Chapter 11
Maxie awoke in a haze of warm pleasure. The scent of hay filled her nostrils, and Robin's slumbering body protected her from the damp dawn air. One of his hands was resting on her breast. It felt nice-very nice-but it wouldn't do for him to wake and think a precedent had been set. Gently she moved his hand down to neutral territory.
Her movement roused him. Lazily he rolled onto his back and stretched, his body going taut, alongside hers. She propped herself up on one elbow, admiring his tousled golden hair. He must have looked very like this when he was a little boy who had longed for a pirate patch and saber scars.
She smiled. "Good morning. I slept well. Did you?"
He smiled back, with such stunning effect that all she could think of was how wonderful it would be to see him like this every day for the rest of her life. "Very well indeed," he said in a husky morning voice.
He put a casual hand on her shoulder as he settled into the hay again. At least, it started as casual. Their gazes met, and there was a long, dangerous moment of intense mutual awareness.
Slowly, as if against his will, his hand began sliding down her sleeve. His warm palm brought the flesh under it to vibrant life. As her breath quickened, she thought of the bundling song, and of how clothing was no barrier to determined couples.
His eyes darkened and his hand paused so that his thumb could stroke the sensitive inside of her elbow.
She caught her breath, shocked at how much sensation was there.
He caressed her forearm until his hand came to rest clasping her wrist. The skin was bare, and her pulse throbbed against his fingertips.
The rip in Robin's shirt exposed the hollow at the base of his throat. She wanted to lick it. She wanted to tear the rest of the shirt off so she could see and touch the lean, muscular body that had cradled her all night. She wanted to be a woman of the Mohawk who could give herself without shame or doubt.
But one thing she had in abundance was doubts. Her face must have shown her thoughts, for he exhaled in a rush and abruptly rolled away. "A wonderful way to spend the night," he said breathlessly as he got to his feet, "except for the part about separating when we wake up."
She ran unsteady hands through her hair. "Perhaps it was a mistake to sleep that way."
He looked offended. "I've never made a mistake in my life. At least, not any that I couldn't explain away afterward."
She laughed, and suddenly everything was all right. "Next time, I'll make a point of getting up as soon as I wake."
"I'm glad there will be a next time. We need practice."
Still chuckling, she got to her feet and prepared to face the day. It was gray and chilly, but the rain had stopped. Robin had brought kindling into the shed the night before, so there was enough dry wood to build a fire just outside the door.
Clear rainwater was available in a stone trough, so she made tea while Robin toasted bread on a pointed stick. With the last of Mrs. Harrison's sliced ham, it made a hearty breakfast.
As Maxie steeped her herbal tea, Robin asked, "Do you mind if I shave inside this morning? It's rather raw out there."
"Go right ahead." She eyed his ripped shirt, trying not to notice the bare chest below. "We'll have to find you another shirt. I think this one is beyond repair."
He made a face. "I'm more than a little tired of it anyhow." He took out his folding razor and a piece of soap, then knelt by the pot containing the rest of the warm water.
Robin was as religious about shaving as she was about her herbal tea, but it was a task he had always performed out of her sight. She guessed that he would have done so this morning if not for the increased sense of domesticity between them.
"Have you considered not shaving?" she said. "I'm so nondescript that no one notices me, but you are much more distinctive looking. A beard would help disguise your appearance, which would make it harder for Simmons to track us."
He lathered the soap in his palm, then spread it over his cheeks and jaw. "My beard grows out red, which is even more conspicuous than my normal appearance. But you're right that we must make some changes. We've been set on by highwaymen and are being pursued by Simmons. It's time for a new strategy."
She studied him over the rim of her mug. There was something very intimate about watching a man shave. Though she had seen her father do it hundreds of times, she had never recognized how profoundly masculine whiskers were. "What do you have in mind? We still haven't enough money for coach fare. Unless you think you can earn enough by performing magic shows?"
"I have an idea. It wouldn't be the fastest route, but we would be very hard to follow. Are you familiar with the drovers?" He stropped his razor half a dozen times on a short leather strap, then stretched the skin of his cheek so that he could removed a swath of redblond whiskers.
Those same whiskers had gently prickled the nape of her neck the night before. Her toes curled and she swallowed hard. "You mean the men who drive livestock to the cities?"
"Correct. All cities must have food brought in, and London is so large that it draws supplies from the whole of Britain." He wiped the blade clean of soap and whiskers with a tuft of hay, then began work on the other side of his face. "Most of the cattle eaten in the city are driven in from Wales and Scotland."
"All the way from Scotland?" She raised her brows. "It must be very tough beef by the time it arrives."
"The beasts are generally fattened in southern pastures before going to market," he explained. "And it isn't only cattle, though they are driven the farthest Drovers herd sheep, geese, pigs, even turkeys, though not over such great distances."
Diverted, she asked, "How does one drive turkeys?"
"With great difficulty," he said, a twinkle in his eyes. "It's quite a sight. At the end of the day, the turkeys will roost in trees for the night, hundreds at a time."
She spent a delighted moment envisioning branches bowed with sleeping turkeys. It distracted her from thoughts of Robin's chiseled, soapedged features. "What has this to do with us?"
"The droveways follow the high country when possible, and they avoid toll roads. Frugal travelers sometimes accompany the drovers, for companionship and safety. Or sometimes just for the adventure of it." Haying finished his cheeks and jaw, he stretched his chin to shave his throat.
She watched in fascination while a glistening drop of water trickled into the hollow of his throat, then slid down the center of his chest, dampening the curling hair.
Noticing her fixed stare, he asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Mere female nerves," she said quickly. "Seeing a razor so close to a throat makes me nervous."
He grinned. "I haven't done any serious damage to myself yet." With three smooth strokes, he completed the job, then wiped the blade clean and snapped it back into its horn handle.
He may not have hurt himself, but he had certainly raised merry Hades with her peace of mind. Relieved that he had finished before she turned into a perspiring wreck, she said, "I see the advantages. Are there any droveways nearby?"
"One runs west of Nottingham, a couple of days walk from here. At this season, there's a good chance of finding drovers on it within a day or so."
"Have you traveled with drovers before?"
"Yes. That's why I know this particular route." He dipped his facecloth in the warm water, then wrung it out and wiped his face and throat clean. "Once I fell in with a group of drovers when I ran away from home."
Running away had the ring of truth. "You must have been a rare handful for your mother."
After a long pause, he said, "Not in the least. She took one look at me after my birth and promptly expired from shock."
No amount of insouciance could disguise the underlying pain of his statement. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.