Page 14 of Scot of Deception
As he heard her stir at the first light that poured in through the small window, Blaine turned to look at her. She had not yet opened her eyes, so he took the opportunity to gaze at her features—the long, auburn hair, the doll-like contour of her jaw, the plump, rosy lips that so terribly called to him whenever she spoke. He had tried to suppress those thoughts, to push them down as deep as he could, yet, one glance at her was enough to bring them back up to the surface until he could hardly stand it.
Kathleen was too tempting, forbidden. Blaine could never touch a woman like her, and he shouldn’t even be thinking about it. And besides everything else, she was also too young, just at the beginning of her adult life. One day, she would marry a man befitting her station, just like her friend and Blaine would be nothing but a distant memory in her mind, an old man by then.
By the time her eyes fluttered open, he had already dragged his gaze back to the door.
“Good mornin’,” she said, her voice rough with sleep. “Did ye sleep at all?”
“Nay,” said Blaine flatly, pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off. He didn’t want Kathleen to even suspect any of those inappropriate thoughts were crossing her mind. “We must prepare tae leave.”
“Och aye,” said Kathleen, sitting up a little straighter as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with one hand and clutched onto the covers with the other, using them to cover herself. “The sooner we get tae Clan Stewart, the better.”
With a sigh, Blaine paused and turned to face her. “I dinnae think we should head tae Clan Sewart,” he said. “I think I should take ye back tae Moy Hall. It will be safer there.”
Kathleen’s eyes widened immediately and she pushed herself to her knees, crawling to the edge of the bed through the covers. “Nay! Nay, I’m nae goin’ back home! I told ye, I must go tae this weddin’!”
Throughout the night, Blaine had suffered a headache, which was only getting worse by the minute. Every time Kathleen disagreed with him made his temples pound and the back of his eyes ache in a way that only served to frustrate him even more.
He didn’t want to argue with her, but he also couldn’t see what other option he had.
“This isnae safe fer ye, Kathleen,” he said gently, with as much calm as he had left. Not much of it remained. This journey had already tested him. Had Kathleen been anyone else, had the circumstances been any different, he wouldn’t have given up so easily, but if he could simply convince her toreturn home, then all his work would be finished—and well-rewarded.
But Kathleen had to make it impossible.
“Safe or nae, I willnae return tae Moy Hall,” she insisted. “I need tae be there fer Fenella. I ken she needs me an’ I wish tae support her an’ comfort her in any way I can.”
“Comfort her?” Blaine asked with a snort. “She’s gettin’ married. Why would ye need tae comfort her?”
At his question, Kathleen’s expression hardened immediately, her eyes turning cold in a way he hadn’t expected from her. It was as though the blue pierced right through him, chilling him to the core.
“I dinnae expect ye tae understand the terrible fate that is tae wed a man ye dinnae want,” she spat. “But lasses like Fenella ken that fate well. Many o’ us dae. She’s frightened, she daesnae want her future husband an’ even if she did, she would still be frightened o’ the life that awaits her. An’ who wouldnae be? All she has tae look forward tae is bairns, but even that can be frightenin’. She’ll be ripped from her home, taken tae a strange place with a strange man an’ she has nae choice in any o’ this!”
Blaine had the suspicion it was not only Fenella Kathleen was talking about. Surely, she felt for her friend and truly wished to be there for her, as she claimed, but Blaine could tell there was more to it; something deeper, something far more personal.
She fears the same thing will happen tae her.
And she was probably right. Kathleen was a noble girl and they rarely married for love. Her hand would go to the man who would offer the best deal to her family, the man who could benefit them the most. Whether he was to her liking was of no importance.
She was right when she said he couldn’t understand it. Blaine had never been deprived of choice. His whole life, he had chosen where to go, who to see, what to do. Unlike him, though, Kathleen and Fenella and other girls like them didn’t have the same luck.
“I can understand why ye wish tae be there fer her,” he said, hoping that, at least, would appease her enough to consider his suggestion. “But what happened last night, it could very well be a sign o’ danger. Someone may truly be after ye.”
“Dae ye think that those men would have followed us here?” she asked. “Because I dinnae.”
Nay, it wasnae those men, but it may have been a real threat.
“I dinnae ken, Kathleen,” Blaine said with a sigh. “All I ken is that ye may be in danger an’ it would be wise tae head back tae Moy Hall, where ye’ll be safe, with yer family.”
“I willnae let some footsteps frighten me so,” Kathleen insisted, and though her voice was firm as always, Blaine could detect, for the first time, just the smallest hint of hesitation that made him think she, too, had her doubts. “It was naethin’. It was probably another guest an’ he didnae even try tae enter the room. If ye dinnae wish tae take responsibility, I can still continue alone.”
Blaine wanted to argue, to point out once again that she was not safe. But Kathleen wouldn’t listen to anything he said. If the attack in the woods hadn’t been enough to frighten her, why would a few steps do the trick? If she was going to want to return home, then she would have done so right then and there, when she had first been attacked.
In the end, Blaine decided it was not worth the effort or the argument.
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth, just to make his displeasure well-known. “Then prepare tae leave.”
“Fine,” Kathleen said, just as displeased, though in his mind, she had no reason to be. She was getting what she wanted; how she could still be displeased was beyond him.
The two of them stared at each other in silence for a while, Blaine expectantly and Kathleen curiously. In the end, he threw his hands in the air in frustration, his irritation getting the better of him.
