Border Lord

by Arnette Lamb

  After the meal Miriam took Verbatim for her evening walk. They returned to find Mrs. Elliott standing in the foyer. Tied at her waist was a heavy ring of keys Miriam hadn't seen before. She remembered the key she'd taken.

  "His lordship would like to see you now, my lady. He's in his chamber." She pointed down the hall. "'Tis just past his study."

  Miriam knew well the location of his private chamber; she'd searched it to find evidence that he was the Border Lord. In retrospect, the idea seemed foolish.

  "Thank you." On the matter of the key, she took a direct approach. "Oh, Mrs. Elliott, I have the key to the tunnel door. 'Tis in my room."

  "So that's where it got off to," she said, seemingly unsurprised. "We haven't locked doors here since I was milkmaid. Imagine someone at Kildalton stealing food." She patted Verbatim and added, "Sorry, girl. No bone for you tonight."

  "I'll just fetch the key, then," Miriam said.

  Duncan sat in the throne chair and stared at the door. What was keeping Miriam? If she didn't come soon, he'd botch the whole thing. He tapped his feet. Like an old ragged tartan, his courage began to fray.

  When the knock came, he jumped. Then he gathered his gumption and straightened his backbone. "Come in."

  She glided into the room, the sleuthhound at her side. The icy night wind had pinkened her cheeks and mussed her fiery hair. Dressed in a gown of pale green, she looked as fresh and as innocent as a maiden in spring. But Miriam MacDonald was no maiden, he'd seen to that right enough. Instinctively, he sought some sign of the child she carried. Her breasts swelled gently above the round neckline of the gown, her stomach was still flat where the waistline of the dress dropped to a point in front.

  "Is something amiss, Duncan?" She fluffed out her skirts and examined the fabric. "Have I spilled soup on my gown?" She lifted a mass of curls from her neck. "Have I leaves in my hair?"

  "Nay," he mused. "I was thinking how much you've changed since you came to Kildalton."

  Tilting her head to the side, she smiled. "More than you know, Duncan."

  Oh, he knew all of her secrets, and the knowledge made him bold. "Sit down, Miriam. I have something to tell you."

  Attuned to his serious tone, she sat in the straight-backed chair facing him. The sleuthhound lay at her feet. "I'm listening."

  He opened his mouth, but the words wouldn't come.

  "We're friends, remember?"

  He almost chuckled at that. He'd lain naked with her. He'd taken her maidenhead. He'd kissed her from head to toe. He'd tricked her into believing him a buffoon. He'd put his future in her hands. Fine qualities always show through, Angus had taught him. In times of trouble, the cream of a man's soul rises to the top.

  "You'll feel better when you tell me," she coaxed, a confident twinkle in her eyes.

  Guilt sapped his courage. "I doona think you 'II feel better, Miriam."

  She looked him straight in the eye. "Have you lied to me?"

  "Aye."

  "Have you betrayed our friendship?"

  She seemed fearless. Why not? She'd spent years facing clever kings and wily diplomats. "I canna say for certain, but it's debatable."

  Her chin came up a notch. "Tell me."

  Do it, his conscience demanded. "I'm the Border Lord."

  She blinked, then put a hand over her mouth, and laughed.

  Outrage nicked his pride. "Stop that."

  "Oh, Duncan," she said behind her hand. "Forgive me… but 'tis so—so outrageous." Tears of mirth swam in her eyes.

  Stunned, he pounded the arm of the throne. "Outrageous or no, 'tis true."

  Between chortles, she said, "And I'm a Persian harem dancer."

  Her flippant reply barreled through him like a razor-sharp dirk. "I'll prove it." From his sporran, he pulled a black scarf and tossed it in her lap.

  Still sniffling, she dabbed the tears from her eyes. "Even Verbatim has one of these."

  Determined, he leaned forward and drilled her with his coldest stare. "I nearly broke my neck climbing the castle wall that night you took the key and locked me out."

  "Mrs. Elliott could have told you about the key a moment ago when I went upstairs to fetch it. Ian could have told you about that night in the garden. What did you really wish to tell me?"

  He hadn't considered that she wouldn't believe him. "The truth, Miriam. I'm the Border Lord."

