Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Me Laird! Ye’re back!”
The shout came from the courtyard as they rode through the castle gates. Noah dismounted from Shadow, his injured arm protesting the movement, though he kept his expression neutral.
Around him, servants and guards gathered, relief evident on their faces.
“Is that... is that wee Esther?” someone called out.
“Aye, she’s safe,” Noah confirmed, moving toward the carriage. “Fetch the healer to me chambers. And someone stable Shadow, he’s had a hard ride.”
“Right away, me Laird!”
Noah opened the carriage door himself, offering his good hand to help Ava down.
She took it with a slight blush, and Noah noticed.
He observed it the way he’d been noticing too many things about her since the forest road—the warmth in her cheeks, the way her eyes avoided his, and the fact that her hand fit in his as naturally as if it had no business fitting anywhere else.
Stop it.
He had a courtyard full of people watching him, an arm that needed stitching, and a clan that had spent three days in disruption because of one lost child. He did not have time to stand here cataloguing the colour of her blush.
The irritation that moved through him was directed entirely at himself.
He turned to lift Esther out instead.
“Welcome home, lass,” Noah said softly to his niece. “I—”
“Esther!”
The sharp voice cut through the courtyard like a blade. Noah’s jaw clenched as he recognized it.
Margaret, Esther’s nanny, hurried across the cobblestones, her face flushed and her expression furious.
She’d been released from the dungeons that morning and apparently wasted no time inserting herself back into matters that no longer concerned her.
“Where have ye been?” Margaret demanded, charging at them like a charging bull. “Do ye have any idea what ye’ve put us through? Three days of searchin’, and for what? Because ye couldnae stay where ye were told?”
Esther’s face drained of color. She backed away quickly, her small body shaking, and immediately huddled behind Ava’s skirts.
Noah felt fury ignite in his chest. He opened his mouth to intervene, to tell Margaret exactly what he thought of her approach, but—
“How dare ye.”
Ava’s voice echoed across the courtyard, cold as winter steel and twice as sharp. She stepped forward, intentionally placing herself between Margaret and Esther, her green eyes blazing with a fury that made the older woman stop in her tracks.
“How dare ye speak to her like that?” Ava continued, her voice shaking with barely controlled rage. “A child who’s been lost and frightened for days, and the first thing ye do is scold her?”
“I… Who do ye think ye are to talk to me that way!” Margaret said, her face reddening.
“I’m someone who actually cares about this child’s wellbein’!” Ava’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Ye want to talk about what’s happened? Let’s talk about how ye lost track of an eight-year-old lass! How ye were so irresponsible that she wandered off under yer watch!”
“The child is willful! She doesnae listen, she doesnae speak when spoken to.”
“She’s traumatized!” Ava’s voice cracked like a whip. “And maybe if ye’d spent more time carin’ for her and less time makin’ excuses, she wouldnae have wandered off in the first place!”
Noah watched intently. He had been about to step in and take charge as Laird, but Ava’s fury was incredible. Every word landed like a blow, and Margaret was actually backing away under the attack.
“And another thing,” Ava continued, stepping forward as Margaret stepped back. “When ye lost her, what did ye do? Did ye stay and search? Did ye make sure every stone was turned until she was found? Nae! Ye gave up after an hour and came runnin’ back here to save yerself!”
“We thought she was headin’ home!” Margaret protested weakly.
Ava’s chest was heaving now, her color high. “Ye’re the one who should be apologizin’! Ye’re the one who failed her! So daenae ye dare stand there and scold this child for yer own incompetence!”
The courtyard fell completely silent. Everyone was watching. Servants, guards, even the stable master had paused their tasks to watch this slip of a village lass tear strips off Esther’s former nanny.
Ava was standing in the middle of his courtyard, chest heaving, cheeks flushed, ripping strips off a woman twice her age with the absolute certainty of someone who knew they were right.
Every word precise. Every word for Esther.
That’s what it looks like. Someone who actually gives a damn.
It wasn’t desire.
It was something closer to recognition, the same feeling he got watching a good warrior find his footing in a fight.
Clean admiration, nothing more.
He told himself that firmly and turned his attention back to Margaret.
