“Better yet, I have it,” he replied with a smile.
“Thank God!” Mary flung her arms around him in relief and hugged him tightly then suddenly jerked away, with her face flaming. “I’m sorry, that was not right of me.”
“It doesnae matter to me,” Mr. Balloch’s grin was a bit devilish.
She plucked her dress, “I do know that I am grateful for saving me. My head is much better now, thanks to you. If it is possible, may I say my thanks to the Laird of Robasdan also?”
“I ken he already kens,” he replied.
Mary took her hand away and folded them on her lap, “On that map in a tiny mark, where my maid told me her aunt lives. I would like to get there and…would you be able to take me?”
“Aye, let's see the map and find where this place is,” Mr. Balloch said. “Isla will come with yer meal soon. Eat it while I go get that bag.”
Mary nodded as hope bloomed in her chest. Could she expect him to take her to Tina’s aunt then? Perhaps. What she did not expect was him leaning down and kissing her forehead. “Take it easy, lass.”
Looking up, Mary felt the ache in her soul begin to soothe while the funny feeling in her stomach, a tingling warmth, began to grow. She looked up and smiled. “Please let me trust you.”
“I’ll take care of ye,” Mr. Balloch said, “I give ye me word.”
He sounded sincere, but could she trust him? How was she so fortunate to find a man willing to help her without reciprocation? She did not want to be a cynic, but what truly came free in this world?
6
Striding to the doorway, Leith did not even blink an eye when he saw Tarrant lingering just beyond the doorway. The laird fell in step with him as he strode to his quarters where he had put the lass’ burlap sack.
“She’s a Sassenach,” Tarrant said quietly.
“Aye,” Leith said, “doesnae matter to me much. She needs help and I’m leaning to givin’ it.”
“But she is a Sassenach,” Tarrant stressed.
“I’ve heard ye,” Leith drawled. “Shout it to the mountains, why dinnae ye?”
“But what about yer quest to heal yer Faither?” Tarrant asked. “Shouldnae that be yer focus?”
Not pausing in his stride, Leith said, “I can handle two things at a time, Robasdan. I’d be a poor laird-to-be if I couldnae take many things on at once.”
“I see,” Tarrant nodded, “But yer taken with her, aren’t ye?”
Reaching the room, the laird had lent him for the night before, Leith entered and went directly to the sack resting on a chair. The fire had simmered down to red coals, but Leith did not have time to stir them back to life. He grasped the sack and spun only to run into the brick wall that was Tarrant.
“Hell’s teeth man,” Leith swore. “Ye nearly broke me nose. Is this what Lady Robasdan suffers every night? Yer body is like a slab of basalt, man!”
“What me wife suffers is nae importance of yers,” Tarrant said gruffly. “Ye have nay answered the question, are ye taken with her?”
Sighing, Leigh shook his head, “I cannae say I’m taken with her. She is fetching that’s for sure, and aye, anyone with eyes can see that but the lass is untried and very innocent in all things. Even ye with yer listening in could see or, rather, hear, that.”
“I did,” Tarrant said. “If this woman is as well off as she says, be careful, Lenichton, ye might be calling danger unto yer head with her. A lass like that will not be allowed to be lost for long.”
“I ken,” Leith said with a wry tilt of his lips. “If that does happen, the only thing I will have to do is fight, that is if she’s willing to stay.”
Nodding, Tarrant stepped aside so Leith could pass by. He took the same corridor back to the infirmary while the Laird of Robasdan took another. Leith was happy for the privacy and came back to Mary’s bedside.
Her hands were wrapped around a cup of steaming tea and her eyes were trained on the window; her expression was lightly distressed. He did not know what exactly was bothering her as she had expressed many upsetting things to him. Was she worrying about her parents who she had run away from?
“Lass?”
She turned and Leith would give almost everything he had to take away the pain he could see in her eyes. Sitting near her again, he placed the sack in her hands, but she did not go through it like he’d imagined.
“I know I asked you to help me, but why are you willing to leave your business here to help me?” Mary asked.
“Why do ye ken I’m here on business?”
“Isla told me that your clan is far removed from here, and that you have not been here for over a year, and you must have heard her too,” Mary said. “There might be many reasons for your visit, but I am leaning to the conclusion that you are here for business. Tell me the truth.”
“Nothin’ slips by ye, does it?” Leith said wryly. “Aye, I am here for business, but even so, I can still help ye. Tarrant, pardon, Laird Robasdan will take a while to source what I need from him, so I dinnae ken it will take me long to get ye to yer destination.”
Again, Mary looked worried, “Will you need…payment?”
Cocking his head to the side, Leith allowed his smile to merge into a slyer one. “And what type of payment are ye kenning off, lass?”
She went red. “I…er…I have a few gold coins that I can give you and I am sure Tina’s aunt would give you something. If not, I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement and—”
Gray eyes were filled with mirth, “Easy lass, easy yer lovely heart, I need nay payment. I’m just happy to get ye to where ye need to get to.”
