Temptation Read online

  But James said no more and the moment was lost.

  And because she didn’t hear those words, Temperance couldn’t continue. She couldn’t make herself marry a man for the sake of a village. “You should have thought of that before the last day,” she said. “And maybe you should have paid as much attention to me as to your treasure.” When he said nothing in reply, just stared at her, she turned and started walking again.

  Outside were two of James’s racehorses, one ridden by Colin. Temperance wasn’t much of a rider, but right now she knew that she could do anything in the world. Easily, she propelled herself into the saddle and urged the horse forward. There were three of James’s sheep in the road, and when she came to them, she leaned down and shouted at them to move. For all that she might have just done the dumbest thing of her life, she suddenly felt very free.

  At the crossroads, she didn’t hesitate. She wasn’t going to do the sensible thing and return to the house and pack her belongings. No, she was going to . . . Well, she didn’t know where she was going or how she was going to get there, but she was leaving McCairn—that was for sure.

  She pulled just a bit on the horse’s reins, and the animal went right. On the road to Midleigh, with McCairn behind her, there was Kenna walking, her beautiful wedding dress now a muddy mess.

  Temperance halted the horse.

  “Did you come to laugh at me, Mrs. McCairn?” Kenna said nastily.

  “I didn’t marry him,” Temperance said calmly. “Would you like a ride?”

  Kenna opened her mouth a couple of times, then closed it. “Aye, I would,” she said at last, then put her foot into the stirrup and climbed on the horse behind Temperance.

  Twenty-four

  TWO YEARS LATER NEW YORK, NEW YORK

  The sign on the brownstone house said “Women’s Employment Agency—If you have a talent, we have a job.”

  James McCairn stood before the front door and raised his hand to knock, then lowered it. Right now he’d rather face a line of men with cannons than do what he’d come here to do. Standing still for a moment, he reached down to scratch his leg. Both of his legs were raw from wearing the confounded trousers instead of a kilt that allowed a man’s skin to breathe. And he was sick of the heat of the lowlands.

  Running his hand around his collar, he felt a trickle of sweat there, and for a moment he almost turned and fled. But then he remembered Temperance and what his life had been like for the last two years. She had only been with him for a few months, but since she’d left, his life had been . . .

  Taking a deep, bracing breath, he raised the brass knocker and let it fall. A maid opened the door almost immediately.

  “They only find jobs for women,” the woman said, looking him up and down. “And you ain’t one by a long shot,” she said, and there was an invitation in her voice and eyes.

  “Delly!” came a voice that James well knew, and when he heard it, he knew that he’d done the right thing.

  When Temperance turned a corner, she saw him, and instantly, he was sure that she had been as miserable as he’d been these last years. This is going to be easy, he told himself, and his self-confidence returned. Putting his shoulders back, he walked toward her as proudly as though he were on his own land and wearing his kilt.

  “Hello,” he said, smiling. “Remember me?”

  For a moment Temperance stared at him; then she smiled slowly. “James,” she said. “You haven’t changed a bit.” But that wasn’t true. He was, if anything, better looking than when she’d last seen him—and just the sight of him made her heart beat faster.

  James smiled warmly. “I should have told you that I was going to be in New York, but I never got round to it,” he said, trying his best to sound as casual as possible.

  “No, of course not,” she answered softly. “Won’t you come in so we can visit? I’d like to hear all about what’s been happening in McCairn. My mother writes me, but . . .” She trailed off as James moved closer to her. His nearness made words impossible, and it was as though the last two years hadn’t happened.

  There was still the old magnetism, he thought, and smiled again.

  “Won’t you come inside?” Temperance said softly as she opened a door to a prettily decorated little parlor. “Delly, would you send in some tea and cakes?”

  They didn’t speak again until they were alone in the room. Temperance sat down on a small sofa, then indicated that James was to take the chair across from her. But he didn’t sit. Instead, he stood by the fireplace, his arm resting on the mantel. She was prettier than he remembered, but there was something new about her, an air of maturity that he hadn’t seen before, and it was becoming to her.

  Once they were settled, James opened his mouth to tell her why he’d come. He planned to tell her that he was ready to forgive her for the way she’d humiliated him at the altar and take her back.

  But just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door flew open and in ran a little boy. He had dirt all over his face and hands and down the front of his blue-and-white sailor suit. “Mom! Mom!” he yelled as he buried his face in Temperance’s skirts. Behind him ran a young woman, her nanny uniform’s hat askew.

  “He got away from me, I’m sorry,” the nanny said.

  Lovingly, Temperance stroked the boy’s dark blond hair. “What have you done this time?”

  “He dug up every one of the new bulbs the gardener put in last week!” the nanny said in exasperation.

  “Oh?” Temperance said, raising her eyes to look at the woman. “And where were you? Meeting your boyfriend again?”

  At that, tears sprang to the girl’s eyes. “I’m sorry, miss, it won’t happen again. I’m new at this. It’s so much easier makin’ a livin’ on my back than doin’—”

  “Mable!” Temperance said sharply as she looked down at the boy; then she lifted his head from her lap and held his little face in her hands. “There’s someone I want you to meet,” she said as she turned the boy to look at James. “This is James McCairn and he’s from Scotland. Go and shake his hand.”

  The little boy left his mother, solemnly went forward, and held out his hand to James to shake. Just as solemnly, James shook the small hand. He was a handsome child. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” James said quietly.

  The maid brought in a large tray covered with a big pot of tea and three plates holding little cakes and cookies. With a squeal of delight, the boy grabbed three cakes at once, stuffing two into his mouth.

  “Go and wash him,” Temperance said to the nanny, “and stop sniveling. And, Delly, from now on you’ll—” She broke off, instead, giving the girl a warning look. After a quick kiss to the boy’s cheek, the two maids and the child left the room, closing the door behind them.

  “I apologize for that,” Temperance said, looking up at James.

  He was doing all that he could to recover himself, for the bottom of his world had fallen out when the child had yelled, “Mom!” then run to Temperance. “I see that you’re still saving your wayward women,” he said, trying to sound lighthearted as he sat down. All the arrogance had left him in the last moments. Why hadn’t he acted sooner? Why hadn’t he—?

  “Tea?” she asked as she picked up the pot.

  “You’re doing well,” he said, looking about the room.

  “Yes, I think so. I—” She cut herself off as she handed him his cup of tea. “You didn’t come here to hear about me. What brings you to New York?”

  You, he wanted to say, but his pride held him back. “Business for McCairn,” he said, then put his cup down and reached inside his coat pocket and withdrew a small box. “I brought you something.”

  Temperance took the box from him and slipped the ribbon off of it. Inside, wrapped in tissue, was a golden shell on wheels. Atop it was a tiny man holding on to a rope as thin as hair that was attached to the front of the shell. Not only was it exquisite, it looked to be made of gold.

  “Ah, yes, my mother wrote me that you’d found the treasure,” she said, the