“Tell Increase I got the weddin’ present ’e sent,” he said moderately.

Dunnigan went pale. Obviously, he’d known about the whip that had been delivered as a gift.

A smile spread across Jamie’s face, and it was terrifying to see. Bliss began, in fact, to have a sense of the trouble she’d brought upon herself. The blade made a slight nick in Dunnigan’s flesh; blood appeared in a crimson V.

“And give ’im this warnin’, Dunnigan,” Jamie went on when he’d given the man a few moments to reflect. “If I see the old bastard, I’ll kill ’im—but only after I’ve fed ’im that whip of ’is, inch by inch.”

Dunnigan was nodding frantically. “I’ll see he gets the message, McKenna,” he vowed.

“Good,” Jamie said. He lowered the knife, and Dunnigan turned and ran, as hard as he could.

Bliss thought that idea was a feasible one, given the mood Jamie was in, and she fled in the other direction, skirts held high, cloak flying behind her, heart pounding. She’d traveled some distance before she dared to look back and see whether or not Jamie was gaining.

He was nowhere in sight.

Confused, concerned, and relieved, all at once, Bliss slowed to a walk. She was gasping for breath and casting the occasional glance backward when she walked directly into the arms of the man she was trying to avoid.

“How did you do that?” she demanded. Such was her consternation that she set aside all thought of the peril she might be in.

Jamie grinned. “Cut through the alleyways is all. Surprised, love?”

“Not in the least,” Bliss said stubbornly. “How did you get out of the suite?”

“I’ve picked a lock or two in my time, Duchess.” The fact that the brogue hadn’t come into evidence was encouraging. “You almost caused us to miss our train, you know.”

“Our—our train?”

Jamie’s hand rested easily on the small of her back, and he propelled her along as he walked. “You didn’t think I was going to take a chance on the open road again after what happened last time? Unlike some people I could name, Duchess, I don’t go around making the same mistakes over and over.”

Bliss swallowed, unsure whether this was a reference to her latest exploit or not. She was taking no chances. “I wasn’t going to run away, you know. I just wanted you to realize what it’s like to be held prisoner.”

Despite the smile on his lips, there was a fathomless grief in Jamie’s eyes, for just the merest flicker of a moment. “Did you think I didn’t know?”

Bliss thought of the scars on his back and dropped her eyes. “I would have come back and let you out. Honestly, I would have.”

“Aye,” Jamie responded. His voice sounded taut, and he was gazing straight ahead.

“You don’t believe me!” Bliss accused.

Jamie’s gaze sliced toward her, sharp as that knife he carried. “Should I? This morning, you were off to the States with nary a look back.”