  "That's the most preposterous thing I've ever heard." She laughed again, so hard her shoulders shook.

  Growing desperate, he said, "I'll kiss you. That should be proof enough."

  "Oh, Duncan." She stood. "I have no intention of kissing you. Come, Verbatim."

  Completely lost, Duncan watched her leave. Cursing himself for a stupid fool, he decided to regroup.

  The next morning Miriam hesitated before going down to breakfast. She still smiled when she thought about Duncan's confession. At one time she'd been certain he was the Border Lord. But no man could be in two places at once. His reasons baffled her, though. What did he stand to gain? No suitable answer came to mind.

  She arrived at the table to learn that half of the meat pies the cook prepared and a full pail of milk had vanished from the pantry. Duncan didn't seem distressed over the news. From his spot at the head of the table, he made a solicitous query about her health and lamented over the small amount of milk she was served.

  Throughout the meal he smiled too much and said too little. Until Saladin and Malcolm excused themselves. Over the rim of his tankard, he said, "Do you know my full name, Miriam?"

  To verify the date of Malcolm's birth, she'd looked in the family Bible the day the baron had come to Kildalton. Out of respect for Duncan's privacy, she hadn't bothered to read the other entries. "Nay, I do not. Nor do I understand what difference it makes."

  Looking every bit like the lord of the keep, he put down the mug and fetched the book. Standing over her, he put the volume in her lap. She stifled another bout of mirth and watched him turn the worn pages. "There," he said.

  Searching the line above the tip of his finger, she read the name. Doubt trickled through her certainty.

  "Read it aloud, Miriam."

  The burr in his voice reminded her of stolen moments in dark places. Suddenly she did know, but the realization sent her mind spinning with questions. Why had he pretended? How could he have handed her the bloody tartan and feigned indifference when he knew her heart was breaking?

  "Miriam?"

  She needed time to think. He was either the lowest scoundrel or the biggest fool in the realm. Or was she the fool? Confusion and hurt forced her to say, "You're Duncan Andrew Ian Armstrong Kerr."

  "Ian. The Border Lord."

  Mustering more courage and patience than she'd needed the day the King of France propositioned her, she lifted his hand from the page and closed the book. Then she rose and faced him. "How splendid, Ian. You must tell me about the times you seduced your own governess and left heather on her pillow or the time you wooed the swineherd's grandmother."

  His mouth formed a tight, white line. "Those were tales to hide my true identity."

  She could see the truth of it now. The lies. The seduction. The bloody tartan. Her hands shook so badly she thought she might drop the book. Thank God for her years of training, but even experience would carry her only so far. She had to get away from him. "Clever tales they were. Well." She slapped the book against his chest. "If you'll excuse me."

  She left him clutching the book, his mouth agape. Numb with shock, she walked up the stairs and into her room.

  He'd worn spectacles. He'd put his shoes on the wrong feet. He lied from the moment she'd set foot in his ghastly castle. Only when she'd told him about trying to change the queen's mind had Duncan told her the truth.

  A weight seemed to press her down. She leaned against the door and fought to keep the heartache at bay. How he must have laughed at her that morning at the swineherd's farm when he'd mocked the legend of the Border Lord. Fairy tales and romantic fiction bored him to tears,
he'd said.

  "The wretch!" She recalled his sly innuendoes on the morning after their meeting at Hadrian's Wall. "Too much exercise in the wee hours of the morning," he'd said. "I prefer it in the morning, don't you?"

  Shame plunged her into despair. In the guise of a bumbling fool he'd ridiculed the love she'd given freely to a dark stranger. The passion-filled nights, the breathless whispers, the time in the tunnel when she'd confronted him.

  "Me, Duncan Kerr?" Then he'd laughed and said, "I'm no niddering poltroon."

  She thought of the day she'd told him about Glencoe. He'd comforted her. "What would your mother say about you being so sad, Miriam? She wouldn't want that, would she?"

  Oh, God. He knew her every secret. Or did he? She touched her still flat stomach. He couldn't know about the child. His child. A child conceived in deception.

  Poor baby, she thought. Poor me, she lamented.