Margaret’s face was purple now, her hands shaking with rage. “Who do ye think ye are to speak to me like this? I’ve been carin’ for that child for two years! I’ve given up me time, me energy—”
“And clearly done a piss-poor job of it,” Noah interjected, deciding it was time to end this. His voice cut across the courtyard with the weight of absolute authority. “Since the lass ended up lost on yer watch.”
Margaret spun to face him, and whatever she saw in his expression made her go pale. “Me Laird, I... I didnae mean to sound rude.”
“Ye’ve had yer say, Margaret. Now I’ll have mine.” Noah moved to stand beside Ava, presenting a united front. “This is Ava Harris. She’s Esther’s new minder.”
“New? But I’m still her minder, me Laird. Ye cannae just replace me.”
“I can, and I have.” Noah’s voice was flat, final. “Ye’ve proven yerself incapable of keepin’ track of an eight-year-old lass. Miss Harris, on the other hand, found Esther when she was lost, cared for her, and has shown more concern for her wellbein’ in a few days than ye have in two years.”
“That’s nae fair! I’ve done everythin’ ye asked.”
“Everythin’ except keep her safe.” Noah took a step forward, using his height to his advantage.
Margaret’s mouth opened and closed like a landed fish. “Me Laird, please. I need this position. I have nowhere else to go.”
“Ye should have thought of that before ye lost me niece.” Noah’s voice could have frozen fire. “I want ye gone from the castle by tomorrow mornin’. Pack yer things and leave.”
“But, me Laird…”
“If ye’re still here by dawn, ye’ll spend another time in the dungeons. And this time, it’ll be a week.” Noah let the threat hang in the air. “Do we understand each other?”
Margaret’s face crumpled. She opened her mouth one more time, looked at Noah’s unyielding expression, then at Ava’s fierce protective stance, and seemed to deflate completely.
“Aye, me Laird,” she whispered. “I understand.”
“Good. Now get out of me sight.”
Margaret fled, her shoulders shaking with what might have been tears. Noah watched her go with zero sympathy.
The woman had lost Esther, had failed in her duty, and then had the audacity to blame the child herself. As far as he was concerned, she was fortunate he was only dismissing her.
He turned to see Ava staring at him with wide eyes, her anger seeming to have dissipated now that the confrontation was over. Behind her, Esther was peeking out from behind her skirts, looking between them with a sense of awe.
“I...” Ava started, then seemed to realize the entire courtyard was still watching them. Her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sorry. I shouldnae have... That wasnae me place.”
“Ye did exactly right,” Noah said firmly. “Esther needed someone to stand up for her. Thank ye.”
The pink in Ava’s cheeks deepened. “I just... I couldnae stand there and watch her be cruel to a child who’s been through so much.”
“I ken.” And he did.
That was what made Ava so perfect for this; she genuinely cared. Not because it was her job, but because something in her recognized Esther’s pain and responded to it.
A young woman with auburn hair and a friendly face appeared at his elbow, bobbing a quick curtsy. “Me Laird? Ye called for me?”
“Aye, Caitlin.” Noah gestured to Ava. “This is Miss Ava Harris. She’s Esther’s new minder. I need ye to show her to her rooms, the ones adjacent to me chambers, across from Esther’s.”
Caitlin’s eyes went wide, flickering between Noah and Ava with obvious curiosity. “Right next to yer chambers, me Laird?”
“Aye. So she can be close to Esther.” Noah’s tone suggested the topic wasn’t up for discussion. “Show her the way, help her get settled. And make sure she has everythin’ she needs.”
“Of course, me Laird!” Caitlin turned to Ava with a bright smile. “Come with me, Miss Harris! Oh, ye’re goin’ to love the rooms, they’ve got the most beautiful view of the gardens, and the bed is so soft, and...”
She was already leading Ava away, chattering enthusiastically. Ava glanced back at Noah, looking slightly overwhelmed, and he felt his mouth twitch with amusement.
Before Noah quite knew what was happening, Esther wrapped her arms around his legs in a fierce hug.
He froze for a heartbeat, knelt down, then carefully wrapped his good arm around her, holding her gently. “It’s all right, wee one. Ye’re home now. Ye’re safe.”
When Esther finally pulled back, tears streaked her cheeks, but she was smiling. She hurried off in the direction Caitlin had led Ava, leaving Noah alone in the courtyard. He straightened up, his arm throbbing now that the immediate crisis was over, and headed toward his chambers.
The healer would be waiting.
