Maude wasn’t sure what to say, so she nodded. She rested her head against his chest, returning to a comforting place. However, now she wondered how she ever compared him to how her father or brother felt when they embraced her.
“Buttercup, look at me.” Kieran waited until her whisky-tinted eyes met his slate-hued ones. “I know we don’t know each other well enough for you to completely believe me. I’ve tried to anticipate your doubts, but I’m sure you’ll come up with more. Maude, I’ve never committed to a woman before, but I’m not the philandering type by nature. I’ve never courted another woman, but I’ve known since I was a young mon that I wouldn’t consider marriage to any woman I couldn’t be faithful to. I want to be faithful out of desire rather than out of duty. No matter who I marry, I will never stray from my wife. I know we’re not married, not even handfasted, but I want my intentions to be clear. I intend to marry you, Maude Sutherland. There will never be another.”
“How can you be so certain? So adamant?”
“Perhaps it is experience. I know what I feel for you is naught like any experience I’ve had in the past. I’ve been in lust. I’ve been infatuated. But this is different. I don’t know how to put it in words, but I can only swear that I know it is. That it’s more real, more significant than aught from my past.”
Maude listened to Kieran’s declarations and, despite her suspicious nature, something about his demeanor and the earnestness of his words and expression made her believe him. She put her finger against his lips then brushed them with her own.
“If I’m your buttercup, are you my turtledove?” Maude murmured.
“I don’t know that I’m as delicate as a turtledove, but aye, when I find my mate, it’s for life. I’m your turtledove.” He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her fresh lemon verbena scent as though he would imprint it in his mind and heart.
“I’ll miss you, buttercup. It’s as though you’ve been a part of my life for ages rather than a few days.”
“Do you believe in fate?”
“I didn’t before two days ago. Now I do.”
“Come back to me, turtledove. I’ll be here waiting.” Maude graced him with one of her half-smiles, and he thought he found those even more alluring than her grins. “And dinna fash, I willna go aboot caterwauling that name when ye return.”
Her smile transformed into that broad, open-mouth grin, and he questioned his thought from only a moment ago. Her smile transformed her face from ordinary to a picture of beauty.
“I must go now, or I’ll never be able to leave you, buttercup.”
“I know.”
They kept their kiss short, lest they lose control again. Maude walked out of the stables with Kieran and Peat. The sun still hadn’t risen, and a little mist hung low. Kieran looked around before wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her cheek.
“Promise me you’ll be careful and not take any unneeded risks. I’ll worry anyway without you coming to trouble.” He kissed her once more before hoisting himself into his saddle. He clenched the reins to keep from pulling Maude into the saddle before him and riding away with her somewhere no one recognized them. They would go to neither MacLeod territory nor Sutherland; rather, somewhere they’d just be buttercup and turtledove, not laird or laird’s daughter. “If you need me, you need only send a missive, Maude.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m used to it here.”
“Aye, mayhap, but I also know that you’ll fret that you’re taking me away from my people when I’m leaving to handle an emergency. You’re just as important to me. Write me, and I will come.”
Maude nodded and squeezed the hand he offered her. She watched him clatter out of the bailey. He looked back twice before they could no longer spy one another through the light fog. Maude returned to her chamber and climbed back into bed, squeezing her eyes shut to keep her tears from falling. Kieran forced himself to keep his eyes on the road and his surroundings, rather than picturing Maude as she came apart in his arms. He felt as though something had been torn from him, and now he was incomplete.
Chapter Seven
One week bled into another until nearly a moon had passed. It had shocked Maude to receive a missive from Kieran only a sennight after he left. He must have dispatched his messenger within hours of returning to Stornoway. It was a brief message, but one that reassured her that he arrived in one piece. He would travel two days after his arrival to Assynt, where the raid took place. Her heart sank when she read his destination. While any loss to Kieran’s clan saddened her, she had hoped that the raid had taken place on Lewis or even Glenelg which was further south. Assynt bordered both Mackay and Sutherland territories. Both clans were her family. She was born a Sutherland, but her aunt had married the Sinclair laird, and her cousin Mairghread Sinclair had married the Mackay laird, Tristan. Her cousin now lived at Castle Varrich with her husband and bairns. The messenger awaited a response from her, but she wasn’t sure if she should dare ask the man what he knew of the events. She opted not to involve the courier and asked Kieran instead.