  She cringed. She was not some green laundry maid to be tricked by a smooth talking butler. She was Miriam Mac-Donald, a world-wise and intelligent woman. If he tried to sway her with seduction, she had just the keepsake to thwart him.

  The moment she stepped into his study the next morning, Duncan knew he was in for trouble—her sweet smile, her glittering eyes, her confident air told him so.

  She glided toward him, a vision in watered silk. The fabric rustled loudly as she perched on the edge of his desk.

  "I've been thinking about what you told me, Duncan." Her hands fluttered with the grace of a butterfly. "I keep asking myself why you would confess to being the Border Lord."

  Because I love you, he wanted to say and drop to his knees and beg her forgiveness. But somehow he knew if he showed any weakness she'd pounce on him like a cat on a fat, slow mouse. Aye. She wanted to toy awhile with her prey.

  Resigned to his comeuppance, but determined to control the game, he put on a casual smile. "We're friends, Miriam. Do you believe me?"

  She pursed her pretty lips and looked affronted. "I believe the part about our being friends. How could I not? We've shared much, you and I. After all, I told you about Glencoe."

  A stab of guilt stole his breath. Why in bloody hell had she chosen to wear her hair loose, the shimmering, flame red waves falling over her shoulders and pooling on his desk. His fingers twitched with the urge to touch her silken curls, to peel off that frothy dress and kiss all of her pink spots. "I—uh—" Lust clogged his throat. He coughed to cover his discomfort. "I thought 'twas time we shared more."

  She examined her fingernails. "I don't believe you're the Border Lord."

  Slyly said, the statement sounded like a challenge. Well, he could be sly, too. "I wonder what I could say or do to convince you?"

  "I've been perplexed by that very notion." Her gaze roamed his face before settling on his eyes. "The Border Lord knows things, I suppose."

  Such as she loved him and carried his child. True, he'd acted like the most heartless of cavaliers, but damn her, she ought to forgive him. "What," he said, taking her hand and stroking her palm, "would you like to know?"

  She gasped, but recovered her composure with a skill he'd witnessed and cursed a hundred times. "Where is Adrienne Birmingham?"

  It was the last thing he'd expected her to ask. But leave it to Miriam to catch him off guard. He was thinking of romance. She was thinking about business. "She's in Barbados."

  "Did you kidnap her?"

  He laughed. "Hardly. I arranged for her and her lover, Charles, to settle in the islands. They're having a go at farming sugar cane."

  "You could have accomplished her escape as Duncan Kerr. Adrienne stayed here when your wife died. You said you were friends with her. You didn't have to don a cape and disguise yourself. How did you manage the black hair?"

  Hell and damnation! She'd maneuvered him into a corner. He hadn't expected direct questions on exact topics. Why couldn't she be as predictable as other women? The answer lifted his spirits. "I used lampblack." He touched his side whiskers. "Here." He touched his eyebrows. "And here."

  She stared at the arm of his chair. "How clever of you."

  He allowed himself one stupid question. "Are you angry?"

  "Angry? Of course not." She stood up and made a production of straightening her skirts. "That would suggest I believe you."

  Weary of the charade and fearful of losing her, he rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. "If my words wilna convince you, Miriam. This will."

  The instant his lips touched hers, he saw the folly in his plan. He should have wooed her slowly and built upon the friendship they'd begun. Instead he'd come on like a lusty buck eager for his first doe. But recriminations receded, became lost in the feel of her mouth opening beneath his and the gentle way she leaned into his chest. His Miriam, a prize beyond value, a woman to cherish.

  Cherish her, he did. He kissed her with finesse, knowing that when he twirled his tongue with hers, she always sighed, then took the lead. Caught up in the kiss and anticipating the forgiveness he knew would follow, Duncan gloried in the embrace, pressing her closer.

  Her soft sigh urged him on and confirmed what he knew in his heart—she loved him. An instant later she became the aggressor, wrapping her arms around him and slanting her lips across his to achieve a greater intimacy. Eager too, he caressed her breasts until he grew frustrated with the barriers between them. He reached into her bodice, and rather than the soft swelling mound he expected, he encountered fabric.

  Confused, he pulled back and opened his eyes. Nestled between her breasts lay the black scarf of the Border Lord.

