Calum grinned in Angus’ direction and winked at his brother, unbeknownst to the ladies. Angus clenched his jaw. Charlotte waved a hand in the air and said with a little too much heat. “Always concerned for my welfare, once more. You would consign me to rot in the unexciting barracks, Mr. MacLean.”
Angus replied, “Is that nae better than getting hurt somewhere?”
Charlotte paused and turned to see Julia and Calum staring at them, looks of confusion and entertainment on their faces. She chuckled nervously. “All is well. You know me, Julia, I would simply die in a place like that, and I hope my father does not call for me any time soon. But, of course, I will have to let him know.”
“Of course, Charlotte. I do hope ye’ll send him a letter today. I know we’re leaving tomorrow, but it would make me feel so much better if you’d stay. I hate to leave you so soon after we’ve been reunited, though.”
Charlotte smiled. “I know. You’ve both been so good to me.” She made a point of turning her shoulder slightly to block Angus out of her kind words. “I thank you for all your hospitality. You’ve certainly saved me from a life of drudgery while my father continues to reside in Scotland, and therefore, so must I.”
Calum then said, mirth in his voice, “Well, perhaps when we’re gone, ye’ll be able tae find something tae entertain yerself.” He glanced at his brother and said, “Angus would be happy tae assist, I’m sure.”
Charlotte blushed, and Angus glared at Calum, clenching his fists underneath the table. “The lass knows her own mind well enough and will surely find her own amusement without my help.”
Charlotte filled with gratitude at Angus’ defense, but she couldn’t help but feel the slightest of tug of interest at the thought of what Angus MacLean might do to...entertain.
Chapter Three
After what seemed like an interminable meal of embarrassment, Charlotte took herself to the library to continue her research. She knew that it was Julia’s last night for many weeks, but Julia would understand that the mysterious illness was very pressing and needed her immediate attention. Besides, Julia would be busy packing all evening, but they’d promised they’d see each other at dinner.
Besides, she needed a place to finally exhale to calm her nerves after the slightly embarrassing discussion of entertainment. Charlotte Andrews was no stranger to flirting, but this time, the insinuation was clear, and it gave her a little thrill. She was annoyed that it stuck in her mind, but it was partially true.
She did need something to entertain her while she lived her life out here in the wilds. At least here, she had freedom over her time, whereas in the barracks or back in London, she might have some freedom, but there would be other restrictions and activities she would be duty-bound to participate in.
She sighed and then took a deep breath of the lovely smell of leather and paper as she entered the library. Books were like holy artifacts, and both she and Julia were completely in awe of their power. They had both been blessed with a good education, and now, for Charlotte, it felt like she could never learn enough. She had depended so on her intellectual powers all these years, and now, with this illness confounding her, she felt weak and unprepared. It was similar to the way that Angus made her feel when he stared at her for too long.
Men and books are nothing alike. Why am I comparing them? She thought with frustration.
She began to scan the shelves, searching for The Anatomy of Humane Bodies by William Cowper. It was a book she had used in her own library at home after she had been taught some of her medical knowledge by a distant cousin. After Charlotte’s mother died, this cousin had taken pity on her grief and taught her all that he had known, as a doctor himself. But, then, he too, had died a few years later, and Charlotte continued to learn, grasping for any medical resources that she could find, leaving her father unaware of her new endeavor.
She finally found it and squealed with delight. She pulled it down from the shelf and moved to a desk in the far corner to open the tome and scan its pages. She was busy moving her fingers expertly across its yellowed pages, and her heart was thrumming with excitement. She knew the book so well, it felt a little like being home again. She knew each of the different diagrams. She remembered when she had first picked it up and was amazed at its weight as well as the drawings of body parts and functions. She was so lost that she did not hear footsteps behind her until a throat cleared.
She gasped but then turned to see Calum next to her, his arms behind his back. She clutched a hand to her chest. “Calum! You mustn’t scare anyone like that! I could have had a heart attack right here in your library just before you left on your trip!”
He chuckled. “Sorry, lass, I just wanted tae come and tell ye something.” He paused, and Charlotte turned, looking into his kind face.
“Is everything well?” she asked, wondering why her friend’s husband was looking concerned in front of her.
“Aye, all is well. I’m glad that we’ve asked ye tae stay on, if ye can, until our return. It is very important tae me that ye try and keep an eye on the clan, of course. The Campbell men might try tae come and see how we are faring while we’re away. If they see that many of the villagers are ill, it could bode ill against us. The Campbells may think that they’re dying of starvation and we arenae living up tae our deal.”
Charlotte nodded, attempting to appear casual. The mention of the Campbell name made a cold shiver start at the back of her neck and work its way down. Would it be like this for a long time? Remembering the man’s face who had almost taken her virginity without permission? The smell of him, the sweat upon his face as he pulled up his kilt, and the look of his tool, staring at her coldly, ready to plunge into her.