And after that, council reports. Border updates. The correspondence that had been piling up on his desk for four days while he’d been riding from village to village chasing Esther.
Things were back to how they should be. Esther was home, safe, with someone competent watching over her. He could focus now, do his work, and run his clan the way it needed to be run.
Ava Harris is me employee. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less.
“—and then there was the time that the Laird’s brother came visitin’, though that was before me time, but Agnes told me all about it, and apparently there was quite the row, shoutin’ and everythin’, and... Och!”
Caitlin stumbled over absolutely nothing, her arms wind-milling wildly before she caught herself against the stone wall.
“Are ye all right?” Ava asked, concerned.
This was the third time in as many minutes that Caitlin had tripped.
“Oh, aye, I’m fine!” Caitlin laughed, waving it off. “I’m terribly clumsy, always have been. Me mum used to say I could trip over me own shadow. Now, where was I? Oh, right! So the Laird’s brother, William, that’s his name, he’s the one who left wee Esther here, did ye ken that?”
“I... aye, I’d heard somethin’ about it.” Ava was still frowning at Caitlin’s near-fall, but the maid seemed genuinely unconcerned.
“Terrible business, that. Just abandoned the poor lass on the doorstep and rode off. The Laird was furious! I mean, I wasnae there, but everyone says they’d never seen him so angry. And he’s been raisin’ Esther ever since, though he’s nae the warm and cuddly type, if ye ken what I mean.”
They turned down another corridor, this one wider and more brightly lit. Portraits lined the walls, featuring stern-faced men and women who Ava assumed were Noah’s ancestors.
“He seems to care for her,” Ava said carefully. “In his own way.”
“Oh, aye, he does! But he has nay idea how to show it properly. That’s why ye’re perfect for this!” Caitlin beamed at her. “Ye’re already better than Margaret ever was. That woman had a heart of stone, I swear it.”
“She seemed... severe.”
“Severe? She was miserable! Always complainin’ about how difficult Esther was, how the child wouldnae speak, how she was too much work.
I wanted to tell her that maybe if she was kind to the lass, Esther might warm up to her, but it’s nae me place to say such things.
” Caitlin lowered her voice conspiratorially.
“But between ye and me, I’m glad she’s gone.
And I’m glad ye’re here! Esther needs someone like ye. ”
They stopped in front of a heavy wooden door. Caitlin pushed it open with a flourish. “Here we are! Yer new chambers!”
Ava stepped inside and felt her breath catch.
The room was... beautiful. Far nicer than anything she’d ever had.
A large bed covered in soft furs and blankets dominated one wall. A fireplace was ready to be lit, with a comfortable chair beside it. Windows overlooked what Caitlin had promised would be gardens, but in the fading evening light, Ava could only see shadows.
“It’s too much,” Ava breathed. “I’m just a minder. I daenae need something this grand.”
I don’t deserve it.
“The Laird insisted,” Caitlin said firmly.
“These rooms have been empty for years, and he specifically said ye were to have them. Said ye needed to be close to Esther.” She gestured to another door on the far wall.
“That connects to Esther’s chambers. And if ye go out into the corridor and turn left, the Laird’s rooms are right there. ”
Very close indeed. The thought made Ava’s cheeks warm.
“Now, is there anythin’ ye need? I can have hot water brought up for a bath, or food if ye’re hungry, or some clothes.”
“I’m fine, truly. Thank ye, Caitlin.”
“Well, if ye need anythin’ at all, just ask for me! I’m usually in the kitchens or... och!” She stumbled again, this time actually going down on one knee before catching herself. “Och, these stones are so uneven!”
“Are ye sure ye’re all right?” Ava moved to help her up. “Maybe ye should see a healer about yer balance?”
Caitlin laughed it off as she stood, brushing down her skirts. “Nay, nay, I’m just clumsy. Always have been, always will be. Now, I’ll leave ye to get settled. But remember, anythin’ ye need!”
She hurried out, still talking, and Ava was left alone in her new chambers. She moved to the window, gazing out at the darkening landscape. Somewhere out there was the village she’d left behind, the orphanage, the tiny cottage that had been hers.
This was her life now.
This castle, this child, this complicated Laird who looked at her like she mattered even as he barked orders and threatened to throw people into the dungeons.
A soft knock at the connecting door made her turn.