Malcolm didn’t answer, so she moved to return to the hall but had a moment’s hesitation when she walked by the chamber she’d seen Niall Campbell come from earlier in the week. Knowing it was too dangerous to search his room, she was about to continue on when Niall strolled around the corner to see her in front of his door. Chills ran down her spine.
“Were ye looking for me, Ms. Cameron?” His gaze pinned her with mistrust. Her head spun to come up with a logical reason for standing outside his door.
“Aye. Nae, no’ really.”
In the pale candlelit hallway, she could just make out his eyes as they narrowed and darkened. He moved in front of her and placed his hands on the door around her, effectively caging her between the thick wood and his body.
“What are ye doing outside my door?” His voice was harsh and demanding. He wasn’t much taller than her, but he loomed over her with a commanding presence that made her want to shrink away.
“I came to see Malcolm, and he wasnae here. I remembered yer room was next to his, so I decided to see if ye would like to escort me to dinner. I was just leaving when ye didnae answer my knock.” Praying her voice didn’t tremble, she turned a smile on him.
He stilled and waited for her to go on. Her heart beat a rapid tattoo of fear laced with a healthy dose of self-preservation, so she chose the only option she thought she had left.
“I so enjoyed our dance last night. I thought ye may be interested in more.” His mouth curved up in a twisted devilish grin, and his gaze traveled down to her chest.
Och, I’ve chosen the wrong words.
“More dancing,” she corrected quickly and swallowed.
“I would enjoy dancing with ye again.”
She tried to maneuver around him, but his arm lowered and braced against the stones to cut off her retreat.
Niall’s eyes filled with a dark lust, and one hand drifted to open the door as the other circled around her waist. “Come in, and we can discuss what more I want.”
Panic enveloped her. “’Tis no’ proper,” she started.
“There ye are, Campbell. I was looking for ye.” A familiar, warm voice rumbled through the hall. Niall’s arms retreated as he took a step back. Alan appeared from nowhere.
Alan’s eyes widened. “Kirstie, what are ye doing here? Ye should be down with Blair.”
He was a damn good actor, or he honestly didn’t anticipate finding her here. She had expected anger from him, not the cool indifference and easy dismissal he heaped on her now.
“I was looking for Malcolm.” She took the opportunity to slide from the doorway and farther away from the scoundrel who had just tried to have his way with her.
“Why are ye here?” Niall was able to keep the anger out of his tone, but she saw it in his eyes. He thought Alan had just stolen his chance at getting under her skirts.
Alan had probably just saved her from something horrible. She would make it a point to avoid Niall in the future at all costs. There was no telling what he would do to her if he got her alone.
Alan kept on. If he noticed any undercurrents, he didn’t let it show. He continued talking to Niall and ignoring her. “I didnae see ye at the table tonight, so I came up to make sure ye hadn’t left for the tavern without me.”
Niall’s shoulders relaxed. “I just forgot something in my room. I was coming down to dinner right after. Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He turned the knob and disappeared through the door, shutting it behind him and leaving them alone in the empty hall.
Alan peered at her and whispered, “What did ye think ye were doing?” He grasped her wrist, and she winced. He eased his grip and slid his hand down her arm slowly to inspect it.
She opened her mouth to answer then stopped and looked at him sideways. “Ye followed me.” Her lips thinned as anger invaded the relief she’d felt at his presence.
“Aye, I did. And now I forbid ye from going anywhere on yer own. Ye seem incapable of making sane decisions.” He guided her farther from the door, glancing around to make certain they were still alone.
She fumed but said nothing.
“I didnae see Malcolm or Lachlan tonight. I was worried.” Before she could whisper the rest, the door began to open.
Alan dropped her arm. “I have to pretend as if ye dinnae mean anything to me,” he said under his breath before Niall stepped up beside them.
“Now, Ms. Cameron, may I escort ye to the hall?” Niall asked.
The dim light held enough glow that she could see the muscle in Alan’s jaw tick and his fists clench at his sides as Niall held out his arm for her to take.
