Page 36 of Deception of a Highlander

Then again, he had hoped to have found another place for her to stay prior to their arrival on Skye. Her injury and the ill-timed death of her lady’s maid left him in a position where he had to allow her to come to his home. Something he’d regretted ever since she uttered that other man’s name. Jack. Kieran gritted his teeth against a rage he had no right to feel and focused his attention on his clan’s unwelcome reaction to Mariel.

Highlanders always carried a level of disrespect toward the English, and Brennan’s blood drying on an English blade only encouraged that hatred.

Kieran stood tall and met the angry faces of his people, suddenly grateful for Mariel’s inability to speak Gaelic as the malicious insults hissed forth from the crowd.

English.

Witch.

Murderer.

Whore.

Mariel turned her face to Kieran. “I hope it will not be inconsiderate of me to beg introduction from you?” The smile on her face was genuine, and he almost allowed himself to believe that she had been blind to such blatant hatred.

“Mariel will be a guest in our home,” he announced in Gaelic. “She is to be treated with respect as any guest would be. If you are unable to obey this simple request, you will face punishment.”

People shifted from one foot to the other, but the cruel names ceased, and several glares were cast downward. In the awkward silence, Mariel stepped forward, as regal as any queen with her back straight and her head raised. Mud spattered her sodden homespun gown, and her hair hung in tangles down her back, yet the confidence she exuded could not be ignored. The glares softened to curious glances.

Mariel sank into a humble curtsey and rose in a fluid movement. “Thank you,” she said in Gaelic.

So, she had picked up some Gaelic on their journey. A prickle of unease crept along the back of his neck. She was too intelligent for her own good. She might ask questions he would not be able to answer.

Kieran motioned Colin to his side. “Show the lass around, but keep a close watch on her, aye?”

Colin flashed him a grin. “Ye know I willna let anything happen to her.”

“And Colin,” he added, unable to swallow the bitterness he felt toward his friend’s all too eager compliance, “keep yer hands to yerself.”

* * *

Kieran sank into the overstuffed chair in his solar and breathed in deeply. The familiar, musty odor of the ancient books lining the wall gave him a profound sense of home. He was grateful to be here, away from the filthy streets of London.

He was grateful to discover Blair and Dougal safe upon his return. There was little doubt in his mind Hampton had intentionally placed the rumor that he would be in court, knowing Kieran would run to London in the hope of finding him. Hampton was definitely up to something.

Sunlight streaked across the desk, illuminating the parchment in front of him. A similar beam of light had moved over Mariel’s face when she’d gazed upon Caisteal Camus and lit her heather-colored eyes as they’d widened in awe. Her response had been so unabashedly honest it brought a smile to his face.

“It’s magic.”

He almost laughed out loud at the memory.

A strange ache twisted in his chest, wiping the smile from his lips. The past week had been difficult for him to travel in such proximity to her as he’ tried to distance himself. If this man, this Jack, was someone she loved and intended to reconnect with, who was Kieran to stop them?

He was too busy with his clan to fret like some fool over matters of the heart. Other things occupied his time.

Things like the accounts in his hand, for example.

He shifted the paper, so the light did not caress it. He needed to banish Mariel from his thoughts. There was no sense in worrying after a woman who wanted another man. A woman whose very presence in his home threatened everything he held dear. God willing, she would heal and leave quickly, and Kieran would never have to think of her again.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. “What?” he barked.

Though the interruption was irritating, he welcomed the distraction. Not only from the accounts that he couldn’t focus on, but also the woman he could not stop thinking about.

Alec strode into the room and closed the door behind him before assuming a wide-legged stance in front of Kieran.

“I have news that concerns Mariel.”

“Is she gone?” Had she left so soon? Unfounded disappointment flooded him when he should have felt relief. He should be grateful for Jack taking Mariel from his life.