Free Taken and Seduced by Julia Latham Page B

boldness in naming him husband. Why else would “Katherine” be traveling with three men? Mistress Lingard blushed as she saw them to the front entrance.
    Adam had not been able to ignore the feeling of relief he’d felt that Florrie had not tried to leave them. Robert had stood guard near the public room to watch over her, but still, she’d passed their little test quite well.
    He watched the way she waved a greeting toMistress Lingard, the liveliness in her step as she strolled with her hand in his arm. She was so…happy, so content with the meagerness she’d been handed in life. He didn’t understand her.
    He saw Michael and Robert waiting with the horses. “Katherine, remain with the men. I will return in a moment.” He went back inside the inn.
    When he returned to her, carrying a wrapped parcel under his arm, he saw her look of curiosity, but she did not question him.
    Not until they had left the village did she give a pleased sigh and smile at him. “How did I do?”
    “You passed,” Robert said.
    Adam shot him a frown, then winced when Florrie’s smile faded.
    “Passed?” she repeated.
    “I needed to be certain you could be trusted not to betray us,” Adam said.
    She nodded solemnly. “I understand. Of course you could not simply take my word. That is why you left me alone?”
    “It is.”
    Taking a deep breath, she donned a small smile. “Then I passed.”
    She was hiding her disappointment, and something deep within Adam ached, confusing him. Had she spent her life hiding her feelings?
    Though he’d meant to wait until later that evening, he removed the parcel from his saddlebag and leaned toward her horse to hand it to her.
    As she held it, she raised wide eyes to his. “What is this?”
    “Open it.”
    He thought he heard Robert snicker behind him, but he ignored his little brother. This was a necessary purchase.
    Florrie untied the string holding the cloth together, then lifted up the plain green gown, with a linen smock beneath it. He suddenly realized it matched her eyes, and he hoped his brother didn’t notice that.
    She gasped, wearing a delighted smile. “Adam, thank you so much! Where did you purchase something ready-made?”
    “The innkeeper’s wife said she kept garments on hand for travelers in need.”
    “And I am in need,” she said fervently.
    She met his gaze, and there was a softness in her eyes that made him uneasy. But she said nothing else, only folded away the clothing and slid it into her saddlebag, all while controlling her horse with her knees. Adam was reluctantly impressed.
    Traveling was much easier now that they’d left the moorlands for the plains of Yorkshire. Farm fields spread as far as the eye could see, dotted with the occasional castle, manor house, or monastery. Adam couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Florrie frequently. Each new building in the distance was a cause for her to experience wonder, whereas Adam had to be waryfor the hue and cry of being discovered. It had been three days since he’d taken Martindale’s daughter—more than enough time for the villain to hear about it. Adam was ready to reveal the next move in his plan.
    As they rode along, Robert came up beside Florrie. “Adam says you mean to become a nun.”
    Adam winced, but Florrie only smiled.
    “I do,” she said. “It has not yet been decided when I shall enter the convent.”
    Robert stared at her as if she were something he’d never seen before. “And you do not mind?”
    She laughed. “You men seem to think women are used to the freedom to decide our own path. We are seldom allowed to choose our futures. If not marriage to a man I hardly know, then service to God. There is not much difference, when one is given no choice.”
    “But you give up the possibility of happiness and children,” he said, his face full of disbelief. Adam glared at him, and Robert quickly amended, “I mean no disrespect, I just thought all women wanted to be mothers, and would be sad not