“Aye, ye may. I am quite hungry tonight.”
She laced her arm through Niall’s, and they started down the hall with Alan trailing behind. The back of her neck burned with the anger she could feel wafting off him.
…
Alan slammed his cup down on the table a little harder than intended. He’d been forced to sit next to Niall Campbell, while Kirstie was sandwiched between the vile man and Hamish on her other side. Kirstie had pushed Niall’s arm from her leg several times already, and if the man touched her again, Alan would be forced to take action. She seemed to be fending off the same type of unwanted attention from Hamish as well.
She had tangled herself up in this web of spiders, and she thought she would get away unscathed. He had to make sure that happened. He had watched her head up to the rooms above stairs but had stayed to the shadows until Niall had looked like a pleased lion ready to pounce on her.
He didn’t want to think about what the man would have done to her if he had been able to get her into that room. Niall was known for having a temper and a twisted sense of right and wrong. Clenching his fists under the table, he remembered the fear in Kirstie’s eyes and the entitled way Niall had hovered over her. His stomach knotted, and he found himself unable to eat.
To top off dealing with the men pawing at her under the table, Lachlan was watching him from across the room, eyes blazing as hot as the summer sun. If bears were still in Scotland, his laird could have been a descendant of the burly beasts. Lachlan looked like what Alan imagined a bear defending its cub would, ready to lash out with its sharp claws and teeth. He couldn’t tell if the anger was directed at him or the two men flanking Kirstie.
Talk of tomorrow’s summit filled the evening’s conversation. It was a slippery slope for Alan to navigate with both Royalists and Covenanters by his side. He’d kept his eye on Kirstie the whole time but had not been able to make out what she and Hamish had been discussing.
The mood after dinner was somber. It seemed as if the revelry of the week had been an illusion as men and women departed from the hall, as if everyone had decided to head to bed early to prepare their thoughts and arguments for the meeting tomorrow, or maybe the steady rain had just brought down everyone’s spirits.
When his table started to disperse, Alan leaned over to Niall and Hamish. “Shall we go to the tavern?”
“Nae. I don’t wish to go out in that mess,” Hamish answered. “But meet us there tomorrow night when everything is over. I’m sure we will have much to discuss.” He was again tracing his teeth with his tongue as some unspoken thoughts flitted around behind his steady, unnerving gaze.
Alan had wanted to walk Kirstie back to her room, but Lachlan and Malcolm motioned for her to join them, and she was off before he was able to speak to her. He was thankful he would no longer have to worry about Niall or Hamish attempting to see her to her bedchamber and feign disinterest in their attention to her. It had been hard enough to make it through dinner pretending he hadn’t wanted to cut out the men’s eyes for looking at her. He could only hope Lachlan had seen their attentions and was now lecturing Kirstie on being too familiar with the men.
Pushing away thoughts of Kirstie and the coming confrontation with Lachlan, he focused his attentions on what he needed to do next. Right now, he had to think about the plot against the Cameron brothers. Finlay and Dougal were standing in a corner of the room
, and he covertly made his way to them.
They stood by an alcove, and he was able to lean into the shadows of the small space. To the rest of the room, it appeared as if Dougal and Finlay were alone.
“Have ye learned anything new?” Alan asked.
“Nae. What about ye?” Dougal countered.
“All I ken is that the threat will come sometime after the summit has concluded.” He paused. “They have invited me to meet with them when the talks are done tomorrow. I believe they feel they can trust me.”
“Let’s hope so.” Dougal scratched his nose.
“Where’s Henry taking Blair?” Finlay asked. Before they could answer, he started cursing and walked away.
“Ye need to pass along to Lachlan that he, Malcolm, and Kirstie should leave as soon as ’tis over tomorrow.”
“I dinnae think he will do it. He has said if other lairds are in danger, ’tis his responsibility to lend them a hand.”
“If he is to be so foolish, he should at least get Malcolm and Kirstie out.”
“Ye ken with him staying, they willnae leave.” Dougal shook his head.
