Highland Hero

by Hannah Howell

  As she sat up, trying not to reveal how stiff and sore she was, she looked at the three men crouched around the fire. They were roasting the last of her rabbits, she noticed with a scowl. She also noticed that she felt no fear of them. After riding behind Lucais for several hours, little Malcolm in a sling on her back, she had begun to believe that he spoke the truth. He had been neither friendly nor trusting, but he had not even tried to hurt her or shake free of her. Although he had been lacking in courtesy, he had been gentle each time he had helped her mount or dismount or put Malcolm in his sling and secure it. He had also been kind to the child and to Gar. He had even brought supplies of clothing, clean changing rags, and goat’s milk for the boy. Everything indicated that he was a concerned uncle, but Edina was not ready to give Malcolm into his full care yet. Someone had left the child out in the forest to die, there was a real threat to the life of the child, and she could not turn her back on him yet.

  After rolling up the bedding Lucais had grudgingly given her, she left Gar to watch over Malcolm as she slipped into the cover of the forest to relieve herself. When she returned she found that Lucais had cleaned and dressed the baby and was preparing to feed him. She stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, and scowled at the tender scene. Her attraction to the man was increasing, rapidly growing too strong to push aside. She wished he did not act so sweet around the child, for it only enhanced his attractiveness, and she did not want to want him. Even if he proved to be a very good man, she could never have him. Not only was she poor and landless, but she had certainly not endeared herself to him by thrusting herself into the midst of his troubles.

  “Your dog neither snarls nor bristles,” Lucais said as he looked at her. “He trusts me.”

  “Ye think so?” she drawled. “Try to walk away with the bairn.”

  She smiled as Lucais picked Malcolm up, stood up, and started to walk away. He had barely taken two steps before he was confronted by a snarling, threatening Gar. After a moment of trying to stare down the dog, he whispered a curse and handed Malcolm to her.

  “How did ye get him to do that?” he asked, frowning when Gar immediately relaxed.

  “He is a clever dog,” she replied, patting Gar on the head. “He will help me keep this bairn safe.”

  “I can protect my own kin.” He cursed when she just looked at him, one delicately arched brow lifted. “My sister Elspeth was unwise,” he said even as he wondered why he was bothering to explain anything to her. “She took a lover when she was young and heedless, a mon she could never wed, for he had a wife already. Finally, she turned to a mon who had courted her for a long time and they were married. I ne’er learned what turned her, whether her lover had done something wrong or if she had just grown older and wiser and realized that she did not wish to spend the rest of her days as that mon’s leman. She and her young mon Walter were happy and Malcolm was soon born, her lover troubling them only now and again.” He shook his head, puzzled and still fighting his raw grief. “Elspeth and Walter were not afraid of her old lover, seeing him as no more than a nuisance, and I soon did the same.”

  Edina fed Malcolm as she listened to the sad tale, hearing Lucais’s pain and struggling against the strong urge to try to comfort him. “But her lover was a danger to her, wasnae he?”

  “Aye. I dinna ken what finally changed him from a nuisance to a threat, but ’tis clear that jealousy and rage finally overwhelmed him. He killed Walter and Elspeth and took Malcolm. There must have been a hint of sanity remaining, and he could not put a child to the sword.”

  “Nay. He just tossed the poor wee bairn into the forest so that he could feed the animals or die on his own slowly.” She believed him and, as she settled Malcolm against her shoulder and rubbed his back, she scolded herself for trusting too quickly. “Do ye ken who the mon is?”

  “Aye. Simon Kenney, a mon who would be poor and landless save that he made a rich marriage.”

  “And why havenae ye killed him yet?” Edina was a little surprised at her bloodthirst, but then Malcolm patted her cheek with one damp little hand, and she understood.

  “I cannae find the mon,” Lucais reluctantly admitted.

  “Ye arenae having verra good luck at finding things, are ye?” she drawled. “Mayhap ye should make use of Gar.”

