“Ye forgot to tell yer brother that someone is tryin’ to kill ye,” Isla brought up, much to Logan’s disapproval.
“It would be the same person that tried to make me look guilty. Now that I am here, I will protect Logan,” Naomhan assured his mother. Isla was pleased because those were the words she had wanted to hear.
“But first, I must see Faither,” Naomhan said, bringing back the echoing silence in the room. Logan offered to take Naomhan to see their father’s body before he was laid to rest.
Theodora lay naked under the sheets pretending to sleep as she heard the door into her big room come open. Since her arrival at the castle, she had been treated as a guest despite Naomhan’s mother’s nonchalance. There was only one person who would have come to her door that late in the evening and not feel the need to knock before coming in—Naomhan. She wondered what his face would be like when he saw her without clothes under the sheet. She had to press her lips together lest her excitement gained a voice, a loud one.
She bit down on her lower lip as his fingers trailed a circle around the bottom of her feet. It took great restraint not to move as he tickled her. His hand then moved up along her calves to her thighs. Theodora was drowning slowly in her own pretense, which had turned into blissful pleasure as his finger teased her groin. Theodora muffled a moan in her mouth before he left her, running over the curve of her bum, along her back, and into her ears.
She burst out in a giggle as she slapped his fingers away. Naomhan climbed onto the bed next to her and kissed her mouth. She held onto him and kissed him back but his lips were not so enthusiastic. Theodora pulled away from him to see his face. It was sad.
“What happened?” she asked. Naomhan let out a deep sigh and sat up on the bed next to her. As she wanted to sit next to him also, the sheet slipped off her body and his eyes widened with lust at the sight of her pale, lush flesh. She slapped his greedy hands away from her breasts and pulled the cloth over her breasts.
“What happened?” she asked him again, knowing that he would rather avoid talking about his problems. That was her Naomhan.
“I saw my father’s body today. The physician told me that he was poisoned. Only Logan knows this, my mother does not. And then learned, someone shot an arrow at Logan. Someone is out to get my family, Theodora, and I have to protect them,” he told her. Theodora had no words for him. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. She was with him, no matter what happened, come what danger.
“I will protect you,” she said, and he laughed. He knew she had said that purposely to make him smile.
“I love you,” he told her and she told him the same.
They sat there holding one another before she spoke again. It was a thought that had troubled her mind all day long, the thought that had plagued her in her loneliness.
“If you do all this, save your family and prove your innocence, do you become the Laird?” she asked him.
“I am sorry that I did not tell you enough about me and my family. I am indeed the next in line to become Laird, and if I succeed in proving my innocence, I shall become Laird. I asked you to become mine forever, to bear my pains and my happy days as I would bear yours. But I did not tell you anything about being Laird, Grant of Grant,” Naomhan apologized to her.
“I want you to be able to tell me everything. We are in this together till the very end. If you want me to become a Scottish lady, I imagine it would not be the worst thing to happen to me,” she said and he kissed her on her forehead.
“Tomorrow, I shall leave you again to seek out the men that accused me of treason,” he told her.
“What about your cousin, Stephen? Is he aware that you are back? You said the both of you were knitted as brothers,” she asked him.
“His friend tried to kill me when I first tried to come into the castle. I cannot be certain that he has nothing to do with it. I never liked Donald, nor did he particularly like me either, but he would not cross Stephen like that,” Naomhan reasoned. “I do not know what to think. Until I can tell anything for certain, I have to be careful.”
“You’ll survive this,” she told him and he leaned into her also. He knew he could survive it because he was with her. He was his strongest when he was with her.
He had supper with her in her room. His mother did not want him moving about so much in the castle. He stayed long with Theodora before he got up late in the night to head for his room. She pulled his hand, holding him back.
“I miss your touch, Naomhan,” her eyes begged.
“We must be quiet. We must not wake the castle,” he told her in a hushed tone before climbing back into bed with her. Theodora promised that she would be quiet before he climbed on top of her and she shed her cover, baring her body before him. His grey eyes washed over her, making her wet with need for his warmth and his loving mouth.
His lips seized hers and that was the beginning of a heated night, filled with moans of pleasure.
Theodora waved at Naomhan and his brother early that morning as they rode out. Naomhan had his face covered. Of the party of five, only Logan knew that his brother was the strange man in their midst.
Theodora turned away only when they had ridden out of her sight. She looked to her side and almost jumped away when she saw Isla standing next to her.
“Good mornin’, Mother. I didnae ken ye were standin’ next to me. I didnae mean to be rude,” Theodora was quick to apologize. Isla smiled at her to dampen her anxiety.
“I daenae think that we have met properly. Me son can be awful at times with his manner of doin’ things,” Isla said. Theodora smiled in response.
