“No. It was here. In the blue room.”

Malcolm’s laughter froze on his lips, something flickering in his gaze. He looked down at his toast, a strange expression on his face. “Did you…did you say the blue room?”

“Yes,” Devon said cautiously. “Why?”

Malcolm shook himself, as if waking from a deep sleep. “Och, nothing. A thought, ’tis all. How did you come to be in the blue room?”

Reassured, Devon reached for the salt. “It was the only one clean enough to inhabit. When I awoke this morning, the maid was there and claimed the room to be hers. So, in return for vacating the premises, I asked for a kiss.”

Malcolm started to take a bite of his toast, but then apparently thought better of it and returned it to the side of his plate. “What did this, ah, lass say to your price of a kiss?”

Devon grinned. “She didn’t say anything while I was kissing her.”

A faint flush crept up Malcolm’s neck. “She let you kiss her?”

“Yes. Then I decided I wanted another kiss, and that was what caused our little disagreement.”

“But she let you kiss her once,” Malcolm repeated as if unable to believe his ears.

Devon frowned at his host, a sense of unease prickling along the back of his neck. “Why? Is she maid to your wife?”

“Maid to—oh no!” Malcolm apparently found that comment amusing for he snorted a laugh, then said, “She’s no one’s maid, is Kat. Tell me more about this encounter.”

So the chit’s name was Kat. Most likely a short version of Katherine. Devon shrugged at Malcolm’s interested gaze. “There’s not much more to tell.”

“What do you think of this lass? Do you think she is pretty?”

“Pretty” wasn’t quite the word for it. In comparison to the woman’s true attributes, “pretty” was a pallid, winter shadow. “’Lush’ is a better word. She was well rounded with red gold hair and green eyes and—” He broke off, uncertain how much to reveal. “She was quite a noticeable woman.” Which was understating the truth by a wide mark. Still, it never behooved one to bare all of one’s secrets. For all Devon knew, Malcolm might have an interest in the maid himself. Devon regarded his friend for a long moment. “Why do you ask?”

Malcolm waved an expansive hand. “No particular reason. Did the two of you speak for long?”

“For several minutes. She was quite sharp-witted.” And had a body that had begged for further exploration. “I take it you know this woman.”

Malcolm’s lips twitched. “Oh yes. I know her. That’s why I’m surprised that all she did was kick your shins. It’s amazing she didn’t blacken your lights, too.”