It was close to a fortnight before she received his response, but she had already heard from her father. She was already aware the blame lay with the Sutherlands living near the border of Mackay and MacLeod territories. She avoided going into detail when she wrote to her father, but informed him that she had learned of the attack and their clan’s involvement concerned her. Kieran’s second missive was brusque and short. He outlined what he’d learned of the events and what his people told him. He admitted he would have to parlay with her father to resolve the matter. It was the final five lines that reassured Maude that the conflict hadn’t ruined their chances.
This would be so much easier to deal with if you were by my side. I feel as though you would know what to tell my people during this time of sorrow, and I believe you would offer me sound council. I miss you, buttercup. I hope to return before the moon is up.
Maude wasn’t convinced any words she offered would be a welcomed comfort, since they would come from the daughter of the laird whose people killed his. However, the thought that he trusted her opinion warmed her. Maude replied honestly and told him that she had already learned of the events from her father, and that his intentions were to meet with Kieran. She asked if they’d agreed to where the meeting would occur. She hadn’t wanted to appear curious by asking too much of her father. At the fortnight mark, Kieran had hoped to return within the next fourteen days, but Maude lost hope that there was time for her father and Kieran to meet and have him return before the new month began.
His third missive came six days before a moon would have passed. She realized Kieran must have dispatched the missive four days earlier. He wrote that he and her father agreed to meet at court as they both had matters to attend to that couldn’t wait.
I don’t know what brings your father to court, but I would return to you as soon as I can. I want to see your smile, hear the burr you try to hide, and feel you in my arms. I’ve said naught of us to your father. I wanted to ask how you would like to proceed. I intend to leave in five days. I shall dispatch a messenger the day before to confirm my departure, and it’s my fervent hope to meet my messenger on the road and perhaps deliver my final missive in person. I miss you, buttercup.
Maude cherished the pet name; neither she nor Kieran used their real names to address or sign the missives in case someone should intercept them. Her response was simple and took but a moment for her to write before she shooed the exhausted rider back to his mount.
Turtledove,
I eagerly await your return to the nest. While your messengers have been most polite, I would rather receive your next missive from your own hands. I cannot offer the messengers a token of thanks, but I can offer one to you. What boon would you request?
* * *
Maude’s heart was heavy as she pushed the food around on her tray. She had slept poorly the previous three nights as she grew excited for Kieran and her father to arrive. She and Blair both missed their fathe
r. All three Sutherland children were close to their parents, who still doted on them. Her father’s father had been a cruel man who mistreated his children, in particular his only daughter, her Aunt Kyla. She had faded memories of her father’s sister, who allowed her to climb into her lap while she told stories to her own five children along with Maude, Blair, and Lachlan. Her father swore to be nothing like his father when it came to parenting and leading their clan.
She’d received a notice that her father would arrive late that night, but she’d heard nothing from Kieran, and the day was almost done. It was the last day of the month, and it disappointed her to not see Kieran. She understood anything from a new clan matter to the weather might have slowed his progress. However, she had received no missive informing her of his departure. She had no sign that he was making his way to Stirling.
Maude stood from her seat and pulled her robe tighter as she poked at the peat in her fireplace, making her think of Kieran’s horse for the hundredth time. She had kept her spirits up throughout Kieran’s time away, but she’d grown melancholy over the past two days. She’d had another run in with Laurel and Madeline that left her shaken and humiliated. Maude had no desire to tell Kieran what happened, but she wished she could lean her head against his chest, his steady heartbeat against her cheek. She wandered to her bed and pulled back the covers further before pulling the sash at her waist. Before she had the opportunity to shrug out of her robe, someone pounded on her door. The only person she knew who knocked like that was her father. She tied her robe, and her face relaxed into a smile. If she wasn’t to be in Kieran’s arms, then an embrace from her father wasn’t a poor substitute.
