The Protector

by Allison Butler

  On her return from the stable, she’d gone straight to the healing room to inform Balfour that Guardian was well. She’d then disappeared upstairs to do a final inspection of her suitors’ rooms. Then, needing to check the number of barrels of wine that were stored in the tower’s basement, and wanting to avoid Duff’s dark gaze a while longer, she’d made her way below via the little-used secret passage, instead of taking the main stairs.

  Since she’d left Duff and gone about her duties, the faeries that had taken flight inside her had ceased to flutter, and had only resumed on seeing him. Duff was indeed the cause. She wasn’t surprised. But now she knew for sure.

  Her gaze brushed over his profile from his nearly black hair that seemed to lure the light from the flaming torches, down to his granite-hard jaw and further still to the fingers that cradled his goblet. His thumb was presently drifting across the pewter surface, slowly, in what looked like a gentle caress. A caress she was sure would feel sweet and soft. Goosebumps sprouted across her shoulders.

  Dear God!

  Mairi turned on her toes and she pressed her back against the wall beside the spy-hole. Staring into the almost-darkness, she forced her thoughts to centre on the reasons why Duff could never be more to her than her father’s guest.

  It didn’t matter that she felt somehow drawn to him. He wasn’t staying long. He was a stranger. He wasn’t one of the men her father deemed worthy for her to marry. He wasn’t one of her suitors.

  He isn’t for you.

  Mairi closed her eyes, repeating her last thought like a silent chant—He isn’t for you. He isn’t for you—as she concentrated on slowing her erratic breathing.

  When each breath came even and low, she opened her eyes and with one last deep inhalation, pushed away from the wall. She’d spent more time within the secret passage than she’d planned. Her father and Duff were already at the table and she needed to join them as soon as possible, else they’d send someone searching for her.

  She replaced the stone, ensuring it was flush with the others, lifted the candle from the shelf, and sheltering the vulnerable flame, climbed the inner stairwell to her room.

  As she pushed the long tapestry depicting a forest scene outward, away from the doorway it concealed, she placed one foot inside her chamber, blew out the dwindling candle and set it on the small shelf tucked just inside the secret passage.

  She had no choice but to attend the evening meal, but she’d retire the moment she’d finished eating.

  Chapter Seven

  ‘The room adjacent to my chamber is filled with an assortment of weaponry I’ve collected over many years,’ Alastair Gordon said. ‘If you care to see it, I will show you once the meal is done.’

  ‘I would be honoured to see your weapon collection,’ Duff replied. His interest in weapons, particularly swords, was as alive now as it had been when he was a lad. Lifting his goblet, he sipped the amber fluid.

  Alastair peered out over his crowded hall. ‘I have been thinking more on this morning’s attack and would appreciate your opinion, before Mairi comes, as I do not want to upset her.’

  ‘Of course,’ Duff agreed, his own concerns regarding the attack piqued.

  ‘Do you think it was unfortunate timing for our party or do you believe the attack was planned?’

  Duff stared down at his goblet, but his mind recalled the band of mercenaries huddled halfway down the mountain. ‘Your attackers seemed to be lying in wait.’ He looked up to find Alastair watching him. ‘Whether they were waiting for your travelling party in particular, or whoever was unfortunate enough to pass that way, I can’t be certain. But I believe it was planned to some extent.’

  ‘Aye,’ Alastair glanced down at his own cup and nodded before meeting Duff’s gaze once more. ‘I would also mention their dark-haired leader appeared somehow familiar, but I can’t be sure and I know not from where.’

  Duff heard the frustration in the laird’s tone, but as he couldn’t offer any reassurance, he said naught.

  ‘Tell me, Duff, what three things do you hold most precious?’

  ‘My horse, my sword and my honour.’

  Alastair looked at Duff. ‘Nae thought or hesitation?’

  ‘Neither was necessary.’

  The Gordon laird nodded slowly. ‘And have you thought any more on my offer?’

  ‘Aye.’ He’d thought of little else since the Gordon laird had broached the subject while Duff had been visiting with injured Balfour. Alastair Gordon’s offer was more of a request but one he couldn’t fulfil. He’d already been away for almost the full year he’d been granted and needed to begin heading south if he was to return on time. ‘Are you certain there’s nae one else you’d prefer to fill the role? Iain perhaps?’

