Charming the Highlander Laird

by Verlin Underwood

  Was Baldric safe here?

  “But surely you’ve taken a liking to her, Colin. I know a besotted man when I see one. You look just like your father did when he fell in love with me.”

  “I am not besotted, mother. We just happened to escape Haddington together and decided to travel with each other to Aengus. Baldric has taken a liking to her. There’s nothing more to it than that.”

  “Aye, sure.”

  “Mother,” Colin said sternly. “I didn’t come up here to talk about marriage and women. I’m here to tell you something much more important. I escaped from Scotia because of my brother.”

  His mother frowned over the top of her mug. “Eldron? What of him?” she asked.

  He set his mug down and looked at his mother directly. “He revealed to me that he had killed the selkie who mothered Baldric and he was planning to kill Baldric himself. That is why I escaped to Scotia, to save Baldric’s life. He was going to send a sword through the boy’s heart while he slept.” It made him feel ill to say the words out loud, but his mother needed to know the full brunt of Eldron’s plans.

  His mother looked horrified. Rightfully so. Her face paled, making the rouge stand out like a court jester’s make-up. “I can’t even begin to imagine… How could… Why would he do such a thing?”

  “He’s not the man you thought he was. He’s not the man I thought he was. Has he written to you at all as of late?”

  “Only to ask if I’d seen you.”

  “I’d imagine that you replied in the negative,” he said hopefully.

  His mother nodded. “Well, of course. I didn’t know where you were.”

  “Keep telling him that if he writes to you again. Don’t tell him where Baldric is. If he comes up here, he will kill us. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to kill you, too.”

  His mother put a hand over her heart as though it pained her. “I would imagine he would come up here if he wanted to find you,” she said softly.

  “I’ve thought that as well. Aengus wasn’t my first choice to take Baldric to. I was planning on staying in Haddington, but now I know naught else to go.”

  His mother nodded slowly. “Hopefully, he isn’t already in Scotia.”

  “I will deal with him when the time comes. In the meantime, make sure your men are at the ready at all times.”

  “Ach, don’t worry about me, Colin. He’s not going to do anything to his mummy.”

  “This isn’t just about Eldron,” Colin said. He didn’t want to alarm his mother too much, but she still needed to be prepared just in case. “There might be other nefarious people coming to Aengus, and it would be good to be ready.”

  “My men are always ready, but aye, I’ll let them know to take extra caution,” she said.

  Colin turned his head toward the entrance hall, where the stairway leading up to the bedrooms were. He not only missed Baldric, but he also missed Tara. He wanted both of them to be down here with him.

  “You’re thinking about that lass again, aren’t you?” his mother asked him. “You fancy her.”

  He was about to refute, but he knew he couldn’t hide it from his mother. “Aye, I suppose I do,” he told her. “But I shouldn’t be thinking about that kind of thing right now.”

  “Why not?” she asked. “It’s all right to find happiness where you can, even in these dark times.”

  “I suppose so,” he quietly said into his mug.

  Chapter 15

  Colin bathed and changed into a clean tunic and leggings. A breacan was laid out onto his bed, and he tied it around his shoulders while folding his fur cloak on the table beside his bed. He walked downstairs for dinner, stopping to stare in amazement at how many people were packed into the great hall.

  Tables had been pushed and carried in from multiple rooms in order to have enough seats for the refugees. Servants swarmed around like bees, offering food and drink to them. His mother sat at the head of the long dining room table in the center of the hall, obviously delighted by having so much company under her roof.

  Baldric sat beside her, playing with a wooden horse. He had to admire his mother’s character and hospitality. He walked over to her and kissed her on her cheek before seating himself.

  “You look charming all washed up,” she told him, eyes twinkling as she sipped her wine.

  “Thank you, Mother,” he said, and looked around. “Where’s Tara?”

