Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
E ven for a seasoned rider like Kathleen, the seemingly endless hours of the journey wore her down before they reached the next town. They had passed several villages on their way but decided not to stop, as the day was still young and Kathleen wanted to reach Castle Stalker as soon as possible. Yet, after a long few hours of riding, they both needed a good rest—even if just for a short while.
Just off the path, they found a small clearing that seemed to have been used by other weary travelers, as there was a makeshift pit in the middle of it, just big enough for a fire. Kathleen followed Blaine there, the golden afternoon light falling on the trampled grass and the shrubs that surrounded the clearing, making their leaves glow.
It was an unusually bright day, and yet the chill still seeped through Kathleen’s clothes, all the way to her bones. As she sat by the roots of a large tree, Blaine quickly gathered some wood and lit a fire with the kind of speed and ease of someone who had done that very thing countless times before.
Kathleen couldn’t recall a single time when she had had to light her own fire. Whenever she was cold, there was always a maid or, if she was traveling, a guard or servant to light it for her.
Now, she watched Blaine through the flames as he sat at the other end of the pit, pulling out his blade. At first, she almost recoiled, wondering why he would need it, but then he began to sharpen it with slow, methodical movements, his rhythm almost hypnotizing. The entire time she watched him, he never once looked up, though Kathleen couldn’t tell if that was because he didn’t notice her or because he was simply ignoring her.
He was clearly a warrior and if she had learned anything from her cousins, it was that warriors had a sense for those around them. They knew when they were being watched, they knew when something was amiss.
So he’s simply ignorin’ me.
Kathleen was not particularly used to that. She was a social girl, someone who liked to talk—too much, according to her father. But Blaine, though sitting right next to her, seemed so distant that she didn’t even know how to begin to reach him .
With a sigh, she leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree, her gaze roaming around the clearing. Some of the bushes around them bore berries, but she didn’t know if they were edible. The fire crackled pleasantly. The birds flitted from branch to branch, twittering happily.
Then she noticed a tear in her cloak.
When her gaze fell on it, she cursed under her breath and thumbed it, frowning to herself. When had that happened? And where would she find thread to fix it?
Upon closer inspection, she noticed that her cloak had not been torn, but rather cut, along with her sleeve and the skin under all those layers. The bleeding had long since stopped, but the blood had dried off all over her clothes and Kathleen couldn’t stop herself from cursing again. It was far from ladylike, especially in front of another person, but she couldn’t show up to Castle Stalker like that. She was hardly presentable!
Only moments later and as Kathleen was still inspecting the wound, a small, wet cloth landed in her lap. Across from her, Blaine stared at her for a moment, before he resumed his task, sharpening his blade without a single word .
Kathleen said nothing as well, as she grabbed the cloth and pressed it to the small wound, dabbing up the blood. She did give him a grateful smile, though, small and shy.
She didn’t know if he noticed.
For a long while, silence stretched between them. Kathleen busied herself with the cloth, trying to get as much of the blood off her clothes as she could before finally giving up. A wet cloth would do nothing to help with the stain and even if she managed to remove the blood, the rip would still be there.
In the end, she simply held out the rag for Blaine to take, but he shook his head.
“Dinnae make me stand,” he said. “I’m an old man.”
“Hardly old,” said Kathleen, laughing, as she found the mere notion ridiculous. Her father was old; Blaine was simply older .
“Older than ye,” said Blaine.
That much was true, at least. She realized just how different their lives had to be. They were in such different stages, after all—he, a man wrought and tested in battle, with all the responsibilities that came with being, if not the head of his household, then a senior member; and she, a young woman who knew little of the world outside the curtain walls of the castle.
It occurred to her then that, even though she had been thinking of Blaine as someone much like her cousins, that stage of his life was already far behind him.
“Dae ye have a wife?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Blaine barked out a surprised laugh, his eyes widening ever so slightly. “Quite forward o’ ye, dinnae ye think?”
Heat flooded Kathleen’s face, from the base of her neck to the tips of her ears. For a few moments, all she could do was stare at him in horror, her embarrassment too great for anything else.
It had been an innocent question. Kathleen had never even imagined Blaine would take it as anything else and now she didn’t know what to think. Was that where his mind strayed? Could it be that he had taken her innocent question as permission to take more liberties with her?
