His resolve was aided by the Magdalene, who brayed and bumped her head between them, knocking them both back on their heels. Lucas gave an unsteady laugh and pulled away, still supporting Kendra, but the kiss over. “I always knew the Magdalene was a wise old soul.”

Kendra smiled ruefully. “Wiser than we are, obviously.” She brushed hair from her face as she tried to compose herself. “I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss you, and now I know. Unfortunately, I want to do it again.”

“I could become addicted to your kisses.” He gently brushed the back of his hand down her cheek. Soft, so soft. “I’m reminding myself of all the reasons it’s a bad idea. Rather than ride with you in the carriage, I’ll borrow a horse from the stables here and ride alongside for the last leg of our journey.”

“It will probably rain. Much more comfortable to be in a carriage.”

When he hesitated, she continued, “We’re adults. We should be capable of keeping our hands off each other.”

“We’re capable of it, but will we want to?”

“No, but we’ll do it.” Her expression sobered and he saw bleak acceptance replace the teasing warmth in her eyes. Her situation was so difficult that it would take a miracle to resolve it in a satisfactory way.

Luckily, he believed in miracles.

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 16

The rest of Kendra’s stay at Camden Keep was entirely respectable, with no impropriety on the part of her or Lucas. They were invited to stay again on their return trip. Perhaps by then Kendra would be able to talk about the purpose of this journey.

The next morning they set out in their carriage for Little Dauntrey, which was about half a day’s travel to the west. Lucas sat facing her, his long legs carefully angled away from her. All very proper.

But she would cherish the memory of the previous day’s hot, sweet kiss forever. She couldn’t see an honorable future for them, so she refused to believe they would ever exchange more such kisses in the future. She didn’t have enough hope in her to think it possible. Fortunately, her memory was very, very good.

At midday, they stopped for a meal in Great Dauntrey. After they ate, Lucas took the map he’d borrowed from Simon, and Kendra joined in a conference with the landlord. Lucas said, “Is there a village called Little Dauntrey near here?”

The landlord, a solid fellow with grizzled hair, replied, “No, but there’s a Lower Dauntrey not far from here. Might that be the place?”

Kendra considered, thinking back to the pained confusion of that nightmare journey. “It could be. I’m reasonably sure about the Dauntrey, but it could have been Lower, not Little. Is there an inn called the Red Lion?”