by Maya Banks
She was almost to the keep when a strong hand clamped down on her shoulder and turned her around. She balled her fist and swung. Caelen’s eyes widened in shock just before he dodged his head to the side and popped up his hand to block her blow.
“God’s teeth, woman. Stand down.”
“Remove your hand from my person,” she snapped.
“Keeley, I would speak to you,” Ewan said in a grim voice.
She looked beyond Caelen to see Ewan standing a foot behind his brother. She wrenched her hand from Caelen’s grasp and took a step backward.
“I think you’ve said enough, Laird.”
“Nay, I don’t think so. Come inside. We’ll speak in the hall while I break my fast. Have you eaten yet? It’s my practice to eat with my wife. She sleeps longer now that she’s heavy with child.”
Keeley issued a short nod and waited for the laird to precede her into the keep. Caelen backed away and with a last glance in Keeley’s direction returned to where the men were training.
When they entered the hall, the places were being set and Mairin was already at the table. Her face lit up when she set eyes on Ewan and she started to rise.
“Nay, sweeting, don’t get up,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he walked past her. He paused and dropped a kiss on her temple and gifted her with a smile that made Keeley wistful to her toes.
As he sat, he motioned for Keeley to sit on his other side across from Mairin.
“Good morning, Keeley,” Mairin said, offering a smile in her direction.
“Good morning, Mairin,” Keeley returned.
“How is Alaric?” Mairin asked.
Keeley gave her a reassuring smile. “He is much better this morning. His fever has abated and I’ve instructed him to rest for the next few days.”
“ ’Tis wonderful to hear, and we owe it all to you,” Mairin said.
Ewan cleared his throat and glanced up at Keeley as the serving women came in with trenchers of food. “While the circumstances of your coming here were less than desirable, ’tis my wish that you stay on with us, at least until Mairin has safely delivered our child. She means everything to me. I want the best care I can give her.”
“Your regard is admirable, Laird. Your lady wife is fortunate to have a husband so concerned with her welfare.”
“I sense a but in your statement,” Ewan said dryly.
“I want your guarantee of my status here,” Keeley returned. “I want the freedom to come and go as I please.”
Ewan sat back and studied her for a long moment. “If I give you these freedoms, do I have your word that you won’t leave my lands?”
Keeley sucked air through her nose. Once given, her word would not be broken. Which meant she would stay the winter with the McCabes. She’d been in constant proximity to Alaric and temptation like she’d never known.
She glanced at Mairin who looked both delicate and tired, and she looked at the love and concern in the laird’s eyes. He truly loved his wife and feared for her welfare. If Keeley could alleviate that worry and see Mairin through the birth of her child, it would please her.
“Aye. You have my word.”
Ewan nodded. “ ’Tis important for you to know that your freedoms come with conditions. You aren’t ever to leave the keep unescorted. We have enemies who would use whatever means necessary to strike at us.”
“I can live with those conditions.”
“Aye, Keeley. You will have a respected and revered position in our clan. Though I brought you here to tend to Alaric and to deliver my child, ’tis the truth we have no healer and the members of my clan will have need of your services between now and the time Mairin delivers. I would hope that you see fit to help them. If you give your allegiance willingly, you will be treated as a McCabe, which means you never have to want for whatever we can provide.”
His speech was earnest and sincere. He didn’t look to be a man who offered deceit. Nay, he was a man of honor. She’d wager all she owned on it.
“I will do as you wish, Laird,” she murmured.
Mairin clapped her hands together in delight. “ ’Tis wonderful news! ’Twill be nice to have another woman in the keep. Perhaps you can teach me some of your skills, Keeley.”
“As if we don’t have enough women,” Ewan grumbled. “You already shamelessly run over the men of the keep.”
Mairin covered her mouth with her hand, but her eyes twinkled merrily in Keeley’s direction.