“Charlotte? Are ye all right, lass? Ye look pale.” Charlotte’s attention was taken back to the present when Calum called her name.
“Oh, yes, sorry, I was just thinking about the patients, of course.” She smiled, hoping he wouldn’t tell Julia anything that he noticed amiss. “I understand your concern about the people. I do hope I can sort it out quickly. I shall do my utmost.”
“Well, the other reason I wanted tae talk tae ye is tae say that I hope ye can stay tae help Angus too. Julia has a lot of duties with the clan, and since ye know them, I thought perhaps ye could take them on? Angus is very nervous about doing a proper job while I’m away. He is a better man than me, in more ways than one, but he doesnae believe it, and it will keep him awake at night, fretting about the clan. Help him, will ye nae?”
Charlotte uncrossed her arms and looked at Calum in surprise. “You want me to help your brother with bringing the clan back to rights?”
He nodded. “Aye. I know ‘tis a lot tae ask, but Julia and I dinnae know how long we will be away. The trial could take weeks or more. She doesnae know that I’m letting ye know all of this. She wouldnae want tae put too much on yer plate.”
She nodded slowly. “I will do my best. I will try to convince my father. I have prepared a letter to send out as soon as possible.”
“Thank ye, lass. My brother will be in need of a strong partner such as ye. But be careful; he would never admit it.” Calum smiled and winked and then left the room. At the desk, Charlotte sat poised over her book, surprised at what she had just heard.
She knew that it was appreciated that she stay to help with the healing, even though she was not a properly trained healer. But she thought Julia had mainly asked her to stay because she wanted to help Charlotte avoid the boredom and entrapment of barracks life. Charlotte didn’t expect this. A request from a laird to help his brother. It felt so purposeful, and it felt nice to be needed. Charlotte couldn’t avoid the pleasure of that feeling. It grew on her like a fever, and she felt the glorious joy of belonging somewhere, and she wished that her father would never ask for her to come and stay with him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t love her or that she didn’t love him. But he wanted her to be a perfect young lady. And she fit the bill in every sense of the word, except she knew she always
wanted more than that. She wanted a life filled with something else. That’s why she never told him about her knowledge of medicine. And why she wrote in her letter that she was needed to help Julia in her female duties as lady of the clan while her cousin was away.
She knew that was something her father would approve of. Charlotte turned towards the book and fingered the pages lightly. Tears pricked at her eyes, annoying her. She had never been asked to help in any way before. It touched her, and she wished more than ever that she could make a success of her brief time as a healer before she would need to go. But she would have to study as hard as she could. She turned the page and came across the drawing of a man’s body.
She found herself staring at it, thinking once again about the Campbell man who had pushed her to the ground. The member in the picture was much the same, but instead, it hung limply against the man’s body, and Charlotte was intrigued by it. She was so intrigued that she didn’t notice a new shadow coming towards her in the library, and she jumped once more at the sound of her name.
She turned and saw Angus. Her heart fluttered for a moment before she said, “Ah, come to tell me you’ve changed your mind about keeping my secret? You almost gave me away at the meal! Why would you do that? I thought we were in agreement?”
She looked so desperate, and she put her hands to her hips to further her point. Angus hesitated for a moment, his eyes wrinkled in concern, but then his expression smoothed. “Charlotte, it might be a good idea tae go and live with yer father. At the barracks, ye can be protected. Here, I am only one man. I cannae be everywhere with ye at once!”
“No matter how hard you try. I see you shadowing my every movement.”
“And it is good that I did so! Is it nae?” He let the question hang in the air until he saw her nod sharply and almost imperceptibly. She sat down with a huff.
“Angus, I need to figure out what ails these people. You know I cannot just let them lie ill without assistance! It wouldn’t be right. I am all they have at the moment.”
He sighed. “Then, I will have tae double my protection. I will send Liam with ye if ye’d prefer his presence.”
Charlotte brightened and sat up straighter, happy at the prospect that he would send Liam, easy-going, like a puppy, Liam. He wouldn’t dare interfere with her methods. “Yes, that would be a lovely compromise.”
She watched with delight as Angus grimaced briefly before returning to his stoic expression once again. “Fine. But if I see that there are any more potential occurrences like the last one, I will write tae yer father myself and have him take ye back.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” she cried, standing up again, confident that someone couldn’t possibly go against her in this manner. It would be so ultimately interfering. It would be so very Angus. She knew he meant it.
He moved towards her, whispering harshly, “I would. ‘Tis my duty tae protect the clan and its guests. Julia is now my sister, and therefore my family. She desires yer protection and safety above any other.” Charlotte watched as his face moved closer to hers. She could see his warm brown eyes and noticed for the first time the flecks of honey-gold in them. Her breath caught in her chest as she took in his face.