  Lucais decided to ignore that insult and glanced at her dog. “Where did ye get a name like Gar?”

  “From Maida, my uncle’s cook. When I brought my wee puppy to the kitchens to show him to her, she said he was so ugly, he gars me grew—makes me tremble. So I called him Garsmegrew, but ’tis a mouthful, so it soon became just Gar. He grew into a fine, handsome beast,” she said as she patted the dog’s head.

  There was a distinct gleam of laughter in her beautiful eyes. Lucais was not sure he was pleased to discover that he was right, that her eyes were breathtaking when seen up close. There was a faint slant to their shape, her lashes were long, thick, and as glossy a black as her hair, and the green was the color of ivy.

  Afraid he was in danger of revealing his ill-timed attraction to her, he turned his attention to her dog, and nearly smiled. Gar was big, his shaggy coat was a mottled gray, and he was indeed a very ugly dog. When the animal was snarling and baring his impressive teeth, he was threatening enough to make any grown man hesitate. Although the animal was nothing much to look at, he was well trained and a good protector for his mistress. That alone made him a worthy animal. Lucais idly wondered how easy it would be to win the dog’s trust. He suspected he could never pull the animal from Edina’s side, but he might be able to woo the animal just enough to get him to stop threatening him. He allowed Gar to sniff his hand, then cautiously patted the animal, inwardly pleased with that small sign of progress.

  “Ye had best break your fast,” he told Edina, ignoring her look of suspicion and the way she pulled her dog a little closer to her side. “There is some rabbit left. We must ride for Dunmor soon.”

  Edina frowned as he walked away, his two young cousins following him as he strode into the surrounding forest. For a moment she was surprised to be left alone with their horses and goods, then shook her head and went to eat some food. She might not be able to see Lucais and his cousins, but she was certain at least one of them was watching her closely. Instinct told her that Lucais was beginning to trust her, to believe that she sought only to protect the baby, but he did not trust her enough to leave her completely unguarded.

  As she struggled to eat and keep Malcolm’s little fingers away from the fire, her food, and the wineskin, she tried to plan what she would do when she reached Dunmor. If she could not yet trust Lucais, she certainly could not trust any of his people. That meant that she would have to keep Malcolm with her at all times. She tried not to think about the possibility that Lucais was Malcolm’s true enemy, that she was blinded by her own attraction to the man. If Lucais was the enemy, she was riding into the very heart of his camp, and there was little chance that she would be able to save Malcolm.

  Edina blinked and shook her head, only faintly aware of Lucais’s soft laughter tickling her ear. He had insisted that she and Malcolm sit in front of him when she had started to grow sleepy. Such closeness had distracted her only briefly, for she had been too tired to dwell on it for long. Now, however, as she woke up, she was acutely aware of how she was tucked up between his long, strong legs, her back warmed by his broad chest, and how his muscular arms encircled her as if in an embrace. She rubbed her hand over Malcolm’s back, trying to cleanse her mind of disturbing thoughts about Lucais’s embraces with thoughts of tending to Malcolm.

  “There lies Dunmor,” Lucais announced, giving in to the urge to touch his lips to her soft hair, finding it as silky as he had imagined it would be.

  A small chill of alarm slipped down Edina’s spine as she looked at his keep. It was set upon a stony rise, giving it a clear view of the surrounding lands. To the north was a tiny village, and hearty Highland cattle grazed contentedly in the fields surrounding the castle’s thick wa
lls. It was a strong keep and, she thought with an inner sigh as they rode through the big, iron-studded gates, a rich one. It was one thing to think that a man was out of her reach, it was quite another to see the proof of that in one huge pile of stone.

  The way the people of Dunmor boisterously welcomed Lucais and his cousins, and their elation over Malcolm’s good health, made Edina further question her suspicions about Lucais. The people would do what their laird told them to, but she knew he could never make them all pretend to be happy. As they dismounted in the heart of the crowd, Edina clung to Malcolm and struggled to regain some sense of belonging with the child, some sense of her right to be there. Her eyes told her that Malcolm would have all she had lacked as a child—love, ready ears for his questions, stories, and even his complaints, and ready arms to hold him close and soothe his hurts and fears. He might not be completely safe, however, she told herself, and soon felt a little more confident.

