Page 5 of When the Laird Conquers

“And ye climbed through me window and woke me up. I have the time to spare.”

She shifted the baby onto her opposite hip. “It is about my niece’s father. Although to call him a ‘father’ is rather ridiculous.” Her voice wavered. “He seduced my sister, made promises he had no intention of keeping, and when she became with child, he discarded her as if she were a bit of straw on his shoe.”

Something awoke in Gordon, pacing within him.

“He is now betrothed to a rich man’s daughter,” she continued bitterly. “And rumors are abounding that Lizzy here is his. I don’t know how the rumors have spread, for my niece has been hidden away since her birth, but… it is her hair, you see. It is rather unique to him. Connections will be made, and while I believe they should be made, he does not agree. He wants it to be as if she never existed. He wants to protect his interests. Before I left, he threatened to have her sent to a convent, and… after everything that has happened, I could not allow it. Lizzy is the last piece of my sister that I have.”

Gordon listened patiently, while the wolf in him snarled, lip curled, and teeth bared.

“I remembered Lady Emma, the woman who married a laird,” she added quietly. “And when I found your name, your violent merits, I hoped you might be the one to help me.”

Gordon sniffed. “So, what ye really need is for me to kill that bastard for ye?”

“Language!” Agnes yelped, moving to cover the baby’s ears.

“That is where ye draw the line?” He almost laughed, but the angry wolf prowling inside him, behind the bars of his discipline, was in no mood for amusement.

She lowered her gaze, and he knew she was blushing. He could almost feel the heat of it.

“For the baby’s sake,” she murmured. “And no, of course I do not want the man dead. In my head, I have killed him a thousand ways, a thousand times. But no, I just need you to protect us.”

He could well imagine it. She might have been small of stature, but there was strength in her. Strength enough to come all the way here on her own, to face a violent and dangerous laird.

“And ye thought marriage would be the easiest way?” he asked.

Her head snapped up, hope in her eyes. “I have a large dowry. One of the most generous in England, certainly. I can help your clan. Or rather, it can.”

“Did ye miss the part in yer precious almanac where it said ‘powerful’? We daenae need English charity.” Insult hardened the edges of his voice.

“I didn’t mean that you need it,” she said, stepping closer. “But more money is more money, isn’t it? And… And I know how to run a household, I can speak four languages which may be of use for trade, and I am reasonably adept at the pianoforte and passable with a viola, though I am atrocious at painting, drawing, sewing, really anything that requires precision, and I⁠—”

“Lass, enough,” he barked, his head buzzing. “The answer is nay.”

Agnes blinked, and for a moment, there was gracious silence. “I assume ‘nay’ doesn’t mean ‘yes’ here. Right?”

“Aye, right.” He extended her book to her. “Ye didnae have to travel all the way here. A letter would have sufficed, so ye didnae waste the efforts of whatever beast ye rode on.”

He would have to speak to the guard who had allowed her in. How had no one spotted a horse or carriage approaching? It was a mistake he could not let pass without punishment.

“Perhaps you are right,” she said, taking the book back.

“I’m glad we agree.”

“But,” she added crisply, “a reply would have taken too long to reach me. And I must make certain that you understand something, my Lord⁠—”

“Me Laird,” he corrected.

Her left eye twitched in annoyance. “What you have to understand, my Laird, is that I had no choice. You said it yourself: I chose the cruelest man in this book, the most violent, the most feared. I didn’t hesitate to trespass or do whatever it took to fool your guards. Those are the actions of a desperate woman, my Laird, and I am desperate. I left familiarity, comfort, my home, my aunt, to come to a strange and dangerous place to beg for help. Just think of how much I must fear for this little one and the peril she is in, if I am capable of all of that.”

Tears glistened in her eyes and thickened her voice, her words propelling her legs forward, bringing her closer to him.

Does she mean to offer herself to me?

A little thrill ran through him, quickly stamped down.

“Yer tears willnae sway me,” he said flatly. “I daenae care for weepin’.”

“Neither do I, but I can’t stop them any more than I can give up,” she replied with quiet defiance. “I just… cannot lose Lizzy.”