Undeniably handsome.
The phrase produced itself in her mind as she watched, frozen for a moment. She thought about his image asking her to dance at a ball in London, but she couldn’t see it. He was not that type of man, the type she had always desired. She had always pictured herself with a clean-shaven man with a tall, imposing figure and a royal nose. It was what she was bred to desire. But, instead, she felt, deep in her gut, a desire growing for this man who was nearly like a beast, his muscled bulk so large, it was impressive.
He was awakening things in her she did not know that she possessed, and she longed once again to touch the rough skin of his chest like she did that day she’d first met him as she cleaned his wounds. She nearly held her hand out to do so; they were so close, but she refrained. She suddenly hated this feeling that he gave her. She felt so helpless against it, and she was not a woman who lost her head. She could not be.
If she did that, then she would lose everything. She had to follow the plan of marrying well. She made a face of frustration. She recoiled slightly and responded in anger, “But, Julia would never desire my confinement, Angus. Keep that in mind before you scold me next.” Angus did not respond. Taking the book and the letter, she fled the room, grateful to be out of his presence.
* * *
Angus did not understand what was going on with him. One minute he was bursting with anger; the next, he was filled with desire. Charlotte Andrews was playing him like a well-practiced game. He knew it, and yet he was falling for it. He remembered when she’d first arrived, how she’d burst into his life like a flame, and then she had begun to use all of the tricks a woman possessed.
He’d noticed, but he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he had. She was a proud woman, and he could tell that she was used to getting what she wanted. For some reason, he didn’t want to give in to her charms. But he knew that many a man had and would. Lord knows, he’d done so before and ended up looking like a bloody fool. He got out all the frustration of his desire of her by his anger and attempts to control. That, in a small way, got some of the heat out of him, without giving in to what he really wanted.
And what he had really wanted at that moment in the library before she’d walked away was to crush her form to his and kiss her with everything he had. She was so infuriating, but she was like having a whole bottle of whiskey; she so bewitched his senses.
He had to admit, he respected her. It was the same way he respected Julia, who had fought against his brother and pushed to do what she wanted to do and thought was right. Both women were extremely intelligent and trusted the workings of their minds. He couldn’t bear women who were only focused on their appearance or finding ways to trap unsuspecting men into marriage. Many of the clan women were like that. Perhaps that was why he had known Julia was for his brother the moment he met her.
But he had never desired Julia, whereas Charlotte was becoming more and more of a distraction. Clearly, other men thought so as well. His whole body tensed at the thought of that Campbell bastard trying to rape her. If he had been a few minutes too late, it would have been over and done with. Why could she not understand that she needed protection? He would have to impart to Liam the great importance of his task of protecting her.
But, he thought with slight distaste, Liam’s eyes were already turned by the lass, and he would be more than happy to accompany her all over the island. Charlotte would be happy at least one man was giving in to her charms and allowing her to walk all over them. Then, maybe she would stop looking at him as if he was the devil.
Well, Liam is welcome tae the angry, arrogant lass who thinks that she knows what is best. He is welcome to her diatribes, her words, the look of her lips as she purses them in anger, and the way her beautiful golden-red hair flies around her as she rides, and...
Angus cleared his throat and started to leave the library. This train of thought was getting him nowhere.
Chapter Four
Charlotte was grateful to be sitting with her cousin Julia in Julia’s chambers. Julia, of course, slept in the main bedroom with Calum, but she had her own space in which to read, work on plans for the Isle, or to simply be. It was her haven away from all of the stressors of being in charge of a whole clan, and she and Charlotte had spent many pleasant hours there.
They sat there before the evening meal, indulging in a much-deserved glass of sherry. Charlotte had been unsuccessful with the book and her research. She had taken it back to her room and tried to focus, but all she could think about was the weight of Calum’s request and her new-found understanding of her own traitorous body, which was yearning for Angus even as she wished to hate him in her heart. She would have to research later.
And, so she’d left the book in a huff and moved to give her letter to the butler to
be mailed as soon as possible. She was told that Liam would be happy to do the job as he and Fergus, another of Calum’s men, were going to the other side to begin hunting again and to see if deer were coming out of their wintery hiding places.
She thought with satisfaction, on her way to Julia, about the way that Angus’ face had looked when she’d appeared so happy to have Liam as her protector and guide for as long as she would be staying on the Isle of Mull. It would be much easier without Angus always around, pointing out things she ought to consider.
When she arrived at Julia’s chambers, Julia had handed her a glass, and they sat before a merry hearth. It was still cold, but not as biting as January and December had been, and so, with the warming weather, the both of them were feeling much more comfortable within the castle walls, wearing only their gowns and no plaids when sitting before the fire. Julia took a sip. “So, have you sent your letter then?”
Mending a Highland Heart: Healing him was more scandalous than she ever imagined… Page 3