Freya rolled her eyes. “It's a damn stupid thing I'm doing. And he’s an hour early.” She pulled out her pocket watch to confirm the time. Ten by her watch, but only nine by true time.
Edward would have the carriage at the rear of the bawdyhouse several minutes after ten. He'd already collected her bags earlier that day, bless him. But now she would have to hide Ewan for an hour before Edward would arrive.
Freya gave an irritated sigh. “What room is he in?”
“The pink one, but—”
Before Alli could finish, Freya was out the door and stalking up the stairs to the pink room, where the ladies were afforded the opportunity to study during the day or get away for a small break in the evening.
She did not stop her forward march until she stood directly in front of the door. She wrenched it open with the force of her frustration and froze.
A naked man stood in the center of the room, his arms tangled in a leine just over his head. Naked and beautifully muscled, from his long, lean legs to the soft phallus resting amid a patch of dark hair to the bands tightening along his abdomen. For one fleeting moment, she wished his arms and shoulder were not buried within the fabric so she might see them too.
Freya sucked in a breath, but found her limbs locked into place, unable to move any more than she was unable to stop staring.
After a jerk of the fabric, a face appeared through the neckline.
Captain Fraser.
He tugged the leine down over his impressive body and shot her a hard look. “It would have been polite of ye to knock first.”
The spell broke and heat scorched her cheeks. Good God, was she blushing?
To imagine - a madam blushing at the sight of a naked man. She'd seen many in her year assisting friends with their clients, and significantly more in her last couple of years running Molly's.
But then, not every man looked like Captain Fraser. Certainly not every man lived so clean a life, stayed so morally focused, and was so damn tempting.
“Ye might have locked the door,” Freya muttered. Embarrassment was not an emotion she wore often, or well. She slammed the door closed, leaving herself standing in the hall with a grinning Alli at her side. When had Alli arrived?
“Ye might have listened.” Alli's eyes widened and she mouthed, “But I'm glad ye dinna.” She frantically fanned herself with her hand.
“I believe ye should be downstairs,” Freya said testily.
A crash sounded below.
“Now,” she added.
Alli thrust her lower lip out like a sullen child and headed downstairs as she was bade.
The door opened and Ewan stood before Freya in a clean leine and fresh kilt - no longer dark with the colors of the Black Watch, but wearing a tartan of the more earthy tones of green and dun. He gave her a smile and the dimple dotted his cheek.
He might be good, but he was handsome as sin itself.
He held out his hands, presenting himself to her. “Now I'm ready.”
She took out her pocket watch. “An hour early.”
“It runs an hour fast,” he said slowly.
Observant man.
“And I account for that. Now ye're an hour early and the carriage isna here yet.”
He paused, most likely due to her admonishment. But then he surprised her.
“Ye look bonny.” He said it with such reverence, the heat returned to her cheeks.
She glanced down at her traveling gown, the one a lady wore. Like she used to wear. Pale blue satin, edged in lace with the waist comfortably cinched and a bosom high enough to make her feel as though she were draped in a blanket. She wore no cosmetic on her face and had her hair twisted into a simple but fashionable style with fat curls draping down her shoulders.
“Aye. Well, thank ye,” she staggered out uncomfortably.
She lifted the cloak from the bed, her own from her wardrobe upstairs, and swung it over her shoulders. “I’m the eldest daughter of the Lady of Glenmore. It's a title and no' anything more. We lost our fortune after my da died.” She was rambling in her discomfort.
The last thing she wanted to do now was go on about her life, especially when she was already disquieted by his flattery and by her inability to clear her mind of his naked body. He didn't need to know how she'd tried to turn the home into a farm, and how she'd failed most miserably.
Shouting came from downstairs, followed by another crash.
Freya spun to bolt out the door, but Captain Fraser grabbed her arm. “Ye canna go down there like that.”
Freya looked down at her lady's clothing a second time and frowned. He was right.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs and a knock sounded at the door. Freya jerked the door open and found Tessa standing there, wide-eyed.
“It's the man who tried to beat Marie the other day, the one ye threatened with yer blade,” she said.
“Clemmons,” Captain Fraser said.
“He's looking for ye.” Tessa spoke to the captain and then regarded Freya. “Alli is seeing to him. She told me to tell ye to run - she'll handle what needs to be done.”
“Why?” A line of muscle showed at the corner of his square jaw. “Why is he here?”
Tessa glanced away. “He thinks ye've abandoned the Black Watch.”
Freya's pulse ticked up a notch. They knew. It wasn't even the proper meeting time and already they were caught. She snagged the man's cloak from where it lay on the bed and shoved it into Captain Fraser's hand.
“I canna let this happen. I canna let women fight for me.” Captain Fraser stepped around Freya, but this time it was she who grabbed his arm.
“Ye'll be killed,” she said.
Tessa smirked. “And we're no' yer ordinary women.”
Freya gave Tessa a proud grin. “They’ll be fine with Clemmons. Most of us have dealt with worse before.”
Another crash came from below, followed by more bellowing. Freya tried not to flinch. She trusted Alli. The girl might be genteel enough to be a lady's maid if she chose, but the lass had a rough upbringing that made her tougher than the stubble on a Highlander's jaw.
“Ye need to go,” Tessa said.
Freya pulled at Captain Fraser's arm. He remained in place, a tree rooted to the ground. And so she shoved him directly in the lower back. He flew forward with a surprised expression.
“Now,” Freya gritted through her teeth. “I dinna risk all of this for ye to go soft on me.”
Her goading worked and Captain Fraser followed her through the hall and to the narrow back stairs where the dark alley lay behind Molly's. She only hoped Edward would have the carriage ready this early. She knew the path he would take to arrive at Molly's from his simple stable several streets up. They could walk there and pretend to be a fine couple out for an evening stroll.
In a town like Edinburgh, they'd never be suspected.
Together they burst out of the alley and made their way toward the bustle of the main street, cloaks secured around their throats and hoods up.
“I thought I might find ye here,” a voice growled.
Freya spun around and found Clemmons standing in front of Molly's, the pistol in his hand aimed directly at her.
CHAPTER FIVE