Page 24 of The Beast of the Highlands
“Aye, so ye say.” Leighton waggled his eyebrows. “I give ye a day before ye’re sneakin’ down to the library again.”
“I mean it,” Flynn said, more forcefully. “I cannae put her in harm’s way, and she’ll become a target if anyone thinks she’s threatenin’ Keira’s position. I doubt even the clan would side with me on this. They like Autumn well enough, but she’s nae Scottish. They’d rather see me wed to the vilest Scot lass than a Sassenach.”
Leighton scowled. “Then they’re fools. And so are ye.”
Aye, I ken. But I cannae change centuries of fightin’, nor the bitter legacy and perception it has left behind.
They got down from the horses and headed up the steps to the front door. Leighton had sunk into a sullen silence, and Flynn could not blame him. But they had to put on polite smiles if they were going to get Autumn to come back with them.
Flynn elbowed his brother in the ribs. “Look happy.”
“I will when I see Autumn,” Leighton shot back.
Rolling his eyes, Flynn knocked on the door and waited. As expected, Autumn herself answered the door. Immediately, Leighton’s sullenness evaporated, and a grin spread across his face.
“We’re here to escort ye, Miss Montgomery.” The younger man flashed a wink.
A young girl poked her head around, ducking under the loop of Autumn’s arm. “Well, you cannot take her. She is staying here, with me.”
This must be her sister.
“Miss Laurel?” Flynn extended a hand.
The girl eyed him suspiciously, before offering her hand in return. He kissed it politely, and the girl’s cheeks colored with a rush of embarrassed pink. “You cannot have her!” she repeated stubbornly. “She belongs here. I do not care how charming and chivalrous you might be.”
Autumn chuckled, her gaze resting on Flynn. “This is Laird MacLennan, Laurel, and this is his brother, Leighton. They have both been exceedingly kind to me, and Laird MacLennan has agreed to let me return home every few weeks to see you. You will hardly realize I have gone.” Her tone held a note of sadness that jarred against her broad smile.
She is worried for her sister. And she has every reason.
The young girl was much too thin, with a hollowness to her cheeks and a grayness to her skin that only came from hunger. Flynn had seen enough of it in the wrecked villages of his countrymen and women, after suffering an English attack.
Laurel twisted up to look at her sister. “I will miss you every day. You know I will. I have no one, now that you and Orwell have both decided to abandon me. And he almost died—”
“I will write to you often, to lessen the loneliness,” Autumn interjected suddenly, stroking Laurel’s hair. “And I promise I will miss you more than you miss me, each and every day we are apart.”
She never mentioned her brother nearly dyin’. Is he sickly?
He made a mental note to ask her later, but he was more preoccupied with getting past this little gatekeeper.
Laurel pouted. “Do you swear?”
“On my heart.” Autumn pressed her hand to her breast, inviting Flynn’s eye to admire the plump rise of her breasts, pushed upward by the cinch of her bodice.
Just then, two more figures made themselves known, appearing behind Autumn until the doorway was crowded with stern faces. One was an older woman with slicked fair hair, streaked with bands of white. The other was a husk of a man, with unkempt gray hair and wild eyes.
Flynn dipped his head in a bow. “You must be the Baron of Doxford. It’s a pleasure to make yer acquaintance.”
“And who might you be?” the baron queried spikily.
Autumn took an audible breath. “This is Laird MacLennan.” There was no affection in her voice when she addressed her father. “He has come to escort me back to the castle, as I informed you he would.”
The baron frowned. “Why would a Laird come all this way to escort my daughter? Do you not have servants for such simple tasks?”
That’s rich, comin’ from ye.Flynn forced himself to hold his tongue.
“Darling, we ought to be grateful for the Laird’s graciousness,” the baroness interjected. “I, for one, am thankful that she will not be riding alone through the darkness. I fretted for days after I discovered her letter telling us she had gone to teach across the border, and had ridden out by herself in the dead of night.”
Flynn warmed to the older woman. “She’s been invaluable, Baroness.” He nudged Leighton. “My brother is showin’ great promise, because of her.”
