Highlander's Guardian

by Joanne Wadsworth

  Cover Copy

  Wishing…for a Highlander

  Annie MacLeod needs to choose a husband before the king decides on one for her. Once she arrives at court, she begins searching for a suitable match, except she soon discovers the one man she’s always desired is the one man she can never have.

  Highland warrior guardian Colin MacLean has long been captivated by Annie. She’s the girl he grew up adoring, and the woman who now holds his heart, yet he’s at court for a very specific reason. His mission is to free his chief from the king’s dungeons, not to taste the sweet temptation of a love that can never be.

  When treachery abounds and Annie is kidnapped by Colin’s enemy, desire and duty war within him. Can he find a way to rescue the woman he loves…and save the chief he’s given his loyalty to?

  Highlander’s Guardian

  by Joanne Wadsworth

  Highlander Heat, #4

  Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Joanne-Wadsworth/e/B00AVRVIBM/

  Dedication

  This one is for my wonderful and feisty Nanna who turned ninety this year. Iris Merle Howarth.

  Acknowledgements

  I have an incredibly supportive family who allow me so much time to write. Huge thanks go to my hubby, Jason, and kiddies, Marisa, Caleb, Cruise and Rocco. Hugs.

  For my readers, I can’t thank you enough for joining me, and taking this journey to where imagination and magic soar.

  Table of Contents

  Cover Copy

  Highlander’s Guardian

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Author’s Note

  Joanne Wadsworth

  Books by Joanne Wadsworth

  Highlander’s Castle

  Highlander’s Magic

  Highlander’s Charm

  Protector

  Witness Pursuit

  Short Excerpt: Witness Pursuit

  Copyright: Highlander’s Guardian

  Chapter 1

  Holyrood House, Edinburgh, 1590.

  Tension tightened every muscle in Annie MacLeod’s body as she hid behind a tree in the sprawling park near Holyrood House. Clutching the rough bark, she snuck a look around the wide trunk. Twenty feet away, one of her two guardians, Colin MacLean, paced a muddy track between two elm trees, his brow furrowed.

  Of all the luck. She’d stumbled upon Colin in this secluded wooded area yesterday after he’d arrived at the king’s palace. If he discovered her outside again without an adequate guard or chaperone, she’d be in twice the trouble. Aye, Colin would believe she was up to old tricks, following him as she’d done throughout her childhood.

  Hands bunched in her thick burgundy skirts, she crept back a step and crunched on the thick matting of autumn leaves. Drat. Hardly needing to give her location away, she held perfectly still, then carefully, slowly, she slid her other foot back to join the other. No crunching.

  Now, one step at a time and she’d escape without notice.

  She eased back again, but her slipper sank into soggy soil at the edge of the trail. Precariously close to a thorny bush, she wobbled. When would she ever—

  “Annie MacLeod,” Colin growled as he came out of nowhere, gripped her waist and hauled her back to safety. “What are you doing in the middle of the forest without a guard, yet again?”

  “Ah, I was walking, although apparently no’ very well. Thank you for your aid.” Her heart pounded and she covered his hands with hers. His fingers, so big and warm, splayed wide over her waist. Colin could move with such stealth and speed. “Please, dinnae tell Rory you’ve seen me.”

  “And why should I do that? Where’s your aunt?”

  “I didnae care to wake her, and Rory’s so busy with the king. Interrupting him in order to ask for a guard wasnae something I wished to do.”

  “Then you should have interrupted me. I’m your guardian, just as Rory is.”

  “As you can see I did.” She smiled, as sweetly as she could in the hope of diverting his attention. “In an indirect sort of way.”

  “’Tis just as well I heard you, and dinnae give me that sly smile of yours, you scamp.”

  She smiled wider. Colin may be her guardian, but he was also one of her nearest and dearest. “I couldnae help but notice how worried you looked. Is all well?”

  “As well as can be considering my chief is in the cells.” He released her and clasped one hand over the hilt of his side sword. The move stretched the fine silk of his black doublet over his broad chest. “Are you aware the MacDonalds of Skye arrived this morn? They remain a distinct threat against your MacLeod and my MacLean kin. You’re no’ to wander about like this again. If aught happened to you, I’d never forgive myself. Every precaution must be taken.”

  “The king will never allow the clans to fight while at court.” She touched the frown line slashing his brow and smoothed it out. “I hate to see you worry so.”

  “That does no’ mean they willnae take their quarrels outside, and that is where we are.”

  “I needed some fresh air and time to think. It isnae easy trying to find a husband amongst the pomp of courtiers who are here.” She’d been hounded of late. Like fresh meat to the market, they’d soon learnt she was here at Rory’s bidding to choose a husband before the king did so for her, and not for the first time, but the second. Her first contracted handfast had failed, and once was enough. This time Rory had given her the choice to find a suitable match, a rare thing allowed for a woman and an offer she’d pounced on and accepted.

  “If you wish aid in finding a husband, I’m here.” Colin stroked a finger under her chin, his gaze softening and his touch comforting her. “You need only ask and I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

  “You’re here for your chief and I cannae take you away from that duty.” His chief had been captured by the king’s men and tossed into Holyrood’s tower for his part in the current feud between the clans. She’d been surprised to hear of it. Certainly a great chief like Lachlan MacLean didn’t deserve to be treated so.