  A small, thin young woman named Mary, who was all brown hair and brown eyes, was selected to show her to a room and see to her needs. Lucais made only one attempt to extract Malcolm from her arms, accepted failure with an apparent calm, and sent her on her way. As she followed Mary into the keep and up the narrow stone steps that led to the bedchambers, Edina looked around at the rich tapestries and fine weaponry hanging on the thick stone walls. She followed Mary into a bedchamber, looked at the big, curtained bed, the fireplace, and the sheepskin rugs, and shivered. She had never seen such wealth, and she felt intimidated.

  After meekly asking for a bath, Edina sat down on the high soft bed and waited for Mary to fulfill that request. She took several deep breaths and fought to subdue her feelings of being small and unimportant. Edina knew she had just been overwhelmed by Dunmor, its wealth, and its air of contentment. This was the sort of place she had often dreamed of, and Edina decided that it was very unsettling to see one’s dreams come to life. The cynical part of her began to revive, and she also decided that such perfection was worthy of suspicion. Just because everyone and everything at Dunmor seemed perfect did not mean there could never be a snake in the garden. Edina was sure that Malcolm could have a very good life at Dunmor, but there could easily be someone behind one of the smiling faces she saw who wanted Malcolm’s life to be very short or who was willing to help the man who sought that. Until she was sure that Malcolm was completely safe at Dunmor she would stay with him.

  “Are ye sure ye should have let her take the bairn with her?” Andrew asked as he, Ian, and Lucais washed in Lucais’s bedchamber.

  “She willnae hurt the bairn,” Lucais said as he dried himself, surprised and a little alarmed at how confident he felt about that, for that confidence was not based upon any facts.

  “So, do ye trust her now? Ye dinnae think she has anything to do with Simon?” Andrew donned his braies and poured himself and the half-dressed Ian some wine from a decanter on a table next to the huge bed.

  “All I trust in is the fact that she willnae kill Malcolm, not whilst she is so completely surrounded by MacRaes.”

  “Are ye sure? I think ye are beguiled by a verra bonnie pair of green eyes.”

  Lucais wondered about ignoring that as he donned his braies and helped himself to some of the wine his cousins were drinking so heartily. As he sipped his drink and studied his cousins, who were sprawled so comfortably on his bed, he decided that the full truth would serve better. His strong attraction to Edina was a weakness. It might be a good idea to have someone watching him and Edina to ensure that he did not give in to that weakness and that Edina did not try to use it against him.

  “She does indeed have the most beautiful pair of green eyes I have ever looked into. I find most everything about the lass verra intriguing and alluring. My instincts tell me that she has naught to do with Simon, but I am not sure I should completely trust my instincts concerning her. Those instincts are also telling me that I want to lay her down in the heather and not rise from her slender arms for days.”

  “Oh,” Ian said in a small, hoarse voice, causing both of his older cousins to laugh.

  “Do ye think your loins could overwhelm your wits?” asked Andrew. “Do ye think that is why ye believe that she willnae hurt Malcolm whilst she has him alone with her?”

  “Nay. She could have struck the child down back in the forest ere we could have stopped her. She did not. That could mean that she is honestly trying to protect the child, or she knew we would immediately kill her and has no wish to die. That holds true here as weel. To survive she must get away from here or continue this game.”

  “And so we watch her closely to see if she does try to leave with the child or if someone tries to come to her.”

  “Exactly. We watch her every minute. She is never to be without a guard. Ye need not be too secretive about it, as I am sure she expects it, but a little subtlety would be good. Then she might think she can elude us and we will finally see with our own eyes if she can be trusted.”

  “A good plan, but there is one little flaw. There is one place where we cannae watch her, certainly not with any subtlety—her bedchamber.”