“I still feel uneasy,” Mary said.
Leith shook his head, “There is no need to, just let me do me part as a gentleman.”
“I’m feeling much better by the way. My head doesn’t hurt,” Mary said as she set the cup down and dug into her sack. She looked distressed for a moment before her face cleared into relief.
Leith did not know if she knew how expressive her face was, but he was loving how he could read her so clearly. If she had not been raised the way she had, perhaps she would have gained the ability to mask her emotions. So far, he had seen wary, distressed, cautious and now relief. How would she look when feeling happy?
Mary tugged out a satchel from the bottom of the sack and opened it to carefully tug out a fold of plain papyrus. She folded that plain covering back and there rested a map, detailed and marked with blue and red lines. She spun it over and pointed to a section where a small ‘x’ was marked.
“This is where Tina told me to go,” she said proudly. “Her aunt Linda lives there. She told me to just mention her name and that I will be looked after.”
Leith took the map and studied it. “Ye English do have some talented men, I can tell ye that.” He then twisted the map, “I ken where this place is. It’s nea far from here.”
“When can we go there?” Mary asked anxiously. “Not to say I am not happy to be here and have Laird Robasdan’s hospitality, but I do have to see Tina’s aunt.”
“How about we stay until a few more hours here just to make sure ye have recovered,” Leith said cautiously. “I dinnae want to take ye away and have ye fall ill again.”
Agreeing with him by nodding, Mary reached for the cup and took it to sip again, “Can you get me a knife?”
“A knife?” Leith asked askance. “For what?”
Mary lifted the hem of her cloak and held it up to him. She pressed the section into his hand and there he felt a hardness inside it. He pressed his thumb on it and felt the roundness of a coin, and he could bet it was a gold coin. Why else would she have sewn a coin into her clothes if it was not gold?
“A gold guinea?”
“One of three,” Mary replied. “You can have all.”
“I will nea take any payment from ye lass,” Leigh said as he dropped the hem of the cloak. “Me forefaithers would roll in their hallowed graves if I ever did such a thing.”
“But I still don’t feel right,” Ma
ry lamented.
Reaching up, Leith fingered her hair. It was unkempt but was still soft like threaded silk, “Yer company during the journey will be enough payment, agreed?”
“Is that your last offer?” She asked.
“It is,” Leith stated.
“Then if there is nothing else, we are agreed,” Mary said with a sigh. “I still don’t feel comfortable, though.”
Reaching out to rest a hand on her knee, Leith smiled. “We will see about that. Just rest and take it as easy as ye can. We’ll set out when the healers can assure me that ye are well enough to stand the journey. We, well, I will have to get a horse for ye, seeing as yers is at the bottom a ravine.”
Mary reached out and took his hand while a softness mellowed the tension lines in her face. “Thank you.”
“Me pleasure,” Leith bowed over her hand and kissed it. “Rest ye.”
Pulling away, he went to speak to a head healer. He told her that if and only if she found Mary safe for travel, then they would leave out that evening, but if not, they would stay. The healer nodded in agreement. Satisfied, he went to find Tarrant and speak with him.
He found the man in his meeting room but he was not alone. With him, were his wife, Lady Robasdan, and his twin sons. One of the bairns was pulling on his beard, and though Tarrant winced, he did not pull the bairn’s hand away.
“Never kent I’d see the day,” Leith teased. “Finally, ye’ve been put under subjection, Robasdan.”
“Och, go boil yer head,” Tarrant snapped. “Ye’ll be even worse than I when ye have yer own wife and bairns.”
“That is a long way in coming,” Leith said as he went to Lady Robasdan and took her hand to kiss it. The lady’s light-brown eyes were merry as he leaned in and loudly whispered. “If ye need a rescue from yer barbarian of a husband, just brush yer nose twice. I’ll come chargin’.”
Snickering, the lady tugged her hand away. “I will nay fall for yer insidious charms, Lenichton. ‘Twas nay too long when ye had a reputation of hoarding a pile of women’s underthings a mile high.”
“I?” Leith gasped. “A mile high? Surely, surely ye jest, me lady.”
“I dinnae,” she said unrepentantly.
Chuckling, Leith nodded to the boys, “Can ye tell me who these sturdy boys are?”
“Cailbhin and Camran Allanach,” Lady Robasdan said while scooping one of the boys from their father, the same one that was pulling Tarrant’s beard. “This is Camran, too innocent and adventurous for his own good.”
Looking into the babe’s dark-green eyes, mirrors of his father’s, but instead of the wisdom and slyness Tarrant’s held, these were wide and innocent. “Keep him that way as much as possible, me lady.”
Taking the other boy onto her hip, Lady Robasdan smiled, “I’ll leave ye boys to yer business. Good day, Young Lenichton.”
“Me lady,” he bowed.
As she left, Leith found a seat and slumped into it, “Ye have a lovely family, Robasdan. I’ll give ye that.”
While massaging his face, the laird said, “So what decision have ye came to with the Sassenach?”
