Robert charged through the door at a run. He’d been outside cleaning rabbits when a shriek came from inside the bothy. He was halfway to her side when the woman’s state of undress dawned on him. Aye. Not just undress, but near complete nudity.
Perfection.
“No!” she shouted, trying to tug the shift down from around her neck.
“Did you fall? Has the splint shifted?” he demanded, dropping to his knees beside her while his heart nearly pounded out of his chest.
“Go away!” She tried to curl into a ball, tears streaking down her face.
Robert forced himself to shift his gaze aside. “Clearly you need help.”
“This is humiliating. P-please go,” she sobbed.
“Nay.” He’d already seen her. He had no choice but to block his mind to it and help the poor lass. Spotting the skirts of her gown, he whisked them from the floor. “I shall drape this over your lap for modesty.”
“Noooooo…”
“Bear up your courage. ’Tis not the first time I’ve helped a woman dress.”
Those words seemed to settle her—or shock the lass—because her weeping turned into staccato breathing. Robert’s jaw twitched. Most likely she thought him a more hideous rake than before. With the brushing of taffeta, he covered her lap with the gown, but the sight of her creamy flesh disarmed him. Smooth and shapely thighs led to dark curls—curls that concealed a tempting treasure. Higher up, her arm crossed a perfectly rounded breast while Miss Janet’s fingers tugged futilely on her twisted linen shift.
Gulping, he shifted his gaze to her face and brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Och, lass, I left the water for you to splash your face and hands, not for a full bath. No one, man or woman, who’d only just broken their arm could be expected to dress without assistance.”
“But I felt so slovenly, and the water temperature was deliciously nice.”
“I cannot say I blame you there. It has been a harrowing couple of days.” Trying not to stare at the soft curve of her breast peeking from beneath her arm, he pointed to the shift. “That’s twisted up tighter than a hemp rope.”
“I’m afraid I bunched it up overmuch and then it twisted more due to my damp hair and…ah…Goodness gracious, this is so improper.”
“Nonsense. You are in need of help and, since there is no one about for miles, I am the only person who can give it.” He started untwisting the linen. “Tell me,” he said, trying to calm her unease, “did it not hurt to remove your clothing?”
“It hurt a great deal, but not anywhere near as much as trying to put my things back on. I thought I would swoon from the pain.”
“Hmm.” The shift unfurled until he had it completely covering her torso. Now came the impossible part—pulling the sleeve up her splinted arm. He tugged the armhole downward, but the tie at the neckline prevented him from moving it far enough. “I’ll need to release this bow.”
“Must you?”
“Aye, unless you can raise your arm about five inches.”
She met his gaze with a mixture of apprehension and trust. “Very well, untie it,” she whispered, so softly it made his stomach stir—causing a great deal of stirring in inappropriate places.
He pulled on the bow and the collar dropped wide. So did Robert’s mouth. Except for the arm hiding the tips of her breasts, he beheld the most exquisite feminine bosom he’d ever seen in all his days. Everywhere he looked, Janet’s skin was as smooth as warm cream. On the curve of her breast, a tiny mole peeked above her hand—exactly where his lips wanted to be, worshiping, tasting, exploring her.
He licked those wayward lips, pretending to examine the widened hole. Most likely, if Janet had released the tie at the collar, she might have been able to slip her arm inside, though Robert could imagine the agony and pain she must be enduring. Carefully he fingered the sleeve. “I shall slip this over your hand now.”
Janet sucked in a gasp, but he managed to quickly slip it over the splint and up to her shoulder. “Breathe,” he whispered, his lips very near her ear.
She smiled with her stuttered inhalation, her eyes mesmerizing. They were flecked with shimmering shades of blue from turquoise to indigo. She glanced downward as if bashful.
“Don’t,” he said, wanting more.
With a mere flicker of her eyelids, those vivid blues again stared back. “What?” she asked, her voice breathless. Did she feel the connection, too?
Of course not. Her father is my sworn enemy.