  His mother looked pointedly at the great hall’s entrance. Tara stood by the large door, dressed in a red gown that matched the blushing red of her cheeks. She was staring across the room at Colin, her hands interlaced in front of her. Even from where he sat, he could see the jewels on her fingers and around her neck glinting in the candlelight. Her hair was brushed and pinned up in an intricate braided style, revealing her soft, slender neck and shoulders.

  She looked absolutely gorgeous.

  Colin’s breath caught in his throat as she began to walk toward him. Yes, I am falling in love with her, he thought dizzily. He glanced quickly at his mother, who was giving him a knowing smile. Ach, this was all her doing, trying to be a matchmaker.

  Tara and Colin’s eyes met, and she gave him a smile. “I feel like a pheasant dressed up for a feast,” she said, sitting down next him.

  Pheasant or not, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever set eyes on.

  Colin had never felt shy in front of a woman before, and he surprised himself by losing the ability to talk. He quietly ate his meal as Tara and his mother talked over him about mundane things like food and travel. All that he could notice was how Tara smelled of roses in the summertime and how each time she smiled or laughed, he felt his own joy swelling in his heart.

  Baldric was nodding off over his empty plate. “I think it would be best if little Baldric goes upstairs to sleep,” his mother commented. She waved Sofie over to pick the boy up and take him to bed. “Colin, why don’t you show Lady Maxwell around the castle? I don’t believe she has had time to explore the place herself.”

  “No, I haven’t,” Tara said, smiling. “If that’s all right with you, Colin,” she added.

  If it meant spending more time with her, of course it would be all right with him. He got up from the chair and held out his hand for Tara to take. Tara giggled at the gesture but went along with it, standing up from her chair.

  She turned and gave his mother a curtsy. “Thank you so much for the meal and for your generosity,” she told the woman.

  “It is my pleasure,” his mother said. When Tara turned, she gave Colin a wink.

  Colin pretended like he didn’t see it and offered Tara his arm for her to take. Tara looked surprised. “You seem very proper all of a sudden,” she remarked, wrapping her arm around his as they strolled out of the great hall.

  “I suspect it’s my mother’s doing,” he explained. “Coming back here is like being a boy again, having lessons on how to act like a gentleman.”

  “Well, you do it quite well,” Tara said, laughing softly.

  He led her first to the lower levels of the castle. In all honesty, despite the lavish decorations, the castle wasn’t any more remarkable than any other Scottish castle, so he suspected that his mother just wanted them to be alone together. Well, she had succeeded.

  “I hope everyone in the castle is treating you well,” he said stiffly.

  “Oh, yes,” Tara said. “Your mother has been very gracious. An’ I am astounded at what she has been giftin’ me.” She held up her hand, which had a beautiful sapphire ring on it.

  How he wanted to kiss that perfectly soft hand. “My mother has always been that way,” he said. “She had to learn early on not to let people take advantage of her, as it was easy for them to do. My father helped to balance her in that way, but I fear that after he died she went back to her old ways. “

  “She seems to be gettin’ along fine, however,” Tara said.

  “Aye, you’re right. I suppose I’m just being a worried son.”

  They walked along quietly
for a while. Tara looked left and right, looking up at the portraits of Colin’s ancestors, most of which Colin could not identify.

  “Being here is like things are back to normal,” Tara told him. “It feels good to forget about what’s goin’ on in the outside world… at least for a while.” She sat on a bench and watched his mother’s guests pass by in jovial groups, mugs of ale or wine in their hands. “It’s like bein’ in one giant party,” she said. “I used to love goin’ to parties, as well as plannin’ them.”

  “And you don’t anymore?”

  “Oh… I…” She looked away, her voice trailing off.

  What happened to make you hurt so, Tara? “Do you desire to be happy?” he asked her.

  She looked up at him, confused. In the dim light, her eyes flashed like a cat’s, startling him for a moment, as he had forgotten all about her uncanny abilities.