  “I’m here for you as well, and we’re kin.”

  Aye, their grandparents had been cousins, their mothers the closest of friends. On the Isle of Mull, she’d grown up traipsing around after Colin like an adoring child. He’d been so much older and wiser, the gap between them a wide six years, although now she’d turned one and twenty, that divide no longer seemed any great distance at all. “I miss roaming around Mull and being young and carefree. With you.”

  “Aye, our childhood is gone afore we know it, but since you’re still successfully sneaking out after me, you’re apparently missing very little.” He grinned and her heart lightened at seeing his worry ease.

  “I used to don a pair of your old breeches to make my escape less noticeable, but for some reason you always used to sense me nearby regardless.” She’d idolized Colin, had missed him and his brother terribly when she’d left at three and ten for the Isle of Skye. Rory MacLeod, her chief and cousin, had requested her father’s return to Dunvegan Castle upon Rory’s eldest brother’s death, and though her mother was a MacLean, her father was a MacLeod and had been honor bound to answer Rory’s call-to-arms. Her father had joined Rory as the feud between them and the nearby MacDonald clan had escalated. “Just afore you said the MacDonalds had arrived. Whom exactly?”

  “The MacDonald chief’s nephews, James and Hugh, as well as a dozen of their warriors.”

  Not the best news, although not entirely unexpected. The MacDonald chief and his brother both resi
ded in the tower along with Colin’s chief. The king had captured each of three clan chiefs involved in the feud and demanded they enter into talks, albeit behind bars.

  “Colin, I know James.” As much as she detested the MacDonalds, James was different. James was the younger brother of the man the king had first ordered her to handfast with. In the sennight before she was supposed to speak her vows, she’d stayed at the MacDonald’s stronghold and discovered James wished for peace, as greatly as she did. He’d been attentive and kind to her while she’d awaited his brother’s return. As luck would have it, his brother had instead fallen in love and wed one of her kin with a close namesake, Anne MacLeod. His subsequent marriage to Anne had nullified their coming handfast and she’d been released to return to her MacLeod kin. “James was naught but kind to me while I stayed at Dunscaith Castle.”

  “Annie, all MacDonalds are a threat. You must no’ become complacent around them.”

  Aye, anything she said right now in James’s defense wouldn’t change Colin’s opinion, particularly when she too detested the MacDonald chief. Donald MacDonald was a warrior who wanted it all, and if a clan stood in his way, he battled to remove them. Glad she was she’d never met him. “James is still different to his warmongering uncle, one of the few MacDonalds who is.”

  “The MacDonalds are all alike. Something you will learn in time.” His golden eyes darkened and by his determined expression, his mind was clearly set. “I cannae believe Rory didnae send word to me of the king’s handfast demand. That he would tie you to a MacDonald is despicable.”

  “He had no choice. The king forced his hand.” Rory loathed the MacDonalds as much as Colin did, although Rory wished for peace and was willing to negotiate to a certain degree.

  “I still should have been told. You’re my ward, as much as you are Rory’s.”

  “I asked him no’ to tell you.” She’d pleaded with Rory that he not send a missive to Colin on Mull. “Colin, your fury would have erupted and caused more problems than what I’d been attempting to solve. I was trying to bring about peace, no’ escalate the war.”

  “The king still forces his wishes upon us. He needs to leave us alone to resolve our own issues, no’ alter the way we settle our disputes.” His pacing resumed as he tugged at his collar. “Even now, you’re still being forced to find a husband when ’tis the last thing you wish.”

  “At least Rory has afforded me the choice, something I didnae have afore.” Which so far had been of little more help. Since she’d arrived at the king’s palace and begun her search, she’d been comparing every possible suitor to Colin. She wanted a man like him who would stand by her and her clan’s side, caring for each and every one in turn. Even now his concern was etched heavily on his face. “You would make a wonderful husband. Have you ever thought of taking a wife?”

  “I war too much.”

  “Aye, and you also argue too much.” She couldn’t help the tease.

  “Arguing is good for the soul.”

  “A wife is also good for the soul.”

  A smile lifted his lips. “I fear, I would only argue with her as well.”

  “She would need to be rather resilient.” She caught his hands, his palms warm against hers and hopping backward, tugged him along the path. “Let’s walk afore the day is done. Then you may argue with me some more. I know how much you enjoy that.”

  “A walk would be good, and watch your step, Annie.” He turned her around, slid her hand through his crooked arm and guided her down the trail that led deeper into the woods. “I’ve missed you and your liveliness.”

  “I’ve missed you too.” The foliage above thickened, blocking what little remained of the late afternoon sunshine, but Colin’s solid presence warmed her through as it always did. “Last month your visit to Dunvegan Castle was so short. We didnae even get to speak.”

  “I’m sorry about that, scamp.” He squeezed her hand, his voice tender as he used her childhood nickname. “I had only a few hours to spare afore I had to return to Duart Castle.”

  “Is that when your chief was first captured?”