“Then ’twill fall to us to keep them safe.” He forked his fingers into his hair, massaging the muscles as he tried to come up with a way to get them out of Edinburgh before something bad could happen.
“Aye.”
“Ye stay close to Malcolm, I’ll keep an eye on Kirstie, and have Finlay watch out for Lachlan.” Releasing his head, he let his hands drop to his side.
“What if I want to take Kirstie?” The words felt like a taunt, although he couldn’t see the man’s face in his position.
“Nae. ’Tis easier if I do it, since I have access to the Covenanters she’s been staying with,” Alan said.
“Uh, ’twas right, ye have feelings for the lass. Lachlan said ye did, but I didnae believe him.”
“So Lachlan kens, then. Did he seem angry?”
“I can never tell. I can tell ye he has been a tyrant since we got here.”
What if Kirstie was wrong and Lachlan’s actions hadn’t been an act? Och, what had he done? There was no turning back now. Lachlan would either welcome, banish, or kill him.
“Looks like yer new friends are on their way to their rooms tonight.”
Alan didn’t have to look to know he was talking about Hamish and Niall. “I cannae wait to be back at Kentillie. If I have to listen to one more of Hamish’s sermons or watch Kirstie pull Niall’s paws off her, I will have to slit their throats.”
“Kirstie’s scanning the room. I think she wishes to ken where they have gone.”
He hoped she was looking for him, but he stayed silent.
“The man who attacked her in the stables was flogged and hung in the square today. From what I hear, ’twas no’ a bonny sight.”
“Dinnae let it get back to her. She has been affected enough by the filthy cowards.”
“’Tis been no sighting of his friend, but Lachlan still has men looking for him and has instructed one of us to stay guard outside the ladies’ rooms until we’re all back home.”
“Good.”
“Looks as if Malcom and Lachlan are walking her and Elspeth to their rooms. I dinnae think Blair went the same way. ’Tis why Finlay ran off like he did. He has a tender spot for that bonny friend of Kirstie’s.”
“I think he will have to wait in line. Henry Macnab was watching her like she already belonged to him.”
“I’ll get word to ye if I hear anything new. This cannae be over soon enough.”
“Be careful.”
“Take care of them, Dougal.”
Dougal turned and strolled away, while Alan hung in the alcove a little longer. When enough time had passed, he started wandering the halls to see if everyone was where they were supposed to be and if he could overhear something that would make this mission easier.
Sometime later, his appetite had returned, and he found himself leaning against the outside wall in the kitchens, having a small snack and watching the last of the servants cleaning. He was about to leave for the inn, but the food here was much better, so he’d stopped on his way to the stables.
A man inched his way through the door, letting in fresh air and carrying some pans, but he didn’t shut the door behind him. Whispered words from a conversation on the other side caught his attention.
“And what is he going to do to the Cameron lass after they’re dead?”
Alan froze and stopped chewing.
“It won’t be good. ’Tis all I ken.”
“Och, there he is, ye better hide.” A man darted in the door and bolted through the room as if the devil were chasing him. Alan couldn’t see who it was, only noticing shoulder-length, curly blond hair with the build of a boy on the verge of becoming a man.
When he pivoted to peek out the door, whoever the other voice had belonged to was gone. Hell, they could only have been talking about Kirstie. The blood in his veins froze. Lachlan and Malcolm might not be the only ones in danger.
He had to know she was safe. Sneaking up to the hall outside her room, he watched from around a corner as Dougal paced up and down the corridor between her room and Elspeth Cameron’s. Finding a metal cup that had been left outside another chamber, he tossed it down the nearest stairwell. When his friend went to investigate the noise, he took off for Kirstie’s room.
Finding the door unlocked, he easily slid in before Dougal reappeared. He bolted the door behind him then moved to the bed. Seeing Kirstie safe, he was able to take in air again, but fear still beat in his chest. It seemed odd that Blair was missing, because most of the guests had left the hall. Hopefully, John Macnab was looking out for his sister.
