Page 12 of The Beast of the Highlands
As they passed beneath the portcullis and entered the main courtyard where people milled about, slowing their daily business as night encroached, he noticed a few stares. Whispers followed, in furtive tones. He could not hear what they were saying, but he could guess.
I should be more cautious where I’m seen with Autumn.
“Ye shouldnae walk the castle or the forest alone,” he declared quietly. “Those trails are nae safe for a lass on her own, and it’ll take time for the clan folk to think kindly of ye. Daenae be offended—they’re nae used to strangers, especially nae Sassenachs.”
Autumn shrugged. “I am familiar with being shunned. It does not trouble me.” She glanced up at him. “These stares are nothing compared to what I have endured. You should have seen the expressions upon the faces of the lords and ladies at the Earl of Wye’s Summer ball, just this year. You would have thought a giant worm had slithered in, covered in river mud, and trailed it through the halls. I was the worm, in case you were confused.”
“Does yer da owe many people money?” It was the only reason Flynn could consider for such a reaction.
“He does, but he has also lost all of his own, and that makes him despicable in the eyes of high society. A baron with no wealth, who is due to lose his manor, and might be forced to sell his title, is a truly unworthy creature.” Autumn’s expression darkened. “Those are words I overheard, not my own.”
Flynn instinctively put his hand upon her shoulder, close to her neck. “I’m sorry for that, lass.”
“There is no need,” she replied, though she did not shake his hand away. “Because of you, I may be able to remedy our situation. I am grateful for that, and I hope I will prove to you that you made the right choice by allowing me to stay.”
Flynn would have kept his hand where it was, for he was enjoying the sensation of his fingertips against the upward curve of her neck, if it had not been for the increased shock on the faces of the people they passed. Hurriedly, he took his hand away, lamenting the loss of that fleetingly intimate touch.
There’ll be chaos if ye daenae put her out of yer mind,he told himself sternly.She’s here to teach Leighton, that’s all.
So, why was he going to show her his library, a secret, sacred place that many knew about, but very few had seen? More importantly, why had he not told her the truth when she had asked if he was married? With every step he took, he sensed he was wading deeper and deeper into the kind of trouble he would not be able to escape from.
7
Autumn did not know where she was being led. It unnerved her somewhat, following an unfamiliar man through a labyrinth of gloomy, candlelit hallways, toward the unknown.
In her head, she heard her brother’s voice, warning her:“Trust no one, Dear Sister… least of all a Scot. It may seem as though they mean well, but you will never be one of them, and you should remember that. Stay only as long as you need to, and then come home. If you require aid, at any time, you must write. If I cannot be there, I will send men to your rescue.”
They seemed to be venturing further and further down endless flights of twisting stone stairwells, until it felt as though they were in the center of the Earth itself.
“Here,” Flynn said simply, upon reaching a narrow doorway at the end of an equally narrow passage. There were no other hallways branching off, making this doorway seem very final.
Is it a dungeon? Have I not yet convinced him that I am no spy? Am I to be locked up, to perish here with no way to get word to Orwell?
Reaching beneath the unfastened collar of his loose shirt, he produced a length of string with a key dangling from the end. The action drew Autumn’s eye to the hard, defined contours of his broad chest. His pale skin glistened in the dim light, making her wonder if he would be hot to the touch. Even as he stood beside her, she could feel him radiating warmth… and she was so very cold.
If he put his arms around me, I would no longer have reason to shiver. Or would I?
She scolded herself inwardly for envisioning such things. In her defense, she had never spent so much time alone with a man who was not a part of her family. Was she drawn to him because he had saved her, setting him apart from the brutes who had attacked her, or was it simply his enchanting handsomeness? Would any woman gaze at him as Autumn was doing, imagining thrilling fantasies?
“I hope ye’ll like it as much as I do,” he said.
Despite his towering height and imposing presence, there was a note of nervousness in his voice that made Autumn’s heart flutter. In all the books she had devoured, there was nothing so intoxicating as a hero with a vulnerable side. The sweetness with the strength. The softness with the hardened edges.
Autumn mustered an equally anxious smile. “I do not know what it is we are seeing, so I shall leave my judgment for afterward.”
He laughed and turned they key in the lock. “I should get ye to close yer eyes or somethin’, I reckon.” He paused. “Or will that frighten ye?”
“Will the surprise be worth putting my sight in your hands?” she replied, somewhat charmed by his gallantry. He was considering her comfort yet again, proving thathehad also been raised well, like his brother. As long as there was no dungeon beyond the door, at least.
Flynn nodded. “Aye.”
“Then… we might consider this an exchange of trust.” She peered up at him, feeling her former fear transform into something akin to a thrill. “I close my eyes and let you lead me, and you will know that I am here only to aid in your brother’s education.”
After all, with her eyes closed, he could do anything to her. And down here, in the dark and the cold, no one would ever know what had befallen her, if he wished to eradicate his suspicion that she was a spy.
Flynn smiled and gently ushered her ahead of him. Her breath hitched as his large, masculine hands covered her eyes, and she felt the roughness of his palms contrast against the smoothness of her skin.
“I willnae let aught bad happen. If ye fall over yer feet, I’ll catch ye,” he soothed.