“That’s… that isnae what I meant at all!” Kathleen said, her protest coming out as a shriek rather than the dignified tone she was aiming for. “I was only curious! I never meant… I woul d never… how dare ye assume a lady like meself would ever suggest such a thing? I hope ye’re nae deluded about me…me intentions!”
For all her protest, Blaine only laughed, shaking his head. “I dinnae have a wife,” he said, still shaking with mirth. “I travel too often fer me duties tae have a wife. Me long absences would only be cruel tae her. An’ dinnae fash. Ye shouldnae fear I’ll dae anythin’ o’ the sort tae ye.”
Those last words reassured Kathleen a little, though she didn’t put her guard down entirely. She still eyed Blaine a little warily and kept her distance from him, fearing what he would do if she got too close.
Fearing what she would do if he got too close.
Instead of dwelling on it, she scrambled for something to say to ease the tension, asking the first thing that popped in her mind. “What are yer duties then, that keep ye away from home fer so long?”
Blaine frowned to himself, idly scratching his chin. He seemed to be in deep thought for several moments, which they spent staring at each other in silence, until he finally spoke .
“I’m afraid I cannae share that with ye,” he said, much to Kathleen’s disappointment. After all that time he had taken to think, she had expected to hear something much more exciting than this. “It is confidential. I’m workin’ close tae some very important members o’ the clan.”
The secrecy itself seemed exciting to Kathleen, at least. It gave Blaine an even more mysterious air, which added to the mystery of his scars and his quiet demeanor. He didn’t seem to like sharing things about himself. Everything Kathleen had learned about him so far had been through specific, targeted questions she had asked him, and he never shared more than he absolutely had to.
She couldn’t decide whether this was something she liked about him. On the one hand, it gave him an almost irresistible allure. Kathleen itched to learn more about him, to figure out what she could about that strange man. On the other, it frightened her somewhat. She was traveling with a man about whom she knew very little. And the little he had offered, had hardly been enough to allow her to form a rounded opinion about him.
Kathleen wanted to believe that he was good. After all, he had saved her from the Campbell soldiers and she owed him her life. But she was still a woman travelling alone.
He hasnae tried anythin’ so far. If anythin’, he’s been the perfect gentleman .
Surely, he wouldn’t risk his or Clan Farquharson’s reputation by acting less than honorably towards her.
Once again, silence fell over the clearing as Kathleen didn’t know what else to ask him and Blaine didn’t seem to be in any hurry to speak. The only sounds were those of the flames in the pit, the birdsong, and the rhythmic scrape of the sharpening stone against Blaine’s blade, all of them working together to lull Kathleen into a half-sleep.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when she felt a nudge against her shoulder. At first, she couldn’t help but jump away from it, startled; but then she saw it was only Blaine, trying to wake her.
“We should continue,” he said, frowning as he gazed into the distance. “It’s gettin’ late. We dinnae wish tae be out here when it’s dark.”
Kathleen nodded and swiftly pushed herself up to her feet, rubbing the stupor from her eyes. It was still bright and the sun didn’t seem to have moved too far, so she could only assume she had only closed her eyes for a short time. Even so, Blaine seemed to be in a terrible hurry, rushing as he got the horses ready for them once more to get back on the road.
Silence was their third companion as they headed down the path once again. Blaine may have been lost in his thoughts, paying Kathleen no mind, but she had no such luck. She kept wondering about him, about his behavior. Who was he, truly? What was his role in the clan, which required so much secrecy?
As they traveled, the sky above them darkened the farther they got. Clouds gathered over the treetops, dark and heavy with rain, and when they finally came across a small inn, Blaine was quick to steer them in that direction.
“Let us spend the night there,” he said. “It’ll soon be dark.”
The sun had not yet set in the horizon, but it was low in the sky. The promise of a warm room and a hot plate of food was more than enough to entice Kathleen to stop for the night, even if they could keep riding for a while. Besides, she didn’t know if they would find another such place in time, and the last thing she wanted was to be traveling in the dark, even more so if the moon and the stars would be hidden behind the clouds, or it would start raining.
The inn was a squat building, just big enough to house a few guests. Light poured out of the small windows, orange and warm and inviting, but when Kathleen opened the door, she came to a sudden halt.
Every pair of eyes in the room turned to stare at her—all of them men of varying ages, all of them stunned to see a woman alone there at that time of the day .
