Chapter Seven
Balor gave her his cloak, and she raised it over her head, keeping her face and hair hidden as he led her outside. His brother remained near the inner bailey wall, and as soon as Kenneth caught sight of them, he walked forward.
‘In here,’ Balor warned, bringing them inside one of the towers. He didn’t want King Patrick to catch a glimpse of his daughter just yet.
Kenneth appeared uneasy about Mairead’s presence, but he mumbled a greeting to her.
Mairead answered it and then asked the young man, ‘What do you know about Liam?’
He exchanged a glance with Balor and then said, ‘I think my father knows what happened to your brother. Fergus didn’t take him—there’s no sign of Liam at Dunmalus—but I overheard him arguing with our mother. He…’ Kenneth broke off, as if he couldn’t find the right words.
‘It’s all right,’ Mairead reassured him. ‘You won’t be punished for your father’s misdeeds, I promise you.’
The young man’s shoulders slumped. ‘My father paid someone a great deal of silver. After my mother learned of it, she confronted Fergus to find out why.’ He looked out at the soldiers in the inner bailey and admitted, ‘He said something about gaining the throne at Laochre.’
‘He paid someone to take Liam into captivity, didn’t he?’
His brother shrugged. ‘I think so, but I don’t know where. Or who has him now.’
Balor didn’t press his brother further. Fergus had made it no secret that he’d envied the MacEgans. His own father had tried—and failed—to take the throne. As a child, Fergus had been fostered with the MacEgans as a hostage to keep his father from attempting a second coup.
It stood to reason that the chieftain would want Liam to be an ó Phelan prisoner, to offer leverage against their own claim to the throne.
‘We need to question Fergus,’ Balor said. ‘Find out who took the tánaiste and where. King Patrick should know of this.’
‘No,’ Kenneth protested. ‘The king would kill my father immediately. I’m begging you…as my brother, don’t tell Patrick.’
Fury stretched the limits of his patience, for Balor didn’t care what happened to Fergus. He wanted to bring about the man’s downfall. But he also cared about his brother.
But Mairead spoke softly, ‘Thank you for telling us this, Kenneth.’
The young man regarded her for a moment. ‘I would…want someone to help me find Balor, if he were missing. I don’t know if anything I’ve said will make a difference. I think my mother knows more.’
She released Balor’s hand and took a step closer to Kenneth. ‘I am grateful to you, and I pray that we will find Liam soon.’
Balor reached out and embraced his brother. ‘Go now, before anyone sees you.’
Kenneth’s gaze lingered upon Mairead’s, but there was a sad resignation, as if he realized he had no chance of winning her heart.
Balor understood that feeling well.
The stolen moment between them had caught him unawares. He’d known that Mairead hadn’t come to his bedchamber for that reason—and yet, he’d fallen under the spell of desire, needing to touch her.
For that fleeting moment, this woman had belonged to him. And he’d savoured every touch, especially the way she had responded to him.
He couldn’t deny how badly he wanted her. A good man would stand aside and let her have the life she deserved by wedding a man like the earl. Or a wealthy nobleman.
But the problem was he’d never been a good man. He was starting to question whether letting her go was the right decision.
Honour would give him nothing but loneliness and jealousy.
His fingers brushed against hers, and she took his hand, holding it while they watched to ensure that his brother made it safely outside the gates.
‘Do you think the chieftain hid my brother somewhere near Dunmalus?’ Mairead ventured.
He turned back to her. ‘I don’t know. But my mother might know more about what Fergus did. I’ll go and talk to her.’ He could return to Dunmalus and talk to Orla while Mairead remained here with her family.
‘I want to come with you.’
He tightened his hand upon hers. Aye, he wanted that, too. But it wasn’t wise—especially now that her father was here.
‘You wanted to be safe,’ he reminded her. ‘Travelling with me is dangerous, and you know it.’
Before he could stop her, Mairead slid her arms around his waist. ‘Don’t you think I see the prison they are making for me?
I see the earl, the man they chose as my husband.
My father and uncle are here, along with the others.
If I stay, I worry they will force me to wed Lord Lowell immediately. And that’s not something I want.’
‘Then tell them no.’ He rested his hands at her waist, unable to push her away. ‘They cannot force you to make a vow.’
‘I don’t want to stay behind.’ She rested her forehead against his. ‘Don’t leave me, Balor. Take me with you.’