  “Of course, I do,” she told him. “I just don’t know if it’s somethin’ actually attainable.”

  “I believe it is,” Colin said. He stared at a portrait hanging across from them. It was his mother as a little girl. She was being held in her father’s arms, looking to be the same age as Baldric. Colin had never realized how much his mother resembled the boy. “I found happiness with Baldric in my darkest of moments.” He then looked at her. “And I found it with you.”

  “Colin?” God, how he loved to hear her say his name.

  He leaned down to kiss her softly on her lips. Her mouth felt like velvet against his, and he relished how she tasted. Aye, her lips were sweet like the wine they just had at dinner, but there was also something else that was entirely her essence. Once her body relaxed, she reciprocated the kiss. His hands went to her waist and, briskly, he pulled her close to him, aching for more.

  But suddenly—and disappointingly—she pulled away.

  “Colin,” she said. There were tears in her eyes, and she was shaking her head slowly. “I cannot do this.”

  “Why not?” he wanted to ask her, but she had already stood up and fled.

  Chapter 16

  After escaping from the kiss, Tara ran back up the stairs, away from the merriment in the great hall and into her room. She shut the door and pressed her hands against her cheeks, feeling the burning warmth emanating from her face. She had wanted to kiss Colin for so long, and now that she had, she completely ruined the entire thing!

  Ach, but it was for the best. It was for Colin’s sake. How would she be able to live with herself if he was just following her blindly because he was enchanted?

  She plopped herself on her bed and groaned. All she wanted was to go back downstairs and be with him, but she didn’t dare to. Perhaps she had drunk too much wine, and it was just getting to her head. Of course, she would wake up on the morrow and realize how foolish it was for wanting to be kissed like that. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep her mortification away.

  She woke up sometime the next morning to a soft knock on the door. At first, she didn’t know where she was and sat up in a panic, but as she stared blankly at a family portrait on the wall in front of her she realized slowly that she was still at Aengus Castle. Memories of the previous night flooded her mind. She looked down and realized she was still dressed in her fancy dress and jewels.

  The knock persisted.

  Was it Colin? Or perhaps Lady McDougal?

  “Yes?” Tara croaked, wincing at the sound of her tired voice. “What is it?”

  “It’s your maid, Sofie.”

  “Aye, come in.” Hopefully, the maid had brought some water with her.

  A young woman with fiery red hair poked her head in the room. She remembered her from the night before, taking care of Baldric. “Lady Maxwell?” the woman asked as she brought in a tray of breakfast, and aye, water.

  “What is it?” She took the cup of water from the tray and downed its contents.

  “Lady MacDougal asked me to be your maid durin’ your stay here.”

  “All right.” The woman was about a head shorter than Tara, with a pretty face splattered with freckles. “What is your name again?”

  “Sofie.”

  “Sofie,” Tara repeated. “Is that French?”

  “Aye, my mother is from France. She is one of the cooks here in the kitchen.”

  “Parlez-vous français?” Tara asked her.

  “Oui,” the girl replied, blushing slightly. “My mother taught me.”

  “Bien,” Tara said, smiling. “That means I can practice a bit on my French with you here. Tell me, are you one of the refugees that Lady MacDougal welcomed in?”

  Sofie shook her head. “Nay, my mother has worked for Lady MacDougal for years, as well as her mother before that.”

  “And your father?”

  The blush deepened. “He’s a… uh…”

  Tara shook her head. “Never mind,” she said quickly. “It’s not any of my business.”

  Sofie nodded and walked over to the bed, fluffing up the blankets and pillows. “Would you like me to help you with your hair?” she asked. She looked down at Tara’s garb with interest. “Didn’t you wear that last night? Where are your bed clothes?”

  “Aye, I did wear this last night,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster. “But I would like a fresh change of clothes, if possible.”

  “Aye, m’lady. Let’s do your hair first.”

  Tara took down the pins from her hair, letting her hair fall past her shoulders. Sofie picked up a brush and began working through the knots.

