Chapter 5
5
T he candlelight flickered and danced across the stone walls of the study. Thomas clenched his fist at his side. The minx that stood before him was both intriguing and infuriating. Yet, as she stood there, challenging him, he could see the weight of his words pressing down on her.
“Be honest. If nae wit’ me, then at least wit’ yerself,” Thomas said as he watched the fire in her eyes burn ever brighter. “Ye need help, aye?”
“Nae from ye or anyone else. Ye think I dinnae ken how the world works?”
“From the size of yer dagger, I believe ye do. Which is why ye ken very well the dangers that lurk outside the walls of McFair Castle and what ye need to get on. But how long can ye keep up the charade?”
“I dinnae ken what ye’re talkin’ about,” Astrid said as he drove her blade into his desk. Her eyes widened with shock, but she didn’t flinch or recoil.
“Suit yerself. But if I were ye, I’d reconsider me offer. Protection. If ye stay wit’ me, nay one will dare harm ye.”
“And what’s the price for yer protection ?” Astrid asked, her voice icy.
The way she hissed the word ‘protection’ grated on Thomas’s nerves. Was he not a protector? Did he not live up to the title he’d inherited from his father? It was almost as if the lass were challenging his very position as Laird.
His eyes narrowed on her as he leaned in. “Ye’ll tend to me faither as I told ye to do at the start.”
She eyed him with suspicion. Her audacity to doubt him drove him mad. It was as if she were challenging the very strength of his clan.
“And that’s all? Ye’ll protect us if I stay and tend to yer ailin’ faither?”
“Aye,” Thomas answered. “I’ll nae touch ye.”
“I’ve heard such things before.”
“Laird Chalium?” His chest tightened as he waited for the response he knew she’d give him. Her pursed lips and pinched eyes spoke volumes.
“Defender of the innocent. That is yer duty as Laird McFair. To be just and let nay man or woman steer ye away from that path…”
His father’s words echoed in the depths of his being. There was no way he could allow Astrid and Melody to leave, not when they were in danger.
“Ye have me word,” he affirmed, the conviction in his voice ringing like a gong. “Stay and look after me faither, and I swear ye’ll have me sword and clan to thwart whatever vile plans Chalium has for ye.”
“Nay laird would make such an oath when he kens that his faither is dyin’. What’s the catch?”
“There is none,” Thomas answered.
He wondered if he would ever be able to win her respect, at least. The fact that she doubted him was almost as bad as if she’d run a javelin through his chest. She wounded his pride.
“And if I refuse?”
“And why would ye? Unless ye’re a glutton for punishment,” Thomas countered. “There are nay strings attached. A service for a service. Consider it barterin’—although wit’ yer background, ye may nae understand the concept of barter.”
Thomas ushered the tricky minx out of his study and closed the door behind her. He hung his head, his shoulders slumping. Interacting with her was far more tedious than he had expected. How a single person could get under his skin so easily… it drove him nuts.
He pulled in a long, deep breath, hoping to clear the smoke Astrid’s presence had left in his mind. It was like a battlefield, with him the only one left standing. How could she disarm him so easily? Was it her tale of abuse?
Moving back to his desk, Thomas forced all thoughts of her to the back of his mind. He couldn’t afford to become distracted by her. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn’t have to see her again. She’d tend to his father and be on her way once he passed.
It was a simple plan, one Thomas could easily get behind.
As he lowered himself into his desk chair, the leather moaned. It was a familiar sound accompanying a familiar feeling, so why did he feel as if he were on the eve of battle?
A harsh rap on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.
He sat straighter—he needed the distraction.
“Aye, what is it?” he called as he sorted the papers on his desk, hoping to look at least busy.
The door creaked obnoxiously as it swung open—just one more thing he would have to fix.
But it wasn’t the rusty hinges he’d be calling a blacksmith for, but his brother’s charming smile as he strutted into his study like a rooster.
“What have ye done this time?”
“Why on earth would ye think I’ve done anything at all? Is it nae proper for me to greet me braither?” Reid drawled as he plopped down into the chair across from the desk and swung his feet over the armrest. The smirk on his face irked Thomas, but that was precisely why he had it on his face.
“What do ye want? And if ye’re goin’ to ask me to increase yer allowance again, the answer to that question is nay,” Thomas said, rising from behind his desk. Thomas kept his eye on Reid as he movedaround the desk for one reason only, to purposefully knock Reid’s legs off the chair.
The thud, followed by Reid’s muffled complaint, made Thomas smile. He moved around until he completed the circle and stopped in front of Reid once more. Reid’s face twisted with contempt. Thomas watched his brother chew over the words he so desperately wanted to say. Thomas couldn’t help but find the situation somewhat comical as Reid wrestled with his composure before exhaling sharply..
“I’ve come to ask me dear braither if he is aware of the new face in the castle,” Reid said through clenched teeth.
Thomas’s eyes narrowed as his chest tightened. Heat rushed out of him in a pulse. Like a stone being dropped in water, the feeling intensified and expanded.
“Aye. She’s under me protection,” he revealed. “As well as her daughter.”
“A child? Really?”
The disappointment in Reid’s voice was all Thomas wanted to hear. If there was one thing that warded his brother off women was the idea of children.
Of course, Thomas couldn’t blame him. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He didn’t have the time to care for a family and the clan at once. No, he’d leave the wooing to his younger brother.
“Aye,” he answered. “Cute as a button too. Such a wee thing.”