“Walk with me, we can walk and talk along the estate grounds. When we are done and if I like ye, ye could have breakfast with me,” Isla said to her, before she started walking away. Theodora joined her. She believed her chances were greater that day as Isla seemed to be in a good mood. Isla Grant, in many ways, reminded her of her mother, Penelope. She was a strong woman who took on a lot more responsibility than was supposed to be hers to bear.
Walking with her, she came to have a great liking and admiration for Naomhan’s mother and found that she wanted to make her take a liking to herself as well. Isla asked her how she had met Naomhan and she told her. Given the usually strict countenance of the older woman, Theodora had expected to be scolded when she had told her of her prior engagement to Colt Ayers but Isla had only laughed.
“They are Grant men. It is always difficult to say nay to them. Ye have come to ken this, I need nae tell ye any more,” Isla commented.
Theodora went on to tell her about the days she had dreamt about Naomhan and how she had decided to come to him on the pretense of learning Latin. Isla was as intrigued with her story as she was proud of the man that Naomhan had become. She had seen the difference in him but saw it more explicitly by listening to Theodora’s story.
“Ye daenae think yerself too young for marriage? Marriage is a commitment. There are days ye will wake and want to stab him in the chest because men can be annoyin’ and quite forgetful. Someday, he will grow fatter and have a big belly. Would ye still love him then?” she asked Theodora.
“I will love yer son as I always have. He understands me like nay other man can and he is carin’. I cannae live without him. There are things that I have done that make nay sense. It would seem that I did these things without much thought to meself but that is the way he makes me feel. I want to impress him, make him smile when he is sad and thinks that he must go through things by himself—” Theodora only stopped when she saw Isla smiling at her.
“Ye might have breakfast with me after all,” Isla said, as they turned back and headed for the castle. There was a peace and quiet about Scotland that she loved.
“From me experience, the Grant men are loyal and noble, strong, and the people always love them but they are not the smartest bunch. Naomhan will need ye when he becomes Laird. They need the wisdom of a woman to tame their urge to run headfirst into battle. Wou
ld ye be that for me Naomhan?” Isla asked Theodora.
“Aye, I will be. I have been so far,” Theodora said with a smile which Isla reciprocated. Theodora felt happier knowing that Isla’s mother accepted her. All she wished for afterwards was the safe return of Naomhan and his brother.
The first house they checked was Jaime’s. Jaime was a blacksmith and not a very good one. Most of his livelihood was gained by following Donald and Stephen. As long as he followed the both of them, he knew he would get some form of reward. His association with the both of them was perhaps the only good decision he had ever made. His life had been full of a number of bad decisions, including getting married without a defined form of livelihood, and birthing four boys.
His wife was already berating him when she saw the Laird’s men riding towards her parent’s home.
“What have ye done again, Jaime? Ye need to tell me now for the sake of our children,” she pleaded with him. Jaime was angry at her. It was not the first time that guards had come to the old house in search of him. It was mostly the aftermath of a fight at the tavern the night before.
“Ye would be wise nae to ask me that question. I have done nothin’ and I would prove it to ye,” Jaime shouted at her before heading out to meet the men.
He was unfazed when he saw Logan riding alongside a big man whose face was hidden. There was something menacing about the man’s eyes that made him uneasy, more even than the men behind him.
“Good day to ye, young Laird. I daenae think I should call ye that until after yer father is buried,” Jaime spoke, hoping to provoke Logan. Jaime was a hot-headed man and was always spoiling for a fight anywhere he could get it.
“I wish to ask ye a few questions. First, I would like to speak to ye about yer accusation of me older brother—”
“I see what this is, with yer men and horses, and swords.” Jaime waved his hand over them. “Ye want to intimidate me, get me to change me tale before the Queen. Ye want yer traitor of a brother to return home. I will nae dae that, never,” Jaime spat out.
“Nay, I have only come to reason with ye. I want to ken—” Logan kept a calm tone as he spoke but Jaime cut him off again.
“Ye are nae the Laird. When ye become the Laird, ye can summon me. Until then, ye cannae come into me home and demand anythin’ from me,” Jaime told them. He locked eyes with every man on a horse and with Naomhan lastly before heading back to his wife.
“Shall we pick him up? He will speak if we keep him in the dungeon,” Logan offered to Naomhan as a joke and they both laughed. Their late father had bred them to never abuse their power.
A Laird is only as powerful as the law allows him to be, their father always said.
They rode next for Sam, the third man. Sam was less hot-headed than Jaime was and spoke his refusal from behind his door.
Saddened by their lack of results, they rode back for the castle downcast. They knew they had to think of another plan. Their father’s burial was only a few days away and potentially the day that the family’s mysterious enemy would try to kill Logan.
Stephen was having a heated argument with his lover when the men arrived at his doorstep. Rose was bitter about the rumors she had heard about Stephen being unfaithful to her.
“I love ye. I dae but this is too much trouble. I am weary and need sleep. Dae ye want me to die?” Stephen asked her as he tried to head for his bedroom. She stood in his path. Stephen sighed. As much as he was angry, he could not blame her for her worries. She could see that he did not love her as much as he had claimed to.