  ‘Iain fancies himself in love with the lass. Has done since he was a lad.’ His small smile faded and he slowly shook his head. ‘In this I want only the best.’

  A slight but noticeable hush momentarily befell the occupants of the crowded chamber. Duff resettled his cup and looked to the stairwell just as Mairi stepped down into the hall.

  Head high, shoulders straight, hips gently swaying, she appeared to glide toward him. She was pleasure in motion, and he was powerless to stop the surge of heat rushing through his veins.

  Mairi Gordon was the main reason he couldn’t stay. She already affected him in ways no other lass ever had and she was a lass he could never have. Someone like Mairi would never be interested in a nobody like him. He sensed she didn’t appreciate his company now and so he couldn’t imagine her reaction to having him spend more time with her. He had little to offer anyone, not even a name.

  He took another drink, hoping to cool his blood before she reached him and noted her serious expression. She always looked serious. Lachlan, Duff’s Lowland laird, and Dair, his friend, wouldn’t appreciate such a trait, at least not all the time. But his friend, Cal of the profound attitude, would relate to and admire her seriousness.

  Mairi neared her chair. Expression still sombre, it was as though she carried the weight of her clan on her slender shoulders. With no husband or brothers, she needed someone to lift such a burden. Could he be that man?

  Alastair Gordon was only asking him to stay for a sennight, leaving him another week before he’d meet up with Cal and Dair as promised. And it was only half a day’s ride to Braemar from here. He had all the necessary skills needed to fill the role.

  Duff’s pulse quickened and he discovered he still wasn’t quite ready to leave Gordon yet. The need to learn more about Mairi was like a thirst he couldn’t quench.

  He looked at the Gordon laird. ‘I accept.’

  Duff stood, along with Alastair, and offered Mairi a bow. No smile graced her lips. She responded with a small nod to Duff and then her father before slipping into the chair beside him. Duff barely resumed his seat when the servants spilled into the hall carrying platters laden with the evening meal.

  But Duff’s mind wasn’t interested in food. His thoughts were centred on how Mairi would react when she learned he was staying on as her protector.

  ***

  Mairi claimed her seat beside her father and welcomed the distraction offered by the servants delivering the steaming platters to table. The warmth heating her skin at Duff’s perusal was enough to heat the foot of her bed on the coldest winter night.

  ‘Dear Daughter, it seems Duff and I share a common interest in weapons.’

  She glanced sidelong at Duff as he placed a chunk of salmon in his mouth and slowly chewed.

  ‘I’m certain any man would be impressed with your collection, Father.’ She picked a morsel of fish off her trencher and nibbled.

  ‘And understandably so,’ her father said. ‘I plan to show it off to Duff once we’ve eaten.’ He tore a hunk of brown bread from the loaf and stuffed it into his mouth.

  Despite loathing any bladed weapon, she knew how much her father loved them. ‘Of course.’ Mairi glanced at Duff and found him calmly watching her. She would give much to kno
w his thoughts. She met and held his gaze. ‘After the meal might be Duff’s only opportunity, since he will be leaving for home in the morning.’ Despite her reminder regarding his departure, Duff’s expression never altered. Was he happy to go?

  ‘Aye, after the meal will be Duff’s best opportunity,’ her father said. Mairi suffered both relief and disappointment but told herself his leaving was a good thing. ‘But it won’t be his last.’ She looked at her father. ‘At my bidding,’ he said, meeting her gaze, ‘Duff will be staying at Gordon for the next sennight.’

  Everything stopped. Mairi glanced at Duff and then looked aback at her father. She swallowed. Twice. ‘At your bidding, Father?’ Blame and disapproval echoed in her voice, showing precisely how she felt.

  Her suitors, men chosen by her father, would be arriving tomorrow. All her attention should be focussed on her choice for a husband. She’d told her father that Duff annoyed her. She thought he’d understood. Obviously not. He must have a good reason for asking him to stay.

  ‘Aye. As of tomorrow, Duff has accepted the position as your new personal guard.’

