Page 11 of The Beast of the Highlands
And I willnae have him be a brute who only kens how to swing a sword, and nae the beauty in poetry, or literature, or the sciences of the world.
“How did they pass?” Autumn’s hand flew to her mouth. “My apologies, Laird MacLennan; that was unfeeling of me.”
Flynn sighed. “It’s a natural question.” His eyes lifted to the spiked, browned shell of a conker that should long have fallen to the ground. “They were killed on the road by a band of skirmishers. I never found the culprits, and they dinnae leave any survivors. I’d have given me life to trackin’ them down, but I’ve Leighton to think of. Havin’ him by my side has probably saved my life, in truth.”
“He is an inquisitive soul,” Autumn said, in a tone far gentler than any he had heard from her, until now. “At least now I understand his desire to train in the military arts.”
Flynn canted his head. “How do ye mean?”
“If my mother and father had been murdered, I would want to learn how to slay fiends, too,” she explained. “You were right to find a tutor for him, though. It is good to distract a mind when it is steeped in sadness.”
Flynn stared at her in curiosity. “I couldnae have phrased it better myself.” He hesitated for a moment. “Are ye familiar with sadness?”
“Not of the same kind, but I know how it feels to lose something that is very dear, and I know how it feels to almost lose someone I care for,” she replied, though her voice was somewhat faraway, as though she was speaking aloud to herself.
Flynn could not help himself. “A husband?”
“Goodness no!” Her stiff laugh confused him. “I have no husband, nor a betrothed, nor a beloved.” She feigned disappointment. “Alas, no one would have me, for I am all but destitute. A baron’s daughter ought to be a tempting prospect, but not me.”
I wouldnae be so certain of that…
Flynn had not been able to remove her from his mind since he had been pushed out of her bedchamber at dawn that morning. When he had closed his eyes to rest upon his own bed, his head had flooded with thoughts of her: the nape of her neck, the striking, almost sea-blue of her eyes, the rise and fall of her titillating bosom, the narrowing of her slender waist, the shapeliness of her calves, and the gasp of her breath as he had touched her skin.
She peered up and caught him staring. “Anyway, you will be pleased to hear that Leighton has accepted my proposal to be his tutor. He is rather eager, in fact, and all it took was the offer of borrowing my dagger.” Her full lips curved in a smile. “I knew it would be useful, in more ways than one. Though I still have no intention of carving you up, so you need not look at me with those wary eyes.”
“I amnae wary,” he protested.
She made a doubtful noise. “Maybe I misunderstood your gaze.”
Aye, I reckon ye did.
“He has rebuffed every meetin’ with other tutors I’ve brought.” Flynn swiftly twisted the subject back to Leighton. “They havenae even been able to start a conversation with him, but ye managed it. I have to ask—how did ye do it?”
He wondered if this was the reason she had been sent into his path, so that Leighton might actually gain an education, and divert his mind from more violent pursuits. Revenge was not good for a young heart, and Flynn did not want it decaying Leighton’s.
Autumn chuckled: a charming, velvety sound. “I made him pity me, and then I reeled him in like a fish on a line. The offer of the dagger was merely the final assurance that he would accept.”
“Who would dare to pity ye?” Flynn snorted.
“Few men, as I am sure you are aware, can resist the plight of a damsel in distress.” She was teasing him, but he found he did not mind. “I winced a little, held onto my aching sides, and he softened immediately. It suggests he was raised well.”
Flynn marveled at her. “Well, ye’ve done the impossible, so I have to give ye credence where it’s due. However, it remains to be seen if he’ll stick to it. How far can yer powers of persuasion stretch, eh?”
“I have plenty of weapons in my arsenal,” she replied, tilting her head to one side. “But I must know—are you a learned man, Laird MacLennan? I find it curious that you are so invested in your brother’s education, and I should like to know if there is another reason for it, beyond distracting him.”
It was well known among his people that he reveled in the arts and was in possession of a somewhat famed library. It pleased him that he had finally happened upon someone who did not know of its existence, so he might show it to her and witness her awe, without her having any prior knowledge of it.
“It’s important for a Laird to ken more than warrin', and finances, and how to keep a clan happy and prosperous,” he answered.
Although, it was a point of pride for him that he had managed to do both, following on the legacy that his father had left behind. His clan continued to thrive, year upon year: the grain stores were always full, his people never starved or wanted for anything, and they never failed to commend him for their contentment.
If it were nae for the skirmishers and the occasional attacks, we’d ken true bliss as a people, and I’d have time to spend with me brother. But ye cannae have everythin’.
He stopped on the woodland trail. “Might I show ye somethin’? It’ll be useful to ye, I’ve nay doubt.”
“In that case, how can I refuse? With Leighton, I shall need all the help I can receive.” Laughter twinkled in her beautiful blue eyes, and Flynn found himself entranced by her once more.
Shaking off his transfixed gaze, he turned them around and headed back through the cool early evening air, toward the castle.