“After the meal, Maddie and I will show you the clothes we’ve gathered for you. Then I’ll show you around the keep and introduce you to the clan. Everyone is excited to learn we have a new healer,” Mairin said.
Keeley smiled at the other woman. “Thank you. I’d like that.”
After a light repast, Ewan pushed away from the table and leaned down to kiss Mairin’s cheek. “I must return to the men. Make sure you keep Gannon and Cormac with you while you give Keeley the tour.”
Mairin rolled her eyes as Ewan walked away.
“I saw that, Mairin,” Ewan growled.
Mairin grinned and waved her hand in dismissal. “Do you need to check in on Alaric before we begin?” she asked Keeley.
“He’ll be fine,” Keeley said quickly. “He was resting comfortably when I left his chamber, and Gannon was bringing him up something to eat. I’ll check in on him once we’ve finished touring the keep.”
Mairin nodded and then rose clumsily from her seat. “Come then. I’ll introduce you around to the women.”
CHAPTER 12
Throughout the tour of the keep and the cottages that dotted the hillside just outside the stone skirt, Mairin kept up a steady conversation. Keeley’s head spun through most of it, but she tried to hone in when people’s names were mentioned.
Mairin didn’t give Keeley’s surname, and many of the McCabes viewed her with suspicion, though some were warm and welcoming.
Christina, a young girl perhaps a year or two younger than Keeley, was vivacious with sparkling eyes and a ready smile. It was nice to feel an immediate kinship with the other woman.
Keeley smothered a smile at the obvious flirtation between Christina and Cormac. Neither could keep their eyes from the other but both fiercely pretended disinterest.
They circled to the back of the keep where a group of children were valiantly trying to scrape up the smattering of snow on the ground. The flakes had stopped falling for now, though a look at the sky told Keeley they would begin falling again at any moment.
One of the boys looked up and when he saw Mairin, he left the crowd of children and ran straight toward Mairin and Keeley.
“Mama!”
The child threw his arms around Mairin while Mairin hugged him close. Keeley watched with interest. Mairin looked far too young to have birthed a child of this age.
Mairin scrubbed the top of the boy’s head and then turned to Keeley, an indulgent smile on her face. “Crispen, I’d like you to meet Keeley. She’ll be staying with us for a while and lending us her healing skills.”
Keeley extended her hand in a solemn gesture. “ ’Tis wonderful to meet you, Crispen.”
He cocked his head and looked up at Keeley. Keeley was surprised to see anxiety flashing in the boy’s eyes.
“Are you here to attend my mama when her time comes?”
Keeley’s heart softened at the worry she heard for Mairin. What a sweet boy. She wanted to gather him in her arms and hug him tight. Mairin looked close to doing the same.
“Aye, Crispen. I’ve delivered many a babe. I’ll be attending your mother when ’tis her time to deliver.”
Relief washed through the child’s eyes and he grinned broadly. “ ’Tis good, that. Papa and I want her to have the best. She’s carrying my brother or sister!”
Keeley smiled. “Indeed she is. Do you have a preference as to boy or girl?”
Crispen wrinkled his nose and then glanced back at the group of children who were shouting for him to return. “I wouldn’t mind a sister as long
as she wasn’t like Gretchen. But a brother would be nicer to play with.”
Mairin chuckled. “I think we’ve established that Gretchen is one of a kind, dearling. Run back and go play. I must finish showing Keeley around the keep.”
Crispen gave her another quick hug and then bounded back to the noisy pack in the distance.
Keeley shot Mairin an inquisitive look, not knowing where to start with the questions. Mairin shook her head. “Gretchen is a strong-minded young lady who will no doubt rule the world one day. She is the bane of Crispen and the other boys’ existence. When she’s not besting them in mock war play, she insists that she will one day become a warrior.”
Keeley grinned, easily searching out the girl named Gretchen in the group. She was sitting astride one of the boys, holding his arms to the ground while he shouted his protests.