Maude pulled the door open and squeaked. Kieran’s arm shot out to wrap around her waist as he lifted her off her feet. He pressed the door open wider and stepped inside her chamber before kicking the door shut behind them. Maude clung to him as their mouths sought one another. His hands slid down to her backside as he pulled her against him with such force, he feared he might hurt her. Her hands fisted in his leine, and she continued to pull him closer even when there was no space between them.
Another round of knocking interrupted their reunion. Kieran eased her to the ground and placed his finger over his mouth. He stepped beside the door, knowing it would shield him once it was open. Maude opened the door and squeaked once again.
“Da!”
“Aye, lass.” He gave his daughter a quick squeeze and bussed a kiss on her cheek before pushing into her chamber. “Where the bluidy hell is he?”
“Da?”
“Dinna look innocent, lass. I saw MacLeod enter yer chamber.” Maude noticed her father was out of breath, and realized he must have run to reach her chamber when he was already on his way. Kieran had arrived sooner. “He’s been kissing ye, Maude. I can tell. Where is the bluidy lecher?”
Laird Hamish Sutherland grasped the door, suspecting where the man would be hiding. He slammed it shut and rounded on Kieran, who held his hands away from his sides, making it clear he held no weapon.
“Explain. Now.” Hamish barked. He looked between Maude and Kieran before growling when neither answered fast enough.
“Da, please, come sit down.” Maude took her father’s hand and led him to one of the two chairs in the chamber. Kieran stepped near her despite Hamish’s warning glare. He moved the other chair closer to the one she offered her father. Hamish didn’t sit until Maude did, but he fixed his gaze on Kieran, who stood behind Maude with his hands on the back of her chair. It was both possessive and protective.
“Leave off, MacLeod. I’m nae going to lash out at ma lass. I may strike ye, but I’d never harm ma daughter.”
“Da--”
“Laird Sutherland--”
Maude looked back at Kieran, who nodded to her.
“Da, I met Laird MacLeod—Kieran— just before he had to return to Lewis. I was upset one eve after overhearing a conversation I wasn’t intended to, and Kieran was kind to me. He stayed with me until Arabella found me on the terrace.” She looked back at Kieran and offered him the chance to speak.
“Laird Sutherland, this happened before I had the chance to learn of the attack in Assynt. It’s for your daughter’s sake that I didn’t lead a hot-trod to regain my cattle or to seek revenge. I asked Lady Maude for permission to court her before I received the missive calling me home.”
“Did ye now? And how do ye ken I dinna already have plans to wed Maude to someone else?”
Hamish watched as the knuckles on both of Kieran’s hands turned ghostly white as his fingers clutched the wood. A vein pulsed in his neck as the cords strained.
“I would request you reconsider. I’ve formed an attachment to Maude that is genuine and special. I ask that you give us time to see if it develops into more.”
“Och aye, I’m sure ye do,” Hamish scoffed. “I believe it already has looking at ma daughter’s red chin. I’d say it looks an awful lot like a beard rubbed against it.”
“Da, if you’ve someone else in mind, please don’t move forward with it. Give us more time.”
Hamish looked at the young couple and remembered a situation similar to this one, except it involved himself and his wife when he fell in love with her at first sight.
“For starters, I dinna care for ye sounding like a bluidy Lowlander. I hope this manner of speaking dinna stick. Second, yer cousin says the young laird is quite attached to ye. Apparently, he was ready to come to blows with a priest over ye. That must be an awfully powerful connection to risk yer soul within a sennight of meeting one another.”
