I hope you’re right, Great-great-grandpa. Mac put the photo away, pausing by the dressing table to breathe out a long sigh of relief. Perry seemed to accept her story, however improbable it was. Maybe this was going to go her way—
“Nevertheless, Miss MacKenzie,” Perry said, “there’s something you aren’t telling me.”
Mac braced herself and turned. “Oh?”
“You must be quite a remarkable woman to arouse such strong feelings in Liam. That he suspects any female capable of working against him is amazing, yet you made him believe it. You traveled with him and apparently held your own. How was that possible?”
What she needed now was sheer bravado. “Do you also think women are such ineffectual creatures, Mr. Sinclair?”
“To the contrary.” He got to his feet, setting his hat behind him. “But I know Liam. I can think of only one situation that might account for your peculiar relationship, Miss MacKenzie. How long have you and Liam been lovers?”
* * *
IF SHE WAS startled by his frankness, she didn’t show it.
Indeed, Perry doubted he would have been surprised by anything Miss MacKenzie did or said. He had learned long ago to be a swift judge of people, and his first glimpse of her told him just how unusual a woman she must be.
The girl was an oddity. She wore pants that molded her slender legs, an oversized shirt, and boots like a man from a mining camp. She was pretty in an unpolished way, but not exactly beautiful, and certainly no lady. Her dark hair was cropped short and uncurled. Her wide, dark eyes were those of an innocent, but her very presence here made such innocence impossible.
Perry had seldom seen Liam fraternizing with women of any sort, even on expedition, though he knew Liam was no celibate. Liam was always courteous with the ladies, in his rough way, but his deeper feelings for the gentler sex remained a mystery.
All that had changed, if what Perry suspected was true. For some reason this Miss MacKenzie, with her unlikely stories, had a profound effect on Liam. Perry had seen them together only for a few moments, but that had been enough. The girl aroused Liam’s strong protective instincts—instincts he had heretofore focused almost entirely on Caroline.
Very promising, indeed.
“Well, Miss MacKenzie?” Perry prompted softly.
She sat down, her face a little paler than it had been a moment before. “Yes,” she said. “We were lovers.” There was that slight hitch in her voice, a hesitation that Perry suspected had little to do with any maidenly modesty.
“And yet he didn’t entirely trust you,” Perry mused. “You said you were not his prisoner. You came here voluntarily, did you not?”
“Yes.”
“And was this because he offered to help you, or for some more personal reason?”
She looked up. Oh, yes, she understood him.
“I needed his help,” she said. “But it became more than that. For both of us.”
“And yet, lovers or not, he deceived you when he brought you here as a trap for me.”
“He believed he had his reasons.”
The stiffness of her words didn’t disguise her emotions. Perry sat down again, studying her face. “You may be justifiably annoyed, Miss MacKenzie. But you still have… some affection for Liam.”
Only the expression in her eyes confirmed his guess, but it was enough. “I see,” he said. “And what does Liam intend now? He set a guard on your door. What are his plans for you?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “There’s a lot about Liam that I don’t understand yet. He told me very little about Caroline when we were together, but he did make his plans very clear. You accused Liam of not caring about her, and he accused you of being a fortune hunter.” Her gaze held quiet challenge. “Maybe you can explain this relationship to me, Mr. Sinclair.”
“It’s simple enough. Miss Gresham is Liam’s ward, and has been since her father’s death. He gave Gresham an oath to protect and care for her.”
“Did he promise to marry her as well?”
“I don’t know.” Perry stared down at his hands. “He is determined to shelter her from the world, even if he drives all the joy from her life and crushes her spirit.”