Free Unlaced by the Outlaw (Secrets in Silk) by Michelle Willingham Page A

him a watery gruel. Vengeance in the form of food. He choked it down, and she packed up their meager belongings.
    “I’m going to see the vicar and his wife and give them this necklace,” she informed him. “After their hospitality, I owe them that.”
    He gave a shrug, but it bothered him that she would give up her jewelry on his behalf. Margaret ought to keep her baubles, and he didn’t like the idea of her handing over a necklace that might have been worn by her mother or grandmother.
    “Meet me by the horse when you’re ready,” he told her, before she departed.

    The morning horizon was a pale rose creased with clouded light. Cain didn’t doubt that it would rain again, likely within the hour, from what he’d glimpsed of the gray skies. Though his back was still sensitive to the fabric of the shirt Margaret had given him, he could endure the pain. The burns had healed enough for him to travel, and that was all he needed.
    Margaret was busy packing supplies for their journey, and he went to pay a visit of his own to the vicar’s wife. He found the older woman inside the church. She was holding Margaret’s pearls, examining them in the morning light.
    “I’m wanting those back,” he interrupted. “You canna have her necklace.”
    “She promised it to us,” the vicar’s wife insisted. “We gave you our house and supplies for nearly three weeks.”
    Cain moved forward, letting his height intimidate her. “And where will you find anyone to buy the pearls? No’ here.” From inside a hidden seam of his plaid, he withdrew a handful of coins. “These are of better use to you now.”
    “The pearls are worth more,” she argued back.
    Cain stepped even closer, forcing her to crane her neck to look at him. He took her empty hand and pressed the coins into them, holding her wrist firmly. “I wouldna advise you to keep the pearls. Especially when I could take them from you now.”
    A shadow of fear crossed her face as she understood his meaning. Cain reached for the pearls, never taking his gaze from her face. “The coins will compensate the both of you.” He pocketed the necklace and added, “Margaret has lost enough during the past few weeks. She doesna need to lose her pearls.”
    He stared hard at the vicar’s wife to ensure that the woman wouldn’t do anything foolish. No, the coins weren’t as much as the pearls were worth. But they were a generous offer for using their house for a fortnight.
    Cain left the church and returned to Margaret, who was busy tying belongings onto the horse. He helped her mount the animal and then swung up behind her. “Are you certain you want to continue north, lass?”
    “I do, yes. Though I know it’s too late to help my sister, I can go toward Juliette’s estate at Falsham, south of Edinburgh,” Margaret said. “I can stay there until I decide what I want to do.”
    He detected a slight note of uncertainty in her voice. “What about your parents? I could take you to their home in Ballaloch.”
    She stiffened against him. “I’d rather not face them. Not after what I did and how long we’ve been together. They will suspect the worst of me.”
    He sensed that a good part of her frustration was directed toward herself for acting on impulse. This journey had been her idea, not his. And now that it had resulted in disaster, she blamed herself.
    “You’ve done naught wrong,” he insisted.
    “That isn’t true.” Her voice was a whisper, as if in memory of what had happened between them earlier.
    “Are you wanting to do something wrong?” he asked, letting his hands rest against her waist.
    “Of course not.” She pushed his hands away, straightening her posture as if to remind herself that she was still a lady. But there was a rebellious side to Margaret Andrews, beneath the white gloves and stiff corset. She could have protested the moment he’d lifted her out of the chair and laid her down on the bed beside him. Instead, she’d allowed him to lie