t suppose that Daniel would wish to satisfy her curiosity at a time when his prime concern was to satisfy his hunger. So she merely asked, when he eventually joined her at the table, what had taken him so long and whether the landlord had been unwilling to supply them with a wholesome meal.
Daniel cast her a mocking glance as he handed her a glass of wine and slid into the seat opposite. ‘Have you ever known a landlord turn away custom? No, he was more than happy to oblige, once he’d seen the colour of my money. Which reminds me … How much have you about you?’
Katherine delved into the pocket of her cloak, which she had removed and placed on the settle beside her, and without hesitation handed him the bulging purse.
Daniel tossed it in his hand, gauging its contents. ‘We’ve done well today, my little darling,’ he remarked, consigning the purse to the safety of his own pocket. ‘But we’re going to need to cover more miles if we stand the remotest chance of keeping one step ahead of those rogues out searching for us.’
Something in his tone put her immediately on her guard, and Katherine instinctively stared beyond his broad shoulders, taking swift stock of the other patrons. ‘Would I be correct in thinking that you do not care for that ill-favoured rascal sitting alone at the corner table?’
Daniel didn’t attempt to deny it. ‘He appeared to be taking an uncommon interest in you when we first arrived, certainly,’ he admitted, casting a frowning glance over her curls. ‘Let me know if he leaves, or if someone joins him,’ he added, before turning his attention to the innkeeper’s wife, who arrived at the table bearing a tray laden with several dishes which exuded the most mouthwatering aromas.
It hadn’t been difficult for Katherine to guess what had been passing through his mind when he had subjected her hair to a fleeting glance of irritation. Yet it was hardly her fault that she had been destined to inherit her father’s colouring and in consequence was, as Daniel himself had tauntingly pointed out earlier in the day, easily picked out in a crowd.
Successfully suppressing a feeling of pique, she immediately set about the rewarding task of satisfying her hunger. During the time it took to consume a bowl of heart-warming broth, and work her way through a selection of meats and a variety of pasties, she succeeded in blotting from her mind the danger the man seated at the corner table might pose. Unfortunately, she just happened to glance in his direction, as she was about to consume the last mouthful of the most delicious fruit tart she had ever tasted in her life, and the very real possibility