Chapter Four #3
Queen Isabel blinked at his words in surprise and turned to her husband. But King Patrick was already shaking his head as he confronted his daughter. ‘My brother Ewan could escort you, Mairead. Or any of my men. Why would I send you off with a stranger?’
‘Balor isn’t a stranger,’ Mairead said. ‘I told you before. He’s the man who saved my life when I was first attacked by the Normans after Bealtaine. He brought me safely to Ennisleigh.’
The queen’s expression softened at her daughter’s words. But Balor wasn’t entirely certain about the way Mairead was framing him as a hero. Not when they both knew his intentions hadn’t been at all honourable that day.
Patrick studied him as if trying to take his measure. ‘Are you saying you have no interest in my daughter?’
Far from it. But Balor crossed his arms and faced the king.
‘She can do far better than a man like me, and we both know it.’ Maybe he’d imagined it, but there seemed to be a faint gleam of approval in Patrick’s eyes.
Balor turned back to Mairead. ‘Your father is right. You would be safer with a large escort to take you away from Laochre. But if you’re trying to leave without anyone noticing, I am willing to guard you. ’
The king didn’t yield. ‘What is your involvement with my daughter, Balor ó Phelan?’
‘She asked me to protect her from harm,’ he answered as he stared back at the king. ‘Which I have sworn to do.’
‘And what do you want in return?’ her father asked quietly. ‘Silver?’
He hadn’t considered that anyone would offer coins. And although he could use the money, it felt wrong. There was also something he wanted far more.
‘If you’re wanting to offer a reward for her safe travel, there is only one thing I want in return. I want Fergus removed from power.’
‘That is out of my hands,’ Patrick started to say. ‘I cannot make you chieftain.’
‘Not me. My half brother, Kenneth.’ He regarded the king and queen. Isabel moved to her husband’s side and rested her hand on Patrick’s shoulder.
But the king only shook his head. ‘I am sorry, but I won’t interfere with the leadership of other clans. Unless the people want someone else, there is nothing I can do.’
To Mairead, Patrick added, ‘We’ll increase the guards around you. You won’t be alone at any moment. I promise you’ll be safe while we search for Liam.’
Mairead’s face fell, and Balor could see the doubts written on her features. With a nod to the king and queen, he walked towards the door. ‘Then I’ll bid you good fortune in finding him.’
* * *
Mairead wasn’t about to become a prisoner within her own home.
Although her father was simply trying to keep her safe, she couldn’t stand aside and let it happen.
Balor walked alongside her towards her room, and she stopped him.
‘I don’t like this. None of it feels right.
My brother was taken from his own home, and no one can find him?
’ She shook her head. ‘It just seems wrong.’
Balor said nothing to her, but his hand paused on her spine. The warmth of his touch made her stop walking. But as they drew closer to her chamber, she slowed her steps. ‘I feel like they will come for me next.’
‘You defended yourself once before.’
But she’d had to kill a man. Mairead shivered and rubbed her arms at the memory. ‘I know.’ After a moment, she stared back at him. ‘Do you think the men who took Liam were the same men who attacked me? The king’s scouts?’ She wondered if the two incidents were tied together.
‘Probably not the same men,’ he answered. ‘Their reasons for attacking you and Velaria were quite different.’
The uneasiness deepened within her at the memory. ‘I’m glad you were there that morning.’
His hand moved from her back to her waist, almost in the barest embrace. ‘So am I.’
The timbre of his voice was an invisible caress, and Mairead tried not to succumb to the yearning that would only end in heartache.
She needed to step away, to remove his hand. And yet, she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it.
‘I still don’t understand how Liam was taken,’ she confessed.
Her brother was much older than her, and in the same year she was born, he had married Adriana.
In some ways, he’d been almost like another father, as well as a brother.
As strong as he was, she couldn’t imagine how anyone could have captured him.
And he never would have left without telling anyone.
‘Why would this happen?’ she wondered aloud.
‘It’s about control and power, Mairead. That’s all it ever was.’
She agreed with him. But to what end?
‘Could we—walk outside for a little while?’ she asked. ‘I don’t want to go back to my chamber just yet.’
Balor gave a nod, and they walked together in silence down the narrow stairs that led to the Great Chamber.
Then he guided her through the doors and outside to the inner bailey.
