He gave a little shudder and then his lips parted, his tongue tasting the crease of her mouth and forcing her to open to him. Which, of course, she did. He drew her tighter against his chest, the kiss deepening and sharpening until the only thing that mattered in Thomasina’s world was his lips on hers and his arms around her.

And in that moment, he broke away. He was a little breathless as he said, “No, Thomasina, not the wedding plans. I want to talk to you about our marriage. And what we will both desire it to be.”

Her lips parted at that unexpected statement. Then she nodded. “Goodbye, Jasper.”

“Goodbye,” he repeated, then released her and walked away without looking back.

Chapter 7

Beckfoot was certainly not the worst town Jasper had ever been in, but it was far from the best. The comings and goings of the small boats and larger crafts, moving goods and people back and forth to Scotland, sometimes surreptitiously, made it a transient place. And transient places were sometimes rougher than others, for no one had much to lose.

Jasper sat at a rundown tavern just beside the small docks that ran along the western edge of the city and nursed an ale as his thoughts turned, rather dangerously, to Thomasina and the kiss they had shared the previous night.

He’d thought of her almost constantly since then, a thud in the back of his head that kept bringing him back to her taste and her smell and the sound of her sharp intake of breath when his mouth met hers.

He shook away the memories and refocused on matters at hand. He was supposed to meet with Ellis Maitland here at any moment. Reynolds sat just a few tables away, slouched down with his face covered by a low-brimmed hat, watching for any trouble, so he wasn’t utterly alone. But Jasper knew there was no safety in a wandering mind.

Especially considering what they’d discovered about Maitland since their arrival the night before. There was no doubt he was the one who had seduced and taken Anne. Several people had recognized her description and mentioned she was with a man named Maitland. The previous morning he had put her on a small boat with another person and then disappeared into the town. No one could say much about his movements since.

Jasper glanced toward the door and straightened to full attention as the man himself stepped in. Ellis Maitland. It was definitely the same one who had come to him a year ago to report that his brother had been killed in a duel. At the time, Maitland had put on a good show, expressing what had seemed like genuine empathy, giving details with even a glitter of tears in his eyes.

Now there was none of that. Maitland had a confident expression as he sauntered into the bar. Like a cat who’d gotten into cream and didn’t give a damn if everyone knew his triumph.