Bliss was out of the bed and grasping for her clothes the moment she heard the click of Jamie’s key. The fact that she was locked in did not daunt her in the least.

After buttoning her coat and snatching up her satchel, which Dorrie had brought in earlier, she hurried across the room. The window squeaked loudly as she raised it and climbed through the opening.

Darkness greeted her as she leaped the short distance to the ground, and the smell of manure filled her nostrils. Making a face, Bliss crept around the corner of the inn and made for the road.

Full of ale and ready to sleep standing up if he had to, Jamie hummed softly as he unlocked the door of the room he’d hired. The chill draft that struck him the moment he stepped inside told him everything he needed to know.

Muttering a curse, he strode through the darkness to the window and slammed it closed. He knew the bed was empty without looking.

Truth to tell, Jamie McKenna was tempted to let Bliss deal with her fate as it came to her. Whatever happened, it would serve her right.

He was thinking these thoughts even as he checked to make sure his blade was still strapped to his side and snatched up his coat and hat. When he found Bliss Stafford, he vowed, he’d give her a talking-to she wasn’t likely to forget.

If he found her.

Not wanting to draw attention to himself and thus to Bliss’s disappearance, he left the inn through the kitchen, which was empty except for the two stableboys who’d greeted him on arrival. Neither of them dared question him.

In the stable, he collected the fastest of his two horses, the sorrel, and helped himself to a saddle and bridle. He’d settle up with the innkeeper later, when Bliss was back at his side, safe and warm.

For the first time since he’d left Ireland, Jamie McKenna permitted himself a silent prayer: Watch over her. Please, watch over her.

It was cold and dark and the moon was a frigid sliver, high in the sky. Bliss looked back toward the inn with a certain longing, though only the faintest glow of its lights was visible now.

With a sigh, she set herself toward Auckland and trudged on. She had only to think of America and the grand future she would have there; that would keep her going. For what seemed like hours, she put one foot in front of the other.

In America, she promised herself, she would be happy. With her mother’s help, she would find a nice husband—a man she truly loved—and have children. Lots of children.

Jamie McKenna’s handsome face loomed in her mind. By now he probably knew that she was gone; maybe, at that very moment, he was setting out to look for her.

Bliss sighed. It wasn’t likely that Jamie would give chase. She’d been a trial to him from the very first, and he was almost certain to be glad that she was gone. He’d be happy enough to wash his hands of her, that he would indeed.