Frowning, Leigh grunted, “Would ye refrain from calling her that? Yes, the poor woman is an outsider, but the way ye say if sounds as if she’s scum under yer boots.”
“I never had much love for the English, ‘tis true,” Tarrant shrugged. “I’ve found them to be a tiring, contemptuous race, with nay solid reason for their pride.” He plucked up a quill and twirled it between his fingers, “Mayhap ye and this lass can change me mind.”
Eyeing his friend with narrowed eyes, Leith said, “There is nay a thing between me and the lass. Aye, she’s lovely but I told ye, she’s young, inexperienced, and I dinnae bed virgins.”
“With ye around her for enough time, I ken she won’t be a virgin for much longer,” Tarrant grinned craftily. “But to other business, I’ve sent out the search for yer healer. No word yet but in a day or two I expect to hear something.”
“The lass has asked me to carry her to a place near the Ettrick Waters,” Leith said. “From here, it would be less than half a day’s ride. If the woman she wants to meet is there, it will be our parting. I’ll come back to ye and then we can go on about me issue.”
“Yer going to be so cavalier about letting her go even when ye a—”
“If ye dare say I’m taken with her again, I’ll happily lay me fist in yer face,” Leith huffed. “I’m just doing what any gentleman would do. If ye remember what being one would entail anyway.”
“Watch yer manners,” Tarrant warned with not much ire behind them. “Ye are speaking with yer elder, boy.”
“Five years older and havin’ two bairns doesnae make ye me elder,” Leith laughed. “Me faither is me elder and those of his ilk.”
The mention of his father and the mental image of the man’s deranged eyes had Leith sobering. He placed his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face with his hands. “I cannae allow me faither to die this way, Tarrant. All me life, he never failed me yet, so why cannae I do the same for him? It haunts me every day when I see him so…far from himself and knowing that I cannae pull him back.”
“Aye,” Tarrant sighed heavily. “I can imagine. We’ll find someone, Lenichton, I promise ye, we will. How is yer mother holding on with this?”
“Mother was already frail before Faither took sick and now I ken she’s withering away,” Leith said. “She hardly eats and when she does it is nae much. She spends every waking hour worrying about Faither, saying that she kens the man she married is gone from her for good.”
“Do ye ken sending her away to an abbey would help?” Tarrant asked.
“Nay,” Leith sighed heavily, and shook his head in dismay. “Sending her away would only kill her faster. I ken she takes some comfort in seeing Faither day after day but aside from that…” he shrugged, “there is nae much to bank on. He gets sicker day after day.”
“And ye?” Tarrant asked. “How are ye faring?”
“I have taken on a lot of the lairdship duties even without placing a foot on the appointment stone,” Leith replied. “Whatever the council cannae handle or whatever they need a leader figure to take the lead on, I step up.”
“That’s nay what I meant,” Tarrant said. “How are ye otherwise? Still nay woman in yer life?”
“Nay,” Leith said. “Dinnae ken it wrong, I get offers day after day but nay one seems right. And I’ve given off bedding tavern women a long time ago. I dinnae want a woman to only warm me bed…I want one to be what me Mother is to me Faither. Strong and dedicated, having unending springs of love and compassion in her heart. I suppose ye can say that sums up to me wanting a wife.”
“Aye,” Tarrant said sympathetically. “I’m sure she’ll come around one day.”
“Robasdan,” Leith said, “Ye need to work on giving yer sympathies. That compassion was colder than the ice-capped Beinn Nibheis mountain”
“Lenichton,” Tarrant said calmly. “Get out.”
7
“We ken ye are feeling better, Miss Thompson?” the head healer, Mrs. Baethag said. “But to be safe, please rest for this night and begin yer journey tomorrow.”
It was not what she wanted to hear but it was prudent. She had suffered a hard hit to her head, and they were being careful of letting her go in case some unknown secondary effect of her injury flared up.
“Do ye understand, Miss Thompson?”
“I do,” she replied. “It’s not what I wanted but it is sensible. Thank you Mother Beathag. Do you know if Mister Balloch is available to speak with me?”
“I will ask,” the older woman said as she stood with ease. Mary had not expected to see an older woman move so easily as the one she did know had various pains and aches by the time Mother Beathag’s age. “Please rest.”
Laying back on her bed, Mary allowed her mind to drift. Leith was kind and handsome and she felt a good spirit within him, but it felt inordinate that she would find such a gracious man so suddenly. She h
ated that she was going back to her doubts when she had thought she had put them away earlier that morning.
He is handsome, though. I suppose I will regret not getting to know him when I go to Aunt Linda’s tomorrow.
She spotted the first woman, Isla and called her over. “Yes, Miss Thompson?”
“Is it possible to have a bath?” she asked, “I have my own clothes I just feel the need to be clean. I promise, I will not drown.”
Isla’s lips twitched, “I ken ye wouldnae. I’ll see what I can do about it, Miss.”
Mesmerized by a Roguish Highlander: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 5