“Crispen is Ewan’s son from his first marriage,” Mairin explained. “His wife passed when Crispen was but a babe.”
“ ’Tis obvious he holds you in high regard.”
Mairin’s face softened. “I am heavy with a child of my own, but Crispen will always be my first. The child of my heart though he didn’t come from my womb. He is the reason I came to Ewan. He brought me here.”
Impulsively Keeley reached over and squeezed Mairin’s hand. “You are a very fortunate woman. ’Tis obvious the laird loves you dearly.”
“You must stop. You’ll have me all weepy.” Mairin sniffed. “I cry over the least little thing these days. It drives Ewan daft. All his men avoid me for fear of doing or saying something to make me cry.”
Keeley chuckled. “You aren’t the only lass who suffers so. Many of the women I’ve attended find themselves overly emotional. Particularly as their time draws near.”
They continued to walk along the hillside farther from the children and as they circled around the keep, Cormac at their heels, the courtyard came into view. At first Keeley paid little attention to the goings on. Men spent their time fighting. ’Twas the life of a warrior. A man had to be prepared to defend his home at all times.
But then a particular warrior caught her eyes. He wasn’t practicing. He didn’t even hold a sword. He stood to the side with the laird watching as the other men sparred.
“That bloody fool,” Keeley muttered.
“What?” Mairin asked in a startled voice.
Ignoring both Mairin and Cormac, Keeley charged down the hill toward the courtyard, fury bubbling with each stomp.
“Ignorant, stubborn, impossible fool!”
She hadn’t realized that the men had paused the moment she came into the courtyard or that her words flew like arrows. Ewan tilted his head heavenward as if praying for patience while Alaric grinned and put his arms out to ward off her impending attack.
“You were saying?” Alaric asked when she came to a stop in front of him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. “I told you to stay abed. In your chamber. To rest! You shouldn’t be outside in the cold. You shouldn’t even be on your feet. How can I tend you when you won’t listen to even the most common sense directives?”
Alaric winced while Caelen chuckled. Alaric shot his brother a dark look.
“I believe the lass just suggested you’re lacking in common sense,” Caelen drawled. “Clearly I didn’t give her enough credit. She is an astute lass, indeed.”
Alaric turned, fist raised when Keeley grabbed his wrist and forced him to face her. Then she rounded furiously on the laird and Caelen.
“You two are just as guilty of lacking in common sense. Why didn’t you insist your brother return to his chamber the moment he stepped outside?”
“He isn’t a child to be coddled,” Ewan growled. “You’ll stop with your insults immediately.”
“This has nothing to do with being a child. The man clearly has no judgment. It’s up to you to lay down the law. You are laird, are you not? Would you allow one of your other warriors to endanger his health by rising too soon from his sick bed? Would you then explain a defeat in battle away by saying that the warrior wasn’t a child to be coddled when he wasn’t present to help you defend your keep because he lies in a cold grave?”
“The lass has a solid point,” Caelen pointed out. “And I’d also like to offer that ’Twas me who suggested you were a dolt for being up.”
Ewan scowled. He clearly had no liking for being reprimanded by a woman. By this time, Mairin and Cormac had arrived in the courtyard and Ewan looked even less happy that his wife was present.
“Mairin, you should not be out in the cold,” he said sternly.
Keeley gaped at him. “Oh, so you’d reprimand your wife who is hale and hearty, but not your brother who has only just recovered from his fever and has many days to go before he is well enough to be out of his bed?”
“God spare me,” Ewan muttered.
Keeley returned fiercely to Alaric. “Are you trying to kill yourself? Have you no care for your well being?” She poked him in the chest and rose up on tiptoe so she could look him more squarely in the eye. “If you tear my stitches, I’ll not repair them. You’ll have to bleed to death. The wound will fester and your flesh will rot away, but don’t expect any help from my quarter. Stubborn, infuriating man.”