Clearing his throat, Robert released his grip on the shift and stood. “I’ll turn my back whilst you finish.”
“Thank you.”
After a great deal of grunting and rustling, silence filled the bothy.
“May I turn around now?”
“Mm…” It sounded as if she had her mouth full.
He glanced over his shoulder. One end of her shift’s ribbon was in her teeth and the other was in her good hand. She was trying to tie a bow.
“Allow me to help.”
She shirked away, as if he hadn’t just helped her pull the damned thing up her broken arm. “Och, you won’t be able to dress alone.” He briskly tied the damned bow. “My guess is a lady’s maid helped you tie your stays when you were dressing for Samhain. Am I right?”
She nodded, looking sheepish. At least she was covered, albeit with a single layer of holland cloth that left little to the imagination.
If only the good Lord would bring a heat wave on the morrow, my torture would be ended.
Offering his hand, Robert helped Janet to her feet, stopped staring, and picked up the taffeta skirt.
“Petticoats next,” she said.
He straightened, keeping his back turned. “What do you need all those for?”
“The gown will look wilted without them.”
“We’re stranded miles from civilization and you’re worried about having full skirts?”
“Well, we can’t leave them here. A-and they help provide warmth.”
He hadn’t thought about that. So he sorted through the pile of India muslin and helped her tie three blasted petticoats in place, then again picked up her skirt.
She shook her head. “Stays next.”
He held up the contraption. “How in the devil did you manage to remove this?”
“It wasn’t easy. I nearly broke my good arm twisting it backward.”
“’Tis a miracle you didn’t. But why wear these now? You can put them on afore we ride.”
“Are you serious? No proper woman would be seen outside her bedchamber without her stays.”
“Right. Of course. How terribly unfeeling of me.” He looked to the stays. “Would you prefer the laces in front or in back?”
She huffed. “I believe the front would be most practical.”
Wrapping the stays around her midriff and then painstakingly tugging the laces through each eyelet until his fingers brushed the delicate softness of her breasts turned his knees boneless. And then she gasped. It was not a shocked gasp of horror, but a wee, barely audible gasp. A sound emitted by a female only when she was aroused.
Robert’s hands stilled. She stared at him with desire in her eyes, her chest heaving with the same unsteady breaths he was experiencing. Her lips parted—heaven help him, he wanted to kiss her.
Nay, you will not kiss Sir Ewen Cameron’s daughter, you clodpoll!
Finishing the job, he tied a bow, praying she didn’t notice the slight tremor of his fingers.
“You are adept at this, Mr. Grant,” she whispered. “Wherever did you acquire your skill?”
“Anyone can tie laces.” That wasn’t quite true, but he would never own to his many conquests, not to a maid as pure as Miss Janet. “Besides, I have a sister.”
“You do?”
“Aye.” He held up the bodice of her gown and carefully helped her slide into it, injured arm first.
“I do not recall ever seeing her before.”
“I doubt you have. She keeps to Glenmoriston.”
“How old is she?”
“Ten years my junior. She’s only seventeen.”
“Seventeen, and you do not take her to gatherings?”
“She hasn’t wanted to go.”
“Is she shy?”
“Yes.” Robert grasped Janet’s shoulders, turned her to face the wall, and started with yet another set of laces. “Pull your hair aside, please.”
“’Tis wet and matted.”
He glanced at the hand-painted comb on the floor. “I’ll work out the knots for you after I’ve finished cleaning the rabbits.”
“Oh, my goodness, you caught rabbits?”
“Four of them. I found some hazelnuts beneath a grove of trees where the snow wasn’t as deep—gathered enough to fill my sporran. They’ll make a tasty pottage.”
“I daresay they will. I’m hungry.”
Once she was put back together, Robert helped her sit atop her pallet of furs. “How’s your arm?”
“It’s the most painful injury I’ve ever had, but I have no alternative but to endure it.”
“I wish I would have been the one to fall and not you.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and kissed. “Please remain still and do not cause yourself injury whilst I fetch the rabbits.”