Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
D awn broke and, along with it, so did Blaine’s resolve.
He had spent the entire night awake—hours upon hours of waiting for something to happen, that didn’t. Still, doubt lingered in the back of his mind. The more he considered his task, the more he thought none of it was worth it. The stress, the fear that he would fail, the thought of every possible consequence if that were the case—it all started to build until it was all he could think about.
He had never failed a mission, and he wasn’t about to let this one be his first. And yet, the only solution he could think of was taking Kathleen back where she belonged—back to Moy Hall .
As he heard her stir at the first light that poured in through the small window, Blaine turned to look at her. She had not yet opened her eyes, so he took the opportunity to gaze at her features—the long, auburn hair, the doll-like contour of her jaw, the plump, rosy lips that so terribly called to him whenever she spoke. He had tried to suppress those thoughts, to push them down as deep as he could, yet, one glance at her was enough to bring them back up to the surface until he could hardly stand it.
Kathleen was too tempting, forbidden. Blaine could never touch a woman like her, and he shouldn’t even be thinking about it. And besides everything else, she was also too young, just at the beginning of her adult life. One day, she would marry a man befitting her station, just like her friend and Blaine would be nothing but a distant memory in her mind, an old man by then.
By the time her eyes fluttered open, he had already dragged his gaze back to the door.
“Good mornin’,” she said, her voice rough with sleep. “Did ye sleep at all?”
“Nay,” said Blaine flatly, pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off. He didn’t want Kathleen to even suspect any of those inappropriate thoughts were crossing her mind. “We must prepare tae leave. ”
“Och aye,” said Kathleen, sitting up a little straighter as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with one hand and clutched onto the covers with the other, using them to cover herself. “The sooner we get tae Clan Stewart, the better.”
With a sigh, Blaine paused and turned to face her. “I dinnae think we should head tae Clan Sewart,” he said. “I think I should take ye back tae Moy Hall. It will be safer there.”
Kathleen’s eyes widened immediately and she pushed herself to her knees, crawling to the edge of the bed through the covers. “Nay! Nay, I’m nae goin’ back home! I told ye, I must go tae this weddin’!”
Throughout the night, Blaine had suffered a headache, which was only getting worse by the minute. Every time Kathleen disagreed with him made his temples pound and the back of his eyes ache in a way that only served to frustrate him even more.
He didn’t want to argue with her, but he also couldn’t see what other option he had.
“This isnae safe fer ye, Kathleen,” he said gently, with as much calm as he had left. Not much of it remained. This journey had already tested him. Had Kathleen been anyone else, had the circumstances been any different, he wouldn’t have given up so easily, but if he could simply convince her to return home, then all his work would be finished—and well-rewarded.
But Kathleen had to make it impossible.
“Safe or nae, I willnae return tae Moy Hall,” she insisted. “I need tae be there fer Fenella. I ken she needs me an’ I wish tae support her an’ comfort her in any way I can.”
“Comfort her?” Blaine asked with a snort. “She’s gettin’ married. Why would ye need tae comfort her?”
At his question, Kathleen’s expression hardened immediately, her eyes turning cold in a way he hadn’t expected from her. It was as though the blue pierced right through him, chilling him to the core.
“I dinnae expect ye tae understand the terrible fate that is tae wed a man ye dinnae want,” she spat. “But lasses like Fenella ken that fate well. Many o’ us dae. She’s frightened, she daesnae want her future husband an’ even if she did, she would still be frightened o’ the life that awaits her. An’ who wouldnae be? All she has tae look forward tae is bairns, but even that can be frightenin’. She’ll be ripped from her home, taken tae a strange place with a strange man an’ she has nae choice in any o’ this! ”
Blaine had the suspicion it was not only Fenella Kathleen was talking about. Surely, she felt for her friend and truly wished to be there for her, as she claimed, but Blaine could tell there was more to it; something deeper, something far more personal.
She fears the same thing will happen tae her.
And she was probably right. Kathleen was a noble girl and they rarely married for love. Her hand would go to the man who would offer the best deal to her family, the man who could benefit them the most. Whether he was to her liking was of no importance.
She was right when she said he couldn’t understand it. Blaine had never been deprived of choice. His whole life, he had chosen where to go, who to see, what to do. Unlike him, though, Kathleen and Fenella and other girls like them didn’t have the same luck.
“I can understand why ye wish tae be there fer her,” he said, hoping that, at least, would appease her enough to consider his suggestion. “But what happened last night, it could very well be a sign o’ danger. Someone may truly be after ye.”
“Dae ye think that those men would have followed us here?” she asked. “Because I dinnae. ”
Nay, it wasnae those men, but it may have been a real threat.
“I dinnae ken, Kathleen,” Blaine said with a sigh. “All I ken is that ye may be in danger an’ it would be wise tae head back tae Moy Hall, where ye’ll be safe, with yer family.”
“I willnae let some footsteps frighten me so,” Kathleen insisted, and though her voice was firm as always, Blaine could detect, for the first time, just the smallest hint of hesitation that made him think she, too, had her doubts. “It was naethin’. It was probably another guest an’ he didnae even try tae enter the room. If ye dinnae wish tae take responsibility, I can still continue alone.”