Maude shot out of her chair but sank back into it just as abruptly. Kieran didn’t care for how she looked, as though she might cry. Despite the discomfort of being found together, he recognized it delighted Maude to see her father, at least until she realized he was already aware of the secret she kept from him. Kieran shifted toward Hamish and watched him as the back of his fingers skimmed Maude’s shoulder blades.
“Enough, damn it! I told ye I dinna harm ma bairns!” Hamish glared at Kieran. “Ye dinna need to be ready to spring at me as though I might attack her. I might go after ye, but never Maude.”
Maude’s brow furrowed at her father’s unexpected outburst. She leaned her head forward as though she might study her father better if she were closer. The dim light from the fireplace made it more difficult for her to see.
“Yer mon is positioning himself between ye and me in case I should try to strike ye.”
“He is?” Maude asked her father before turning toward Kieran. “You are?”
“Your father didn’t gain his reputation by sitting at home and going to fat.”
Hamish chuckled and eased back in his chair before crossing his arms over his chest and his ankles as he stretched out his legs. “As long as ye ken that, lad, we may get along.”
“Are you saying you might consider Kieran’s suit?”
“Aye. Between seeing ye together, which I amnae pleased aboot mind ye, and Michael’s missive, I feel better than I did when I was ready to run Kieran through a few minutes ago. Just because I agree that ye may court ma daughter dinna mean ye’re allowed back here. I shall post Donald or Tomas at yer door, lass, if I canna trust yer mon.
“Laird Sutherland, I returned only this evening. You might be able to tell I came here directly from leaving my horse at the stables. I’ve not visited Lady Maude here before, and I will not return. But I promised her I would be back before the new moon began, and I refuse to break my word. I feared I’d wake her, or she would sleep through my knocking if I waited any longer.”
“Ye look surprisingly clean for a mon fresh off a sennight of travel.”
Kieran grinned at Hamish as the older man gave him a pointed look.
“I may have pulled a clean leine from my satchel and used a freshwater trough in the stables to clean up a mite before seeking Lady Maude’s company.”
“Aye well,” Hamish’s lips pulled tight before he grinned at Maude and stood. “Come ‘ere, lass. I d
idna get a proper hug.”
Maude sank into her father’s arms. It was like having an enormous bear wrap her in a cocoon. She closed her eyes as the heat seeped from his larger frame into hers, and it reminded her of being a child. She had never felt as safe as she did with her father until she met Kieran.
“Thank ye, Da,” she murmured as she squeezed him. Hamish dropped a kiss on the crown of her head before easing his arms away. His heart expanded when she didn’t pull away. His little girl still appreciated his affection.
“I suppose we can do away with the formalities.” Hamish stuck his arm out to Kieran, who grasped it around the forearm. “I’m Hamish to ye now. And ye dinna need to keep up the pretense of calling ma lass ‘Lady’ when we are together. I ken ye dinna use titles between the two of ye.”
“Thank you. Hamish. And I’m Kieran.”
“I ken, lad. I met ye for the first time when ye were in raggies. Handsome even then. All the ladies cooed over him.” Kieran recognized the test for what it was.
“There’s only one lady I’ll let coo over me, and it isn’t my ma. Hamish, I speak the truth when I say Maude is the only woman I want.” Kieran placed his hands on Maude’s shoulders as he stepped behind her. Hamish watched his self-conscious daughter blossom at the mere touch of the man claiming to care for her. He prayed Kieran didn’t disappoint Maude or there would be a clan war after he killed Kieran.
“It grows late. I shall await ye in the passageway, Kieran. Dinna dillydally.” Hamish walked to the door and looked back. Maude was already in Kieran’s arms, his head resting on top of hers as they held one another. Neither noticed as Hamish slipped out of the chamber.
Maude inhaled the fresh pine and sandalwood scent once again. She’d wondered how he smelled so clean when he arrived. He cupped her face in his large hands and kissed the tip of her nose before drawing her into a searing kiss that left them both groaning as they pulled apart.
A Wallflower at the Highland Court: A Slow Burn Highlander Romance Page 6