Alaric placed both hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Keeley, lass, please. Calm down. I’m feeling quite well. My side still pains me. I know I’m not fully recovered, but if I spent one more moment behind the closed door of my chamber, I’d go mad. I needed but a bit of fresh air.”
“Well you’ve had your fresh air,” Ewan grumbled. “Now get your arse back to your chamber so that we can restore peace around here.” He pinned Mairin and Keeley both with the full force of his glare. “And the both of you will return indoors immediately. When I agreed to a tour, I didn’t mean the whole of our lands, Mairin.”
Mairin smiled serenely but didn’t look in the least intimidated by her husband.
“And you!” Keeley said, directing her outrage toward Gannon who was standing on Alaric’s other side. “Was your duty not to make sure Alaric didn’t do anything foolish?”
Gannon’s mouth popped open and his lips flapped up and down but nothing came out. He looked to Ewan for help, but the laird was too busy shaking his head.
Keeley didn’t waste a moment longer. She latched on to Alaric’s arm and began pulling him toward the steps entering the keep. Alaric chuckled but followed behind her and allowed her to guide him inside and up the stairs.
All the way up to his chambers, she lectured him about taking better care of himself. How else was she to impress upon him the seriousness of his injuries? ’Twas no small scrape he’d suffered. If the cut had gone any deeper, it would surely have gutted him. He would have bled to death long before he could have sought aid from her.
She shoved him inside his chamber and then slammed the door behind them.
“You’re mad,” she said. “Completely and utterly mad. Now we must get those boots off you. How on earth did you get them on? It must have been agony. And your tunic.”
Alaric eased onto the edge of the bed and extended his foot to her.
“You want me to take your boots off? You put them on. You can bloody well take them off.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have what could possibly be the most outrageous, delectable, enticing, incredible mouth?”
She halted her tirade and stared dumbly at him. “I—you—what?” she sputtered.
He grinned, making a dimple appear in the side of his cheek. Lord, but the man was simply irresistible.
“Come here,” he ordered, crooking his finger at her.
Too befuddled to do anything but obey, she closed the distance between them and came to stand between his thighs.
“That’s better,” he murmured. “Now come closer.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in until his mouth was a breath from her bosom. That knowledge did peculiar things to her nipples. They hardened and sta
bbed relentlessly at the bodice of her dress, and they ached as if they’d been stroked by fire.
“You won’t ignore me and pretend I’m not here,” he reproached. “You won’t shut me out.”
She placed her hands on his shoulder and looked down at him with a look of consternation. “Is that why you came out of your chamber?”
“ ’Twas the only way to get you to attend me again,” he said lazily. “Think you I’d put on those boots just to get a breath of fresh air when it’s fair freezing out there? You were right, lass. Those boots damn near killed me.”
Something twisted in the region of her heart and she shook her head helplessly. “You sore try my patience, warrior. I had tasks to attend to this morn. Including getting the right of things from your brother, and then Mairin showed me around the keep. ’Tis important to meet the people I’m expected to tend to.”
“Your first priority is me. I find I don’t like it when you’re away, lass. You’ve become as important as the air I breathe. Don’t venture far next time. I find I think daft thoughts when left to my own devices.”
She sighed. “I think what you are is spoiled. Has anyone ever told you nay?”
“I’m sure they have but at the moment I cannot remember.”
“I’ll tend you, warrior. You give me no choice if you are to survive. Your impulsiveness is going to kill you.”
The triumph in Alaric’s eyes sent a giddy thrill down her spine. He pulled at her waist, running his hands up to her nape, grasping and then lowering her until his mouth was on level with hers.
“I know you told me not to kiss you, lass, but I should warn you that I’ve never been good at taking directions.”
CHAPTER 13
He sensed her surrender after a short hesitation, and he took full advantage, pulling her closer until their lips touched. For a moment he remained still, simply absorbing the sensation of her delectable mouth against his. Then he pressed in, moving sensuously over her mouth, harder, deeper until they both gasped for air.