Night had descended over the castle, and the walls were illuminated every few paces by flaming torches set into iron sconces on the stone walls.
On the far side, Mairead saw a gathering of Norman soldiers talking in low voices. She exchanged a glance with Balor, who seemed to read her thoughts, and escorted her towards a staircase that led up to the parapets.
She was grateful for the dark cloak and hood that hid her features.
‘Do you think they know anything about my brother?’ she asked.
He took her hand in his. ‘Let’s find out what we can.’
They walked up the steps to the parapets, keeping their movements slow as they drew closer to the soldiers.
Mairead brought him inside the first tower where he’d nearly stolen a kiss the last time.
Balor pressed her back while he studied the soldiers.
Then he guided her back out to the parapets, near the second tower.
Just as they reached it, a smaller group of men broke away from the larger group.
They froze in place, not saying a word.
‘We need to bring him to England,’ one of the men was saying.
Were they talking about Liam? Mairead gripped Balor’s hand in the darkness as she tried to listen to the men.
His hand covered hers, his thumb rubbing her knuckle lightly.
She tried not to think of how he was making her feel right now.
Safe. Comforted. And she didn’t know what to make of those feelings.
‘I know,’ the other Norman answered, ‘but he won’t go willingly. His home is here.’
‘No, but he won’t have a choice,’ the first continued. ‘You know our orders.’
A cold chill spiraled through her at their words. Who were they talking about? Was it King John’s orders?
Their voices faded away as they continued walking. Balor led her inside the closest tower, and she leaned against the wall.
‘What do you want to do?’ he asked. ‘Should I escort you back to your chamber?’
She thought about it, turning it over in her mind. ‘The threat is already here, inside our walls.’
‘It is, yes.’ He paused, letting her make the decision.
She already knew her father would send men after her if she went too far. But her uncle Bevan’s lands were not far away. They could spend the night there, and she could claim that she’d gone to visit her cousin Alanna. If she sent word to her father in the morning, he wouldn’t be quite so angry.
‘I want to leave,’ she said at last. ‘My uncle lives at Rionallís, and I know he and his men will protect us. It’s a smaller castle, and Uncle Bevan knows every man.’ She took a breath and added, ‘I…would like you to escort me there tonight, if you’re willing.’
Balor turned to face her. In his eyes, she saw a sudden flare of interest. But he ventured, ‘Against your father’s wishes?’
Her expression turned troubled. ‘It might be against my father’s wishes, yes,’ she admitted. ‘But even if I told him what we just overheard, he probably wouldn’t believe me.’
‘And you’re not afraid to travel alone with me?’ he pressed again. ‘Because I’m not a man you would ever marry?’
‘N-no. You’re not,’ she blurted out. But the moment she said the words, she regretted it. ‘It’s not that I don’t think you’re handsome or the sort of man any woman would want—’
His expression turned wry. ‘I know my place, Lady Mairead. And it’s not at your side.’ Balor lifted her hand to his mouth in a mocking kiss. And yet, the slightest touch of his lips made her skin burn with the desire for more.
She wanted to taste his wickedness, to cast aside all the reasons why it was wrong. Because a man like Balor ó Phelan would know how to give a woman pleasure in the dark. Even being so near to him made her crave his touch.
‘Will you come with me?’ she whispered.
He hesitated for a moment, his blue eyes shadowed in the torchlight. She understood that she was using him, and it wasn’t fair. But everyone else within these gates would tell her no.
‘I will find a way to reward you,’ she offered. ‘I have jewels or gold, or—’
‘I don’t want your coins.’ He lifted her hand to his face, and beneath her palm, she felt his bristled cheek. She saw a faint scar by his temple and stroked it with her thumb.
He closed his eyes, drinking in her touch. She wondered if anyone had ever touched him with affection, for he seemed hungry for it. Yet, when her fingers slid into his hair, Balor pulled back.
In a low voice, he said, ‘I’ll get a horse and wait by the stream outside the castle gates. If you’re wanting to leave tonight—and if you can get out without anyone seeing you—aye, I’ll escort you to your uncle’s home. But you’ll have to leave the castle grounds on your own.’
It was as if he wanted to be certain no one could accuse him of taking her. And maybe she owed that to him.
He released her hand and moved behind her as if he were a servant. Mairead glanced back at him, but his head remained low as she walked back inside the castle. The moment she reached the spiral stairs, he left her and returned outside.