Behind her, the sun was setting. Inside, the room was dimly lit, the air heavy with the stench of spilled ale and wine.
When Blaine appeared behind her a few moments later, the men who had been staring so openly at her went back to their bowls of stew and their mugs of ale, suddenly entirely unbothered by her presence.
It’s so easy fer him tae command respect. All he needs tae dae is walk intae a room an’ look around.
It was not as easy for Kathleen. She was a young woman that men saw as an object; a pretty thing for them to stare at.
With a steadying breath, she stomped over to the innkeeper behind the counter, placing her hand on top of the dark wood—and immediately regretting it. She quickly removed her hand from the sticky surface, clearing her throat as she stared him in the eye, mustering all the commanding energy she could.
I willnae let Blaine dae everythin’ fer me.
“We would like two rooms, please,” she said with the kind of authority that was neither expected nor desired from her .
The innkeeper gave her a bored look, placing a single key on the counter. “There is only one room available taenight.”
Kathleen barely stopped herself from cursing out the man, the inn, and the entire day. After everything she had been through, she craved the comfort and privacy of her own room and she desperately dreamed of her chambers back home. But home was far away and none of her misfortunes had led her to change her mind about attending Fenella’s wedding. This was just another obstacle she would have to overcome.
Before she could come up with a solution—suggest that they look for another inn, perhaps, or at least ask Blaine what he thought they should do—he slammed a few coins on the counter and grabbed the key without a word.
“What are ye daein’?” Kathleen asked, head whipping around to look at him, stunned.
“Payin’ fer the room,” said Blaine, as if it wasn’t perfectly obvious.
“I’m a lady!” Kathleen reminded him. This was not the best conversation to have in front of all the patrons, but if Blaine thought she would share a bed with him, then he was sorely mistaken. “I cannae share a room with ye! It’s… it’s inappropriate is what it is. ”
Blaine gave Kathleen an unimpressed look, before grabbing her arm to drag her aside, away from prying eyes and ears. Kathleen fought him all the way, trying to plant her feet on the floor, but Blaine was much stronger—and much more stubborn.
“If I wished tae have me way with ye, I could have done it already,” he said, as though that was meant to give Kathleen any peace of mind. If anything, it only frightened her more, the open acknowledgement of the power he could exert over her. But when she tried to point that out, Blaine continued before she could speak. “Ye’re safe with me. In fact, ye’re much safer with me than without me. Have ye seen how those men are looking at ye?”
Aye… as though I’m naethin’ more than a piece o’ meat.
Kathleen stared bitterly at the men, though none of them dared to look back at her—not with Blaine watching. Then, she dragged her gaze back to him, making sure that her displeasure was clear in the sour twist of her lips.
“I still cannae share a room with a strange man,” she insisted. “I dinnae even ken anythin’ about ye!”
“But ye ken I have nay desire tae harm ye,” he told her. When she said nothing, only gritting her teeth in response, Blaine rolled his eyes with a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. I’ll sleep in the stables. Will that make ye feel safer? ”
Kathleen wasn’t certain whether it made her feel safer or not, but she did know one thing; after everything Blaine had done for her, making him sleep in the stables was far too cruel. He deserved the warmth and comfort of a proper room. Besides, a man of his station surely wasn’t used to sleeping in the stables with the horses. Even in his roughest travels, he would at least have some comforts.
“Nay,” she said. “Ye cannae sleep out there in the cold.”
“I’ve done it afore.”
Kathleen’s mind scrambled to find a good enough reason that had nothing to do with her own desire to repay him for his help. “Because… because if ye sleep out there, ye might catch yer death an’ then what will I dae?”
There! Now he daesnae ken I care.
Blaine responded with nothing but a soft, surprised chuckle. He stared at Kathleen in silence for a few moments, as if he was considering her words, and then he gave her a small nod. “Alright. I’ll sleep in the room, then.”
Ach! O’ course, what other choice daes he have? It’s either the room or the stables !
Kathleen had pushed herself into a corner, but she could do nothing other than reluctantly accept it. “Alright,” she echoed. “But ye’ll sleep on the floor. I might have nae choice but tae share the room with ye, but I willnae share me bed!”
With that, she turned on her heel and stomped up the stairs, the bright sound of Blaine’s laughter following her.