Free Stuart, Elizabeth by Without Honor Page A

a'ready," he remarked dourly.
    "Ah,
but I've no desire to be king of Scotland. And I suggest you keep your mind
only on those matters which concern you."
    Grant
paused in the doorway. "But I do, lad. Believe me, I do."
    Alexander
turned without comment and opened the bedchamber door. Jonet stood nervously a
few feet from the bed, staring in his direction.
    His
eyes slid over her consideringly. "A nice fit... in most places."
    Jonet
flushed scarlet and turned away, unknowingly presenting him with a most
enchanting view. The girl was trim and lovely, the soft curves of her breasts
and hips emphasizing a narrow waist he could easily span with his hands.
    "The
hips are just a bit too broad, the chest a bit too rounded," he remarked
matter-of-factly. "But with a loose doublet to cover it all, you'll do,
lass. Thank God, you're not one of those voluptuous creatures with flesh
sagging about in all the wrong places."
    Jonet
couldn't meet his eyes, but she could hear the amusement in his voice. It
probably wasn't possible to feel more humiliated than she did now. To have her
body sized up and found inadequate by a man like Alexander Hepburn was
distinctly unnerving. And he'd made an uncanny guess about her size. She
wondered if he'd helped Madge that first night after all.
    "Yes,"
she got out. "Thank God."
    "Just
one thing more." He dragged a three-legged stool toward him with the toe
of one boot, then drew a pair of shears from his belt. "Sit," he
commanded.
    Jonet's
eyes went from the stool to the pair of shears in his hand.
    Her
hair.
    The
shock swirled over her like a dousing of cold water. Merciful heaven, not her
hair! Her heavy auburn mane fell well past her shoulders. It was Robert's pride
and her one vanity.
    Alexander
remained silent, his eyes unrelenting. After a moment of stunned disbelief,
Jonet moved forward wordlessly. He was going to cut her hair.
    She
collapsed onto the stool and Alexander knelt beside her. With Madge's help she
had used pins this morning to dress it up and away from her face. As Alexander
removed the pins her hair spilled onto her shoulders in a profusion of auburn
silk.
    She
closed her eyes, concentrating on just two phrases. What is your goal,
Jonet? To reach my uncle.
    She
heard the snip of the shears, felt the gentle tug of Alexander's fingers. It
was ridiculous, but for the first time since entering this nightmare, she felt
the ache of tears behind her lids.
    And
then it was over.
    "It
will grow back, lass," Alexander said softly.
    She
opened her eyes and found him gazing at her with a look all too knowing.
    "You're
a beautiful woman, Jonet, with long hair or short." His hands framed her
face, his fingers gently threading the soft new curls about her ears. "And
you'll never in a million years be mistaken for a lad. Take my word on
it."
    It
wasn't so much the words that stopped her breath, nor the feel of his hands
against her face that sent her heart racing. But the avid look in his eyes, the
sight of his mouth, sensual and firm, his lips half parted only inches from
hers, they did something to her, something she couldn't even begin to
comprehend.
    She
swallowed against the unexpected tightness in her chest, the trembling of her
insides. "God help me then," she managed. "Next you'll be
ordering me to grow a beard!"
    Laughter
flickered in his eyes. The tension melted away. He tweaked one short curl.
"Believe it or not, lass, this is all the damage I intend doing."
    He
rose to his feet and slipped the shears back into his belt alongside his
dagger. Her gaze fell to the floor and the dismal mass of shorn hair scattered
about.
    "It
may comfort you to know you passed a most important test just now, Jonet. If
you'd questioned my actions or made even one squeak of protest, I was going to
be done with this insane venture and turn you over to Murdoch Douglas."
    She
looked up, eyes widening in horror. Alexander was staring at her
dispassionately. "Do you know you've the most exquisite green eyes I've
yet