  She stiffened, and her eyes fluttered open. The dreamy passion faded, replaced by a cold hard stare. In a soft, determined whisper, she said, "You don't kiss the same as the Border Lord. And he's taller than you."

  "I had the cobbler build up my bootheels."

  She whirled, yanked open the door and ran out, slamming it in his face.

  "Miriam!" he bellowed. "Come back here!"

  He found her at the base of the stairs, her fingers clutching the handrail, her charming smile bestowed on Malcolm, who wore a green bonnet with a pheasant feather.

  She curtsied deeply. "Thank you, Robin of the Hood."

  Malcolm kissed her hand. "I swear by my trusty bow, I'll not rest until the food thief is caught and… and hanged from the castle wall."

  "I feel ever so safe, Robin."

  "Papa." The boy brandished a quiver and short bow. "Maid Miriam said you wanted to join my band of merry men. We'll find out who's raiding the pantry."

  She started up the stairs, her hair swaying, the skirt rustling. Over her shoulder, she said, "Of course, he wants to join your band. Wouldn't he make a fine Little John?"

  "Will you, Papa?"

  "Aye, as soon as I've finished my conversation with Maid Miriam."

  At the landing, she stopped. "Oh, but I wouldn't think of taking up any more of your time."

  Frustrated, and uncertain of his next move, Duncan matched her civility. "Until supper, then."

  She didn't answer, but Malcolm grumbled, "If we have any."

  19

  That night Miriam locked her door, stayed in her room, and requested a dinner tray. When Mrs. Elliott brought it, she smiled apologetically. "The cook roasted a duckling with carrots and turnips, but it's nowhere to be found. So I brought you cheese and scones, and cabbage pudding. There's a full pitcher of milk."

  The housekeeper had helped Duncan carry out his charade. That night in the tunnel, she'd pretended to speak to him. "Thank you," said Miriam. "This will be fine. I take it the thief hasn't been found."

  Mrs. Elliott surveyed the room. Seeing Miriam's silk dress draped over the foot of the bed, she picked up the gown and hung it in the wardrobe. "Nay, and the oddest thing happened today. The stableman found pastry crumbs in the cage with that toothless badger you brought from Sinclair Manor."

  Staring at the bow tied at the back of the housekeeper's apron, Miriam wondered if the woman had seen her in the arms of the Border Lord
that time in the tunnel? Had she heard their cries of passion? The possibility embarrassed Miriam, but she couldn't blame Mrs. Elliott for being loyal to her master. "The earl did tell the stableman to look after Alpin's animals."

  "Aye, but the man ain't one to be feeding pastries to a badger." She closed the wardrobe doors, but they swung open again. "More like he'd eat the pies himself." Grunting, she closed the doors again.

  "You're wasting your time," Miriam said. "The latch is broken."

  "Oh, aye," she said, suddenly nervous. She turned toward Miriam but stared at the carpet. "Do you suppose the Moorish lad could have… ?"

  The implication was clear, and like a mother hen protecting her chick, Miriam leaped from the bed. "Saladin is his name, and his religion forbids him to eat meat."

  The housekeeper looked up, her brown eyes narrow with indignation. "Pardon me, my lady," she said without a smidgen of remorse. "I know the lad's eating habits. I'm the one who sends the potboy after quinces and nuts and instructs the cook to prepare his soup without meat. I only wondered if Saladin had a devotion for the crippled creatures. He does take special care of your hound."

  Abashed but still distrustful of the woman, Miriam softened her tone. "Thank you for seeing after his diet. Others, even in his own native land, have not been so kind toward Saladin. I assure you, he is no thief. His religion forbids that, too."

  Mrs. Elliott glanced about the room and Miriam noticed tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, my lady, for… for…"

  "For tricking me?"

  Brackets of misery framed her mouth. "Aye."

  Harboring a grudge against a servant was unfair. "I forgive you, Mrs. Elliott, but don't ask me to forgive your master. Good night."

  "Good night, my lady."

  The housekeeper left. Miriam locked herself in and sat down to eat. Expecting Duncan to knock on the door at any moment and demand entry so he could practice his wily ways, she jumped at every pop of the fire and rehearsed a dozen rebukes. She had just finished off the milk when the knock came.