He should leave and go back to the tavern, but his legs wouldn’t budge. Her bed looked so enticing, so inviting, and it would take him at least an hour to get back by the time he got to his horse, rode down, and had it settled again for the night. Kneeling, he moved closer to her, and a small sigh escaped from her throat as his finger caressed her cheek.
Considering that her plea for his protection, he set his sword down by the edge of the bed within easy reach, then he rested on the edge of the bed, pulled off his boots, unbelted his plaid, took off his shirt, and discarded them on the floor. There was something reassuring about crawling into bed naked next to her. He slid under the covers and draped his arm around her. She had been lying on her side, so her back was to his chest, with her ass just at cock level. He snuggled in closer to enjoy the warmth of her and quickly fell asleep.
Chapter Ten
Alan woke to delicious tingles on his scalp. When he opened his eyes, Kirstie was there. Her fingers laced through the thick strands of his hair, and a heart-melting smile arched her full lips. Her lazy, hooded eyes were a sight he would be happy to wake to every morning.
His fingers dove into her hair and clasped the back of her head, pulling her close so their lips gently touched. He closed his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss. His tongue delved in and tangled with hers. She was spice and honey and all woman. He wanted more. His hand slid down her shoulders, down her back, and cupped her sweet ass to pull her on top of him.
A knock sounded at the door. “Kirstie, open up. It’s me.”
He groaned into her mouth.
Kirstie ended the kiss and pulled back. “Hold on, give me a minute,” she called to the door. “Ye should put yer clothes on. I cannae leave Blair out there in the hall.”
“Come on, ’tis cold out here.”
Alan thought ’twas no’ much better in here as he threw back the covers, losing both their warmth and Kirstie’s at the same time.
They dressed quickly, and Alan ambled toward the door, hesitant to begin what was sure to be an arduous day. He was going to insist Kirstie join him for breakfast right away. They had a lot to discuss.
Opening the door, his gaze rested on Kirstie’s friend. Blair’s face was red and puffy. “Are ye okay?” Concern and anger washed over him.
She shook her head and skirted past hi
m as he peeked into the hall to see in the light of the morning. The Cameron men weren’t on guard, which made sense because there was only Finlay and Dougal, and they did have to sleep. It was best they didn’t know he’d spent the night with their laird’s sister before he had a chance to speak with Lachlan.
Kirstie took one look at Blair’s disheveled and downtrodden expression and glanced to him. “Can we have a few moments alone?”
“Aye. I’ll be back to get ye for breakfast in half an hour.”
Alan paced the halls to give the lasses time to discuss whatever calamity had befallen Blair. He would bet his best sword that it had something to do with Henry Graham—surprising, since she had obviously spent the night with him. He’d expected her to come back glowing and happy at finally getting that rogue to commit to marriage.
As he passed the great hall, he saw Hamish in a corner watching the set of steps closest to Kirstie’s room. Hamish saw him and motioned for him to come closer. Clapping a hand on his shoulder when Alan walked up, he started, “Are you well rested for the day’s events?”
“Aye, I am.”
“Sit with me today at the summit. I am sure it will be an interesting meeting.”
“’Twill be a good thing if I can report back to my clan that the Royalists will no longer be a problem.” He cringed inside as he told the lie.
“Once we are done, the plan is to head to the tavern to discuss. Join us.”
“Aye.”
“Have ye seen Kirstie Cameron this morning?”
“Has she no’ come down yet?” He deftly avoided answering that one.
“Nae, I need to speak to her. I asked her to be my wife.”
His heart seemed to skip a beat, and his fingers shook. “What did she say?”
“She said she would give me an answer tonight after the meeting, but now I fear I will not see her until tomorrow if I don’t find her this morning.”
Alan was going to make certain Hamish didn’t see her this morning. “Are ye no’ concerned she is a Royalist?”
“I can remedy that quickly enough.” Hamish’s twisted smile turned Alan’s stomach. Would she actually marry this man? Nae, she was going to marry him after he talked to Lachlan.
Highland Temptation (Highland Pride) Page 14
