This night was darker than the one before had been, and it was only her proficient memory that guided Bliss around the side of the inn, along the splintery fence of the paddock, and into the stables.

There were lanterns burning there, and the two lads who had been so eager to look after Jamie’s horses were sitting in one flickering cone of light, playing a game of cards. Bliss caught her breath and receded into the shadows near the rear door.

Not once, for all her hysterical planning, had she considered the possibility that the stables might be occupied by anyone with fewer than four legs. For the next minute or so, not a single useful thought entered her head.

It didn’t help that the stableboys seemed to be talking about Jamie. “I’ve seen ’im use the blade before. The big man and the fop—they was wise not to vex ’im more’n they did.”

The other lad agreed, and then luck turned in Bliss’s favor. Someone in the distance began beating on the bottom of a kettle or pot, and both boys leaped up eagerly at the sound. Clearly, the inn’s cook was summoning them to their evening meal.

Bliss remained in the darkness, careful not to breathe until the boys had passed her by and rounded the corner of the building. Then, moving as quickly and quietly as she could, she set down her satchel and took up the lantern the boys had been using, creeping past each stall in the stable in a frustrating effort to recognize the sorrel and the bay that belonged to Jamie McKenna.

Presently, she found the sorrel, though it was hard to be absolutely certain. After all, she could see nothing more than the tail and haunches. She had just set down the lantern and was fumbling to open the stubborn catch on the stall when the voice sounded, startling her so that her heart nearly stopped beating.

“Goin’ out for a ride, are you, Duchess?” Jamie asked.

Bliss whirled, one hand rising to her throat. She felt both terror at being caught and wild relief that Jamie was not in that room above their own, making a “ruckus” with Dorrie. She tried to speak and failed.

To her utter surprise, Jamie’s white teeth flashed in a smile shadowed by the night and by the brim of his leather hat, and his hands came out to rest lightly on her waist. In the next instant, he pulled her close and bent his head to brush her lips with his own.

The sensation was tantalizing, delicious, and completely frightening. Bliss felt her breasts, hidden away beneath her coat and dress and underthings, fill with some warm nectar as they met with the hard contours of Jamie’s chest.

“I—I was going to America,” Bliss said lamely, her mouth still touching Jamie’s.

His laugh was gruff and gentle. “Where else?” he muttered.

A sort of grinding ache had begun in the secret place where Bliss’s femininity was hidden. “It really would be simpler if you’d just let me go,” she told him as the tip of his tongue played at the corners of her mouth and promised other mysterious pleasures.