A rustling from the path made her heart jump to her throat. Kitty tried to remain casual despite the way her pulse almost blinded her. Taking swift strides, she started toward town and Nathaniel easily matched her step for step. Her heartbeat returned to a more pleasant rhythm when the fortification of buildings once again guarded her on either side.
They moved in silence, though she could feel Nathaniel’s eyes on her. “Are you well?”
A nervous laugh bubbled out of Kitty’s chest before she had time to mask it with a more genuine one. “Aye, I am well.” She looked up. “I thank you for your interest in my well-being.” Swallowing she stared ahead, begging God in heaven to shut his mouth from further question.
“What were you doing just now?”
“Doing?” She questioned, praying he didn’t hear the wailing in her head.
“I saw you dart from those trees as if the devil himself was on your heels. What were you doing in those woods? I doubt Eliza or Thomas would approve of you going to the outskirts of town alone.”
Without losing a step, Kitty shrugged. Compelled by the imperative need to dissuade him from asking any more probing questions, she gave him a warmer smile than she would have wished and offered at least a partial truth. Lord, please let my answer satisfy his curiosity. “I was making a delivery and... I heard something that frightened me so I ran until I came to the safety of the road. That is all.” She stopped in front of the blacksmith’s shop and Nathaniel came beside her. She pulled he
r lower lip between her teeth as his gaze held steadfast. Had she said too much? With a soft shrug of her shoulders, Kitty practiced her most believable laugh and mixed it with a heavy dose of banter. “I believe you are becoming over-anxious, Doctor.”
His gaze never once wavered, in fact grew deeper as if he could see through her charade and into the hidden parts of her heart she wished to keep concealed. He stepped closer, a cant to his voice that stirred a tender place within. “You do not give me adequate credit, Miss Campbell. I am never anxious. Only ever concerned.”
Kitty couldn’t move. Couldn’t even feel the ground beneath her feet as Nathaniel’s eyes roamed her face again, searching. He stepped closer. “Should I be concerned?”
Aye, he should be. Her heart corroded more every week that passed. Painful regret plunged straight through her. He would never look at her with such kindness if he knew what she’d done.
Kitty met his stare and masked the need for help her own eyes yearned to signal. With a tilt of the head, she smiled. “Nay, you need not be concerned. I am well.”
He breathed out hard and looked to the side, almost as if he were trying to hide his disbelief. “As you say, Miss Campbell.” He turned back to her, a light in his eyes that toyed with the soft center of her heart.
She stared, stunned under his tender gaze before once more remembering how to move her feet and she continued walking. He stayed perfectly in step.
Nathaniel rubbed his jaw and peered down at her from the corner of his eye. “You haven’t forgiven me yet. For what I said to you that night.”
Startled by the sudden change in subject, Kitty almost stuttered her reply but answered openly. “In truth I have not.”
He shook his head with a frown. “’Tis a shame, considering I am such a loving and forgivable sort of person.” The way the lines lengthened around his bright eyes and the slight tilt to his mouth nearly pulled a rich laugh from Kitty’s throat, but she kept still. He bit the inside of his cheek then flung her a sideways look. “I must make amends.”
Peeking at him from the corner of her eye, she allowed a wisp of a smile to raise one side of her mouth. “I fear you cannot.”
“Hmmm.” He shook his head and frowned. “That will not do. I shall find a way. Believe me.”
A gentle breeze danced around them and Kitty glanced up at him as they walked side by side. Bits of afternoon stubble dusted his jaw. Strands of rich brown hair strayed from his queue and brushed his cheek. Quickly she stared back at the street. Staying angry with Nathaniel was as difficult as keeping ice from melting in August. Not only had he a handsome face and fine physique, he had an alluring charm and a gentle strength that added depth to his character and a pull to his magnetism that Kitty was helpless to resist.
When they reached the other side of town, Kitty’s muscles eased and she pushed out a breath that held weeks of anxiety. Shawme Pond glistened in the sun as a group of ducks glided down to the water and a cart laden with hay passed across the road in front of them.
“So.” Nathaniel adjusted his hat on his head. “To whom were you making the delivery?”
She whipped toward him. “Delivery?” Her voice cracked. Stop asking so many questions!
“Aye, you said you were making a delivery, so who was it for?”
Kitty took a step back, her limbs suddenly cold. “Oh, ‘twas nothing... I was simply...”
“She was making the delivery for me.”
Kitty gasped and spun around as Cyprian neared, his eyes tender on the edges and poison in the center. Terror blinded her until Nathaniel took her elbow and gently tugged her closer. She could sense his muscles grow tight as the sound of his breathing turned slow and measured.
Offering a small bow, Cyprian removed his hat then put it back on again. “Forgive me for overhearing.”
Kitty could hardly remain still and clutched her fists so tight her nails bit into her hands. She glanced between the two men as they exchanged venomous glares. What had Cyprian done? Did he plan to expose her now? Like this? The blood in her limbs congealed.
Cyprian shifted his feet then gave Kitty an uncle-like smile that made her stomach harden. “Miss Campbell has been helping me these past several weeks now, and I must say her generosity has been a blessing to us all.”