Blaine wanted to argue, to point out once again that she was not safe. But Kathleen wouldn’t listen to anything he said. If the attack in the woods hadn’t been enough to frighten her, why would a few steps do the trick? If she was going to want to return home, then she would have done so right then and there, when she had first been attacked.
In the end, Blaine decided it was not worth the effort or the argument.
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth, just to make his displeasure well-known. “Then prepare tae leave. ”
“Fine,” Kathleen said, just as displeased, though in his mind, she had no reason to be. She was getting what she wanted; how she could still be displeased was beyond him.
The two of them stared at each other in silence for a while, Blaine expectantly and Kathleen curiously. In the end, he threw his hands in the air in frustration, his irritation getting the better of him.
“Will ye get out o’ bed?”
“I will,” Kathleen said. “Once ye leave the room.”
“What?” Blaine asked, the word coming out of his lips as a disbelieving exhale. “Kathleen, I must get ready, too.”
“Ye can dae that later!” she pointed out. “I must get dressed! Dae ye expect me tae dae it in front o’ ye?”
“Ye’re already half-dressed!” Blaine pointed out, gesturing wildly at the parts of her garments he could see over the bedcovers. “It will take less time if we prepare at the same time!”
“Out!” Kathleen insisted, pointing a finger at the door. She was red-faced, her lips pressed into a thin, firm line, and though once again Blaine would have loved to argue with her, he decided to take the path of least resistance and leave the room, slamming the door behind him.
How was he supposed to take this girl all the way to Castle Stalker when she was so stubborn and would hardly ever listen to him?
He stood in front of the door, taking in a few deep breaths and reminding himself of every other successful mission he had ever had. This wasn’t any different. Just as he had completed everything else, he would complete this one, too.
And he would get well-paid for it, he kept reminding himself. He imagined the gold in his hand, the coins heavy and rattling, and that brought him some sense of peace, at last.
Heading down the stairs, Blaine asked the innkeeper for a piece of paper and some ink, before he sat down at the far end of the room in the corner, from where he could observe the rest of the establishment. It was still early and only the travelers who were going far had come down from their rooms, so most of the tables were empty and he was glad to have that peace and quiet, even if he knew it wouldn’t last long.
He would at least have time to write a letter to Bran Mackintosh—Kathleen’s father .
For he had been the one to task Blaine with keeping his daughter safe. Devon and Kieran had gone to him immediately, confessing that Kathleen had just snuck out of the castle, because they were worried about her safety and had not been able to dissuade her from leaving. He had hired Blaine on the spot, who happened to be at the castle after bringing important news about the possible war from the Farquharsons. He wanted him to befriend her and watch over her as she traveled to Castle Stalker, making sure that nothing bad happened to her. His prowess with a sword was well known, so he had offered him a good amount of gold to go after her immediately. Not only did the castle have no men to spare at such a critical moment, but sending a whole group of guards after her would just slow things down even more.
If she insisted on continuing, that is, after being attacked by a small contingent of men he would send with Blaine, that would then immediately return to the castle. Bran had hoped his daughter would give up once she saw how dangerous it could be outside the castle walls, but the attack had not left Kathleen as shaken as either he or Blaine would have thought.
For all her faults, she was a resilient girl—a little too resilient. Stubborn, perhaps.
Thus, even if that attack had been staged by her father, Blaine knew the threat of the previous night was real. It wasn’t something Bran had staged; it was either a drunkard looking for his room or a real enemy, someone who had come after Kathleen without Blaine noticing .
It was entirely possible he had missed a threat. In the chaos of the previous day, something might have slipped his attention, leaving Kathleen vulnerable.
But he wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Once he was finished writing his letter to Bran, detailing everything that had happened and assuring him that Kathleen was safe and well-cared for, he gave it to the innkeeper with clear instructions. Then, he handed him some more coin and asked for some food to be packed for him and Kathleen, knowing that they had a long day ahead of them.
If they were going to keep pushing forward, then he wanted them to get to Castle Stalker as fast as humanly possible. The Stewarts were good allies of the Mackintosh Clan and even if a wedding was a large event that could leave their clan and their castle vulnerable, Kathleen would be much safer behind the castle’s curtain walls than she would ever be out in the woods or in an inn such as this. The less time they spent in public, near other people, the better it would be.
By the time he had paid the innkeeper and made sure the letter would reach the right hands, Kathleen was making her way down from their room. Though her dress was askew after she had to put it on herself without any assistance and her hair was wild and uncombed, Blaine found it difficult to pull his gaze away from her. He only managed to do so out of sheer necessity, out of the fear that she would notice and demand an explanation for his staring.
Yet another time, he reminded himself that not only was she eleven years younger than him, but that she was also the daughter of an important man, noble-born and meant for different things. He was a nobody. He hadn’t lied to her about being a Farquharson, but he hadn’t been entirely honest with her, either. The name he bore didn’t make him noble-born. He was nothing but a lowly soldier, someone who had risen through the ranks himself through sheer skill and determination, and yet would never get much further.
“I’m ready,” Kathleen announced as she plopped herself down on the seat across from him. “An’ I hardly took any time at all.”
“Ye were up there fer thirty minutes,” Blaine pointed out.
“Lies,” Kathleen said with a mock gasp, as though the mere notion that she had taken that long offended her. “It couldnae have been more than ten minutes.”
Despite himself, Blaine couldn’t help but laugh.