  Mairi stared at her father. Her personal guard for one whole week.

  ‘Balfour is wounded and is as concerned for you as I am,’ her father said. Mairi blinked. ‘You need a protector. You need the best. Duff is the best.’

  Mairi opened her mouth but no sound emerged. She’d convinced herself she could cope with having Duff near for only one night. But now … now he was staying for a week. And now he was to be her personal guard. Her protector. With her, near her, every day and every night. For one whole week.

  Her eyes slowly left her father and settled on Duff. He looked … powerful. Confident. Intense.

  ‘I will keep you safe,’ he assured her softly.

  Oh, God. Did he think she questioned his abilities to protect her?

  ‘Protecting is what I do. Protecting is what I am good at.’

  But who will protect me from myself?

  ‘Now your safety has been assured, Mairi, is all in readiness for tomorrow?’

  Stunned her father had chosen a stranger to protect her, she looked at her father and she saw the fixed expression he wore. In her opinion, concerns for her safety were now far from assured, but she knew in this instance that sharing her opinion wouldn’t alter her father’s decision. She didn’t even have a good reason to protest.

  She’d told her father how she felt about Duff, but perhaps she should have said more. She couldn’t possibly admit that her annoyance stemmed from her growing fascination with the dark-haired Lowlander. Not when she’d spent the past eleven years proving she was the reliable, dependable daughter and heir her father needed and deserved.

  ‘Aye. All is prepared.’ She stood. Duff and her father stood, too. ‘It has been a long day with another to follow. I will leave you to talk and show off your weapons.’ She needed time alone. Something she doubted she’d have ever again. ‘I bid you—’

  ‘Laird!’ Douglas, Gordon’s steward approached the table. ‘Forgive my interruption, Lady Mairi, but Gordon has a visitor.’

  Her father frowned. ‘A visitor at this hour?’

  ‘He sent his apologies, but said he didn’t think you’d be too put out having him arrive tonight instead of the morn.’

  ‘Ah,’ her father looked at her. ‘Tell me, Douglas, which one is too eager to wait another day?’

  ‘Angus Hay, Laird.’

  Warmth rose in Mairi’s cheeks. Her gaze darted to Duff. Did he know she was looking for a husband? Did he know he was to be her protector while she chose the man she would marry?

  No glimmer of understanding showed in his dark eyes. Her father hadn’t yet told him. The sudden heat slowly left her face.

  ‘I only left him yester eve,’ her father said, retaking his seat. ‘The man must have packed and set out with the sun this morn. Show him in, Douglas.’

  ‘Aye, Laird.’

  Mairi swallowed and tore her gaze from Duff. She grasped the back of her chair and welcomed the solid timber beneath her fingertips as she turned to greet the first of her three chosen suitors.

  ***

  Heavy footsteps rang out on the timber boards, granting Duff time to study Mairi as she turned to look at the late night arrival.

  Slender frame stretching, she stood taller, delicate chin rising, full lips resting together, blue eyes staring directly ahead. An image of determination and complete control. Except for one hand’s long, slim fingers flexing and relaxing on the back of her wooden chair.

  As if sensing he watched her movements, Mairi dropped her hand to her side.

  The news that he was staying had surprised her. The news that he was staying on as her personal guard had shocked and angered her. But she’d managed to limit her reaction to a fixed stare and a stunned silence. She’d wanted to protest, as Duff had expected her to, but something had stolen her words. For now. But he was sure she’d find a way around that something and tell him precisely what she thought.

  For the arrangement to work, Mairi had to accept him as her protector. If she didn’t, he couldn’t guarantee her safety. In this, failure wasn’t an option. Due to their unusual beginnings, Duff understood that she needed a little time to adjust to the idea. Her father believed Duff was the best man for the position. Duff now needed to convince Mairi he was too.

  Who would take his place after the week had passed wasn’t Duff’s concern. Alastair Gordon obviously had a replacement in mind. Duff didn’t think it wouldn’t be Balfour due to his wound. But then, perhaps Tavie was an exceptionally skilled healer and Balfour was quick to mend.