  “Aye, and we expected the MacDonalds to attack with their full force upon hearing the news. That was why I came to Dunvegan, to seek Rory’s aid and some additional men for the battle, only I discovered from him both the MacDonald of Sleat and the MacDonald of Dunnyveg too had been captured by the king’s men. Rory confirmed the two MacDonald clans were in as much turmoil as ours by the loss of their chiefs.” He stepped ahead and held up a low branch so she could pass through. “Come, less about my problems when I need to consider yours. If you wish aid in finding a husband, then allow me to see who’s at court this eve and consider any possible prospects.”

  “Elizabeth has introduced me to almost every unmarried man since I arrived, even Lord Sinclare who must be at least seventy.” She rolled her eyes, not impressed at all that she had to consider a man who needed two canes to walk stably with.

  “You mean old Batten-face Sinclare is a possible suitor?” He chuckled and she slapped his arm.

  “Dinnae laugh. I have no desire to be that man’s wife.”

  “Ah, but consider the benefits. He’d have years of wisdom to offer you.”

  “Aye, but no’ years to give it. When he and I spoke, he made it quite clear he’s here to find a young wife in order to provide him with an heir since both his sons passed. I do feel sorry for him, but no’ enough to accept a proposal.”

  “His sons perished in a battle that took many lives. They were good men. I knew them.” Colin withdrew his sword and slashed a thorny bush blocking the thin path before stepping through. “We’re almost there.”

  “Almost where?” Birds twittered from their nests above, the forest so thick that nothing but the trees surrounded them.

  “On a past trip, I discovered this loch, though ’tis well hidden.” Colin returned to her, bent and brushed a soft kiss against her forehead. “Look ahead. I’ve cleared the way.”

  He stepped aside and she gasped.

  The loch was small, private and completely hidden, its glassy surface dancing with the reflection of the towering trees encircling it. “’Tis beautiful.”

  “And all ours. How about we have some fun? Like old times.”

  “You hardly need to ask.” His form of fun spoke to her heart and always had. She skipped to the water’s edge, lifted her skirts and knelt on the spongy moss. With her hands cupped, she dipped them into the clear water and sipped. “Is this place completely secluded?”

  “You wish to swim?”

  “You know I do.” He’d been able to read her mind for years. She loosened the ties of her burgundy jacket, slipped it off her shoulders and laid it overtop a boulder. “Will you come too?”

  “Aye, I can wear my tunic.” Turning, he gave her his broad back.

  “Thank you for bringing me here. This is exactly what I needed.” He’d always been able to ease her worries as none other could. She unlaced her gown’s front stays and shed it along with her stockings, leaving her sark as adequate coverage. Then with care, tugged the pins from her hair and swished her head from side to side and released the long golden length. “Do you feel better too?”

  “I always do around you, my wee scamp.” He divested himself of his weapons, a sword and dirk before shrugging off his doublet. His dark hair wisped with blond ends brushed his shoulders as he bent and hauled off his boots.

  She should avert her gaze, but she wasn’t nearly as chivalrous as Colin. Instead, as he shucked his leather trews and his white tunic fluttered against him mid-thigh, she smiled with appreciation at the sight of his muscled legs. “Oh, Colin, I’m having the most scandalous thoughts.”

  “Are you watching me?” He glanced over his shoulder and sighed, rather raggedly. “You’re looking for trouble with that kind of expression on your face.”

  “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help myself. Let’s swim.” Smiling, she rolled her sark’s thin ivory cotton sleeves to the elbow. At the bank’s ed
ge, she dove into the pool and almost lost her breath at the frigid impact with the water. ’Twas beyond cold, but still refreshingly so. After breaking the surface, she treaded water and called, “’Tis wonderful, and you’re missing out.”

  With his gaze on hers, he advanced. “I believe the last time we swam together would have been in the loch near my old tree hut.”

  “Aye, that’s right.” It had been a year since she’d last visited Colin and her mother’s kin at Duart Castle on Mull. Colin had skipped his afternoon duties one day and taken her down to the sea. Together they’d swum, him powering through the water with such skilled ease and she being as sly as she could to keep up.

  “Bet I can still catch you. Swim. Fast.” He flashed a smile full of challenge, then ran and dove.

  A wave rippled toward her. She ducked her head, tossed her feet into the air and went under. Kicking toward the center of the pool, she remained below, her lungs near to bursting. Surely, he’d think she’d—

  A hand clamped around her ankle and Colin dragged her upward.

  She broke the surface in a slew of bubbles and gulped in great breaths.

  “Too easy. That white sark you’re wearing is like a flag under the water.” His gaze was wolfish, his hands on her hips sending a thrill through her.

  “Then close your eyes as you should have afore you dove in. Give me time to get away.” She shoved a wave of water at him.

  He fell back, shook his dark head and sent a spray of drops flying. “So that’s how ’twill be.”

  “Always.”

  “I’ll give you a minute head-start to hide.” He lunged and she squealed and kicked backward. “Starting now. One.” He closed his eyes.

  She was off, kicking with fast strokes toward the stone ledge at the far end. If she could climb on top then she’d be able to hide where it dipped out of sight to the side. He’d never look for her out of the water.