“So, ye’ve seen them? Did they speak wit’ ye? Och…” Reid trailed off, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips. “I see. Ye like the fact that she’s experienced, is that it? And she was returnin’ from seein’ ye… Now, that explains it.”
“What?” Thomas asked, trying not to show too much interest in anything his brother had to say.
“The blush on her cheeks as she passed me by. Turns out me braither isnae as big of a prude as I thought him to be,” Reid cooed as he jumped up from his seat, grinning from ear to ear.
“Watch yer tongue,” Thomas warned. “Ye will behave yerself around her. I’ll nae have ye tarnishin’ the family name.”
“Och, I see how it is,” Reid huffed as he rolled back his shoulders. “Ye can have yer fun, but the rest of us will just have to watch. Is that it?”
“Do ye nae have someone else to torment?” Thomas asked as he plucked the rent ledger off the bookshelf. He had no intentions of going over the numbers so soon, but if it was the only way to get his brother out of his hair, he’d do it. “Or perhaps ye’d rather go over the books? I could always use a second pair of eyes.”
“Where’s Olivia when ye need her? Ye ken she’s better with numbers than I.”
“That’s only because ye dinnae push yerself to do better.”
“I push meself each night to do a little better than I did the day before.”
“We both ken I’m nae talkin’ about polishin’ off a barrel of whiskey or gin. When are ye goin’ to take life more seriously? Ye cannae keep goin’ through this world so haphazardly,” Thomas said as he moved back to his desk and sat behind it like he always did.
He was, after all, the Laird of McFair Castle. He had duties to carry out.
“And when are ye goin’ to remember that ye’re nae our faither?” Reid shot back.
“Ye’re right, I’m nae. Faither is upstairs on his deathbed, and I’m doin’ the best I can wit’ what I’ve got. Now, if ye’re nae goin’ to help me…”
“Aye, I’m leavin’,” Reid huffed, as usual when things started getting too heated. But it wasn’t like he could do anything to Thomas, and they both knew it.
Being the firstborn did have its perks, but Thomas wished that the torch was handed down to Olivia instead of him.
“Mark me words, Braither,” Reid said as he paused in the doorway. “One of these days, something is goin’ to come around and knock ye off yer high horse. And when that day comes, I promise, I’m nae goin’ to do a thing to help ye. I’m just goin’ to sit back and laugh.”
“And when that day comes, dearest braither, I can promise ye it’ll be yer mess that I’ll be cleanin’ up. But the way, the messenger already told me about the lass from Edinburgh, and she’ll nae stay under our roof.”
“But she’s already on her way. She’ll be arrivin’ tomorrow,” Reid said.
“And ye’ll send her back to where she came from,” Thomas grunted.
“Whatever happened to marryin’ for love?” Reid complained.
Thomas arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by his brother’s deeds. “If I ever thought ye could fall in love, I’d be all for it. But I believe, dear braither, that ye have abused the term,” he said. “Ye summoned her to bed her and nothing more.”
“That’s nae, true,” Reid protested.
Thomas flashed him a warning glare.
Reid rolled his eyes and placed his hand on the door handle. “Well, nae entirely.”
“I have work,” Thomas reminded him in a cold, stern voice as he returned his attention to the ledger.
“Just one more thing,” Reid insisted. But before he could finish, Thomas reached into the top drawer of his desk and took out one of the many smooth stones he’d been collecting from the river.
With speed and precision, Thomas threw the stone at the door, lodging the pebble into the wood.
Reid jumped back, shocked by the impact. “I’m tellin’,” he snarled, as if their mother would do anything.
Thomas shook his head. Despite Reid being only three years younger, he behaved like a child.
“Go and see what Maither will do,” Thomas said as he watched his brother throw open the door and stomp out of the room.
Thomas exhaled as silence fell over the room. Only the gentle popping of the fire filled the hallowed space that was his study. As much as he wished his brother would find purpose in his life, he understood that Reid had to find it on his own.
As he turned to the ledger, Thomas replayed his conversation with Reid. How his brother always managed to catch the new ladies that came to the castle astonished him. After all, Thomas barely had any time to himself. With the harvest coming up and the rents being due, the last thing he needed was a distraction.
“Me Laird,” a councilman called as he poked his head around the door.
Thomas pressed his lips into a thin line, irked by the sudden intrusion. “What?” he barked.
“Are ye aware of the young lass in the castle?” the councilman asked.
“Aye, I’m aware,” Thomas huffed, wishing he could stop thinking about Astrid. Yet, it seemed that no one in the castle was going to let him forget about her. “Treat her kindly. She’s a guest.”
“Who is she, exactly?” the councilman asked, his voice cracking with concern.
“She’s the new healer. She’ll stay here till either me faither gets better or goes home. Now, will ye be productive and spread the word so that I dinnae have to answer the same question again? I’ve work to do.”
“Aye, of course,” the councilman answered with a swift bow.
For a moment, Thomas wondered if maybe he’d made a mistake by letting Astrid stay with him. But what other choice did he have? If he threw her out on the street, it might as well be the bowels of hell for her.
No, he wouldn’t do that to her. Not when she could be very useful to him. Her skills as a healer were far too valuable to disregard.
Thomas ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced at the ledger and then dropped it. As much as he wanted to get something done, it was clear that the only thing he’d get done was brooding over Astrid.
I’ve got to get her out of me head. She’s a pretty face, nothing more.