  “Ouch.”

  “Sorry, m’lady.”

  “It’s not your fault. I suppose this is my punishment for falling asleep without brushin’ my hair out beforehand.”

  Sofie giggled as she plaited Tara’s hair neatly and pinned it up off her neck. “Oh, yes, Laird Morrison wishes to speak to you once you are finished gettin’ ready.”

  She was surprised with how she reacted hearing his name. Laird Morrison. It had a nice ring to it. She imagined Colin wearing the traditional Scottish garb, with his bare legs and a breacan over his shoulder, and almost swooned at the thought before remembering herself.

  Tara bit her lip, recalling how Colin had kissed her last night. And how she had kissed him back! She couldn’t let that happen again.

  The butterflies she felt in her belly were alarming.

  Sofie left, but returned to the room quickly with a fresh set of clothes. The dark green dress wasn’t as fancy as the one Tara had worn last night, but it still was nicer than anything she’d ever owned. She took one look in the mirror, satisfied with what she saw, and then left her room for breakfast.

  Colin was already in the great hall when she came down. Alas, he was dressed in his usual English tunic, with a belt around his waist and leggings over his muscular legs. Still, he looked handsome as ever. He stared at her too, no doubt remembering what had happened last night. How could he not?

  “Did you rest well?” he asked.

  A safe question. “Aye, I did.”

  “Very good.”

  Baldric looked between them. “Why are you two talking so strangely?” he asked them bluntly.

  Tara looked at Colin and caught his gaze. He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it and shoveled some food into his mouth.

  “Baldric, do you like the food here?” Tara asked, changing the subject as she sat down next to the boy.

  Baldric was young enough to not notice the shift in topic. “Yes, it’s very good,” he said. “My maid gave me a sweet cake before I went to bed last night. I ate half of it and saved the rest under my pillow for breakfast.” He reached into his pocket and drew out the cake, which was crumbling in his hand. “Do you want some, Tara?”

  Tara held back her laughter. “Thank you, Baldric, but nay. I have plenty of delicious food in front of me as it is.”

  Sofie walked up behind him and put her hands on her hips. “So that is why there were crumbs under your bed!” she exclaimed, not unkindly. “C’mon, Baldric. Let’s wash up, shall we
?”

  “Then can we go play in the garden?”

  Sofie looked up at Colin for approval. “Of course,” he told the boy.

  With Baldric gone, they were left in awkward silence. Tara picked at her food, finding she had no appetite. “Have you told your mother of the threat?” she asked Colin, trying to distract her mind from unwholesome thoughts.

  She noticed that Colin’s food also seemed largely untouched. He nodded. “Yes, I have. She plans on alerting her guards to an impending threat, but I don’t think she is too worried about the situation. Let us pray that nothing will come of this.”

  Tara nodded. They picked around their food a little bit more in strained silence. People began trickling in, and servants appeared out of the kitchens to serve more food to the newcomers.

  “Why did you come with me?” Colin suddenly asked.

  Tara looked up at him, surprised. “What?”

  “Why did you choose to come with us? You could have easily left us to go back home after escaping Haddington.”

  Because I wanted to be close to you, she thought. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words. Her heart felt as though it were being torn in half. This might have been the closest she’d come to finding love, but she couldn’t have it. She couldn’t live her life with a love that was one-sided.

  But what if he wasn’t enchanted?

  “Tara.” Colin reached a hand out toward her, then stopped, as though reconsidering his actions, perhaps remembering her recoiling from him last night. “Tara, I’ve been realizing how much I care for you.”

  Tara froze. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean what I said,” he told her. “You know what I mean. I have been thinking… I know we haven’t known each other for too long, but we’ve become close nonetheless.”

  Tears were welling in her eyes. It was all that she wanted to hear, but it still frightened her. Was this her magic speaking, or were these Colin’s true words?