He chose his words carefully.‘I am not one of Lady Mairead’s suitors.’He took a step forward and faced the king.‘Your daughter would be safe with me as her escort because I have no intention of marrying her.’
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 saferwith 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 keepher 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?