  “We will have eyes there, too. I will ask Mary to bed in there with her. It was my mother’s bedchamber, and there is a place for a maid to sleep close at hand. It is not something that will raise any great suspicion on Edina’s part.”

  “And what will you do if she is in league with Simon?”

  “If she is in league with Simon, I fear we will be given little choice about her fate. It will eventually come to the point where we must choose between her life and Malcolm’s. I may lust after her far more than I have ever lusted after a woman before, but ye need not fear that I will hesitate in making that choice, and making the right one. The moment she sides with Simon, she will be the enemy.”

  Chapter 3

  It was not easy, but Edina smiled at Mary, set a sleepy Malcolm in the woman’s arms, and walked out of the bedchamber she had shared with the woman and child for a week. Her mind told her that she was foolish to worry, that she could at least trust Mary not to hurt the baby, but her heart was not ready to agree. The one who sought to harm Malcolm did not appear to be within the walls of Dunmor, but he was out there somewhere she was sure of it. The watchful attitude of everyone at Dunmor confirmed that feeling. She was not the only one who scented the danger to the child. It was past time for her to step away from the child a little, however. If nothing else, she needed to take the risk to see if anyone tried to take advantage of it. Keeping a constant watch on Malcolm while the people of Dunmor kept a constant watch on her was not getting anyone anywhere, not even in deciding who could be trusted.

  As she stepped out into the sunlit bailey and took a deep breath of the clear summer air, Gar trotted up to her and she patted his head. The dog still allowed no one to go very far with Malcolm, but he showed no other signs of wariness. The animal had, in truth, settled in quite well at Dunmor. He saw no threat and that made Edina relax a little. She really needed a little rest from her self-appointed post as Malcolm’s guardian. To ease the final pangs of guilt she felt about leaving the child alone, however, she ordered Gar to go to her room and watch the baby.

  Enjoying the warmth of the sun, she walked around the bailey. Lucais had graciously sent word to her uncle to let him know why she was at Dunmor and assuring the man that she was safe. Her uncle was not a loving man, but he did have a strong sense of duty and she knew he would be concerned about her. She no longer had to worry about him, and could put all of her attention on the matter of Malcolm’s continued safety.

  After a thorough examination of the bailey, all the assorted buildings, and even venturing onto the walls to survey the surrounding lands, Edina found a shaded, secluded place near the walls of the keep and sat down. It was pleasant to be outside alone—if she ignored the way Ian shadowed her every step—and she wanted to enjoy it for just a little while longer. A cool breeze snaked its way around the walls, and she closed her eyes, savoring the way it took the summer heat from
her skin. She was feeling drowsy and content, when she suddenly sensed someone was staring at her.

  Cautiously, Edina opened her eyes and looked up. Lucais towered over her. There was a look of curiosity mixed with amusement on his face as she staggered to her feet. She frowned when he suddenly stepped closer, pressing her against the wall.

  “What do ye want?” she asked, inwardly cursing the huskiness in her voice as his long body lightly brushed against hers.

  “Ye have taken a rest from being Malcolm’s constant guard?” he murmured as he closely studied her flushed face.

  “I feel I can trust Mary and I have set Gar at his door.”

  “Ah, aye, the ever-faithful Gar.”

  “Howbeit, I believe I have been idle long enough.”

  He just smiled when she shifted slightly, silently asking him to move so that she could leave. Lucais was pleased to catch her alone, unguarded, and out of sight of the others. He had watched her for a week, whenever he and his cousins were not hunting Simon. Her voice, her eyes, even the way she moved, stirred him. She had begun to invade his dreams, dreams that had him waking up in a sweat, hungry for her. No matter how often he had told himself it would be a big mistake to give in to the attraction he felt for her, he had not been able to put her out of his mind. He had caught her watching him enough to make him think she felt the same interest. Now, Lucais decided, was the perfect time to test that theory.

  “Malcolm is probably still asleep.”

  Edina gasped when he leaned forward and touched his mouth to hers. “What are ye doing?”