He didn’t want to be caught in the middle. Especially since it would enrage her family and they might learn nothing at all about her brother. Bringing her with him meant defying orders.
But he also knew he couldn’t stand aside and walk away from her. Not if she needed him.
He cupped her face, stroking his thumb down the edge of her jaw to her throat.
Maybe it was time to truly become the villain everyone believed he was.
* * *
Mairead could feel Balor’s gaze upon her back as she walked towards her father and uncle, leaving him in the shadows. She’d considered her choices, and it would buy them more time if Patrick believed she was being obedient.
She kept her steps slow and even, as if she had come outside to greet him. After a slight pause at the door, she waited for the king to acknowledge her.
King Patrick was dismounting from his horse while his brother Bevan stood nearby. Her father’s gaze tightened at the sight of her. Mairead lifted her chin and offered a slight smile, despite the exhaustion of the past two days weighing upon her.
Patrick came closer and crushed her into an embrace. ‘Mairead, why did you leave Laochre?’
‘Because I overheard Normans plotting against my brother. I believed they would come for me next, so I came here instead.’
Her father blanched at that, but she continued on. ‘Did you not teach me to be aware of those around me? To be ready to defend myself at all times?’ She shook her head. ‘I was unprepared the last time I was taken. I wasn’t about to let it happen again.’
Patrick exchanged a glance with his brother, and she could see the strain on his face. ‘You shouldn’t have left without several men to protect you.’
‘It would have drawn too much attention,’ she argued. ‘Instead, I commanded Balor ó Phelan to bring me to Rionallís.’
He appeared uncertain about her words, but her uncle Bevan confirmed it. ‘She did have an escort when she arrived.’
‘And where is ó Phelan now?’
‘I sent him back to Dunmalus with his brother,’ Mairead lied. She walked alongside them back to the keep, behaving as if she hadn’t openly defied her father. To redirect the conversation, she asked, ‘Have you found Liam yet?’
‘Not yet. Our men are still searching. And stop trying to pretend as though I’m not fully aware of what you’re doing, Mairead.’
‘And what is it you think I’m doing?’
‘Avoiding your betrothal.’ His gaze sharpened.
‘You offered me the right to choose my betrothal,’ she said quietly. ‘Has that changed?’
When her father didn’t answer, uneasiness curled within her stomach. This was the reason she’d feared. But before he could speak, she blurted out, ‘Why? Are you afraid I won’t choose the right man?’ she ventured. ‘Like Diarmud.’
Patrick appeared pained at her words. Probably because there was some truth to it.
Her father let out a sigh. ‘I know you were fond of him,’ he said at last. ‘But he was a soldier, Mairead. You are my daughter. He could offer you nothing at all, except his heart.’
‘I loved him. I had planned to marry him in secret.’ The words blurted out from her lips before she could stop them.
It had been true, once, even if that love hadn’t lasted.
She still remembered the rush of giddy emotion when she’d seen Diarmud smile at her.
He had been so kind, treating her as if she meant everything to him.
At the time, she’d been delighted with their forbidden union.
But he’d never made her blood race the way Balor had.
Balor had changed her, in ways he’d never guessed. Before he’d come to the aenach, she’d been resigned to marrying a man she didn’t love and pretending to want an ambitious marriage to a man who would expect her to rule at his side.
And now she couldn’t bear the thought of it.
Her future felt so uncertain right now. Worse was the fear that Balor didn’t truly want her for anything more than stolen passion. He’d yielded to her plea of letting her travel with him to Dunmalus, but he’d made no secret of his reluctance.
She risked a glance back at the shadows, even as her father was saying something she wasn’t paying attention to. Despite their differences in status, Balor had fought at her side and defended her.
And yet, there was a difference between them. Not because of their social standing, but because Balor had made it clear that he didn’t want a life at her side. And it hurt to know it. He’d always been careful not to make any promises.
She turned back to her father, who was waiting for an answer to a question she hadn’t heard. ‘I am not ready to wed anyone, Father,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve hardly slept in the past two days, and my brother is still missing.’ She shook her head. ‘I need time.’
Her father escorted her back within the castle keep. ‘I promise you’ll be safe at Laochre. Gather your belongings, and we’ll go back.’
Mairead could feel the invisible net, snaring her back to her family home. She gave him a slight nod to pacify him. Then she excused herself and walked away.
Her thoughts were tangled up, for she had no intention of returning home. Instead, she intended to be defiant with Balor and risk losing her heart a second time.
* * *