She had simply played a part in his jealous banter with Naomhan. Stephen had never had luck with women. He was a handsome man, perhaps arguably more than Naomhan, but there was something about Naomhan that had just made it easy for him. When he had asked Rose, she had told him that it was Naomhan’s eyes. Another had said that it was his sweet tongue. All the women saw different things in Naomhan and this drove Stephen into a jealous rage.
Seeing a chink in Naomhan’s armor, Rose, he had played to her weaknesses and she had left Naomhan for him. It had been the happiest moment of his life. But soon, he came to realize that he did not fancy Rose anymore with Naomhan gone. Even Naomhan’s presence in Scotland made no difference. He was certain that Naomhan did not fancy Rose anymore and that did it for him.
He did not blame Rose for her nagging because she was right. He was unfaithful to her and did not love her. Disinterest was not easy to hide from a woman.
“I have had a rough day and all I want is me bed. If ye keep pesterin’ me, I will go to the castle. I have a room there and some quiet,” he told her but she did not move still. Stephen was about to push her out of the way when the knock came to the door.
“Thankfully, someone is here,” Stephen said as he walked over to the door with Rose at his heels. He asked who it was and his countenance changed when he realized that it was his friends.
The two men who walked in through the door were more acquaintances than friends. They were friends of Donald’s. He had expected their visit the moment words of Donald’s demise hit the towns. Rose greeted them rather pleasantly, losing her nagging in front of the guests, and she excused herself from the cottage.
“I ken why ye are here,” he said to them once she was outside.
“Donald trusted ye and look how he’s ended,” Jaime spoke.
“Whatever happened to Donald was of his own volition. I have spoken to the Laird and he has given me charge of his guards to seek out the man that killed Donald. There will be no trouble,” Stephen assured them.
“But there is trouble, Stephen. The young Laird came to our houses today to ask us if we were certain of our words when we accused Naomhan his brother of being a traitor. If they find out that we lied—” Sam spoke. He never spoke and Stephen liked that about him. He could not trust either of the men fully because they were of the same rank of life as Donald had been. There was no sense of loyalty amongst them, no nobility, only self-preservation which had been enough for Stephen to use then.
“Nothin’ will happen,” Stephen repeated himself. He believed so. He was the thinker amongst the lot of them and was never brash. Donald had been the brash and incompetent one.
“We are the ones who ken of yer sin, Stephen. If anythin’ happens to us, everyone would know what ye did,” Jaime threatened Stephen. Stephen scoffed and walked up to the man. He could have killed the man quite easily but that would have only complicated things.
“Ye go home, keep yer mouths shut, and let me take care of things. I am always the one takin’ care of things,” Stephen said to him without raising his tone.
Sam pulled Jaime and they left. Soon after, Stephen left the cottage and rode for the castle. There was a bad feeling in his gut that he had to cure. He got to the castle and had to argue his way into the gate, which set a number of alarms off in his head but he shook these off, believing that they had something to do with Donald’s death and the Grants growing suspicious. He was let in and he made his way to Logan’s room.
“What brings ye to the castle this late at night?” Logan asked him.
Stephen walked towards the window. When he turned his face to Logan, it was depressed with sadness.
“I cannae sleep. I need yer men to seek out the man that killed Donald. I just got some information. It might nae be true but it is worth followin’ up,” Stephen said to Logan.
Logan closed the book in his hand and got off the bed to stand next to Stephen. He looked outside the window as his older cousin did.
“Someone came to murder one of our own inside the estate. That is not just a threat to one man but to me family as well. I will need the men here guardin’ the castle. I trust ye with yer wit to be able to find this killer, cousin,” Logan said. Stephen looked at his little cousin in astonishment. Something was different about him. He was bolder and his thoughts different.
“I appreciate yer confidence in me wit but I—”
“Ye are enough. We want to catch a killer, a wounded
man. If we send out all our men, we will be spotted from a distance. The killer wouldnae see one man comin’. Ye need anythin’, I will provide, for Donald,” Logan told him. There was a sense of finality about Logan’s tone that told Stephen that it was time for him to leave.
Stephen bid Logan a good night before heading for his room. His walk was short, and he tried to think on his encounter with Logan. A lot of things did not add up. The only reason Logan would stop searching for Donald’s killer was if Logan had come to know the identity of the killer— Naomhan.
It meant that Logan might even know where Naomhan was hiding. Worse—Stephen stopped in his tracks—Naomhan might have already been inside the walls of the castle.
34
Naomhan was surprised to hear his mother request for Theodora to join them for supper.
“I take it that yer day didnae go well,” Isla asked her sons. She looked from Naomhan, who was brooding, to Logan, who did not want to raise his head from his untouched pie. Her eyes remained on Logan whom she knew she could get an answer out of quite easily.
Under a Highlander's Spell: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 22