  Duff looked at Alastair Gordon as the newcomer’s footsteps neared. He hadn’t risen from his seat and appeared relaxed. Whoever his visitor was bore no threat to the laird or his people.

  But as Mairi’s protector, it was Duff’s duty to form his own opinion and determine whether anyone she came into contact with at Gordon Castle was a threat. Duff turned to watch Angus Hay’s final approach.

  Of medium height and build, Angus Hay had the steady, confident gait of a man who knew his worth. Dark brown hair peppered with grey was half pulled back from his smiling face, the rest left hanging to his shoulders. His watchful gaze wandered over the three observing him, the sword strapped to his belt bouncing off his thigh with every step.

  He was close to the Gordon laird in years, perhaps several summers younger. Was the occasion a reunion of sorts? Were the guests arriving tomorrow Alastair’s friends and acquaintances? How many were coming? These were things Duff must know in order to determine what level of protection Mairi needed.

  By the glimmer of vulnerability he saw in Mairi’s controlled expression, Duff concluded Angus Hay’s presence at Gordon concerned her directly. His protective instincts roared to life. It was too late to ask questions now. He’d observe now and have Alastair Gordon fill in the rest later.

  ‘My thanks for not turning me away, Alastair Gordon.’ Angus Hay stopped on the opposite side of the table as his host rose to his feet. Duff had remained standing.

  ‘Eagerness can be an asset at certain times and in regards to certain matters,’ Alastair said, offering his hand across the trestle. ‘You remember my daughter, Mairi?’ He gestured to the woman by his side.

  ‘Lady Mairi.’ Angus bowed. ‘It has been some years since last we met. It is my pleasure to see you again.’

  ‘Welcome to Gordon, Angus Hay,’ Mairi said quietly.

  ‘And this is Duff Elliot from the Borders. Angus comes from the east, near Aberdeen.’

  Duff stepped forward to accept the hand the man offered.

  ‘You are the first Elliot from the Borders I have met, Duff.’

  ‘‘Tis good to meet you, Angus Hay.’ The man had light brown eyes.

  ‘Come sit you down, Angus,’ Alastair said. ‘Have you eaten?’

  ‘Nothing as fancy as what you have just had,’ Angus said eyeing the trenchers. ‘But aye, I’ve eaten.’ He walked around the end of the table. ‘T
hough I’d welcome a cup of ale to wash the dust from my throat.’

  Mairi signalled to one of the kitchen maids who brought another cup. She poured the ale herself and placed the cup on the table, where she had picked at her meal. ‘I will have your things taken to your room. I also have a few other tasks to see to, so please take my seat.’ She stepped back to allow Angus Hay access.

  Duff stepped forward. ‘I will escort you.’

  Bluest of eyes met his. ‘My thanks, but I assure you I am able to find my room without escort. Sit, please, and enjoy the rest of the evening.’

  Duff heard the plea in her words, which only made him want to escort her more.

  ‘Aye, Duff, your duty officially starts tomorrow,’ Alastair said. ‘Finish your ale, and as Angus is also an admirer of swords we will tour my weapons chamber together.’

  ‘I bid you all a good night, then.’ Relief added a slight breathlessness to her voice, but aside from Duff, no one else seemed to notice.

  ‘Sleep well, Daughter. We will see you bright and early the morn.’

  ‘Goodnight, Lady Mairi,’ Angus Hay said.

  Duff nodded once and watched Mairi’s exit from the hall. He’d wanted to speak with her alone before his duties started. She needed to understand she had to share her plans for each day and night with him so he could best protect her. He’d just have to ensure he spoke with her first thing tomorrow morning. Which shouldn’t prove too difficult as their rooms were located on the same level.

  He joined the others and resumed his seat.

  ‘You are far from home, Duff Elliot,’ Angus Hay said, the moment he sat. ‘What brings you to the Highlands?’

  Despite the friendliness Angus displayed, Duff detected a hint of rivalry about the older man. Was it because Duff was from the Borders?

  ‘Please, call me Duff.’ He didn’t need to be reminded of his small falsehood every time someone addressed him. ‘I came to the Highlands in search of family.’ He hoped the man would leave the matter at that.