Dawn had scarcely broken and yet there Chloris was, fully dressed and hastening along the path to the stables as if she had an urgent appointment to attend. Tamhas frowned. She would rather be out riding than anything else, it seemed. It occurred to him that he should perhaps accompany her on one of these early rides of hers. If the morning air benefited her as much as she said it did, she might be in a more pliable state when he next invited her to share a carnal tryst. The foolish woman ought to look kindly on his offer. Her husband had begun to refer to her as if she was an embarrassment. It would be her good fortune if she fell pregnant by another lover, giving Gavin Meldrum the heir he wished for. Tamhas stepped closer to the windowpanes, his breath clouding the glass. As a younger man he had been quite smitten with Chloris. She had acted like a nun, though, rejecting his advances.
