Chapter Six

I t was late in the afternoon before Alexander finally finished work for the day. There had been so many seeking his attention that day, more than usual. People in fear were emotional and acting before thinking. Many of the issues brought to him could have been easily solved if the parties involved would have negotiated without screaming or punching.

He stretched and studied the great room. There were only a few people about, those who waited for someone to fetch them or had been ordered to remain by him.

"Why do ye nae look tired," Cynden said, his face drawn. "I cannae take another day like this one."

Alexander chuckled. "Yer wife keeping ye up? Perhaps ye should sleep in another room tonight."

His brother searched the room for Ainslie. "She is with child," he murmured in a low tone. "She told me last night and then began crying for no reason."

"That is strange," Alexander replied. "Is she nae glad?"

Cynden scratched his head. "Said she was crying with happiness."

The brothers frowned unable to understand the ways of women.

Calum Maclaren approached. "My wife and I will be on our way, as soon as I find her." The man's eyes were bright. "I will be here every three days as we discussed."

It was obvious that the man was glad to regain his role on the council.

"I am glad for yer guidance. It is a great help. Thank ye for bringing the need for a council to my attention," Alexander said as the man waved away his words and walked from the room.

His brother followed soon after, rushing up the stairs, probably to sleep. Alexander almost reminded him that he was supposed to go on patrol early the next morning but decided against it. Cynden would not shirk his duties.

Walking to the kitchen to find something to eat, he considered what Calum had spoken to him about. The man had arrived the day before and they'd met in Alexander's study.

Nala would be staying at the keep for a season in hopes that she'd find a husband. Her father expected that he help facilitate a betrothal.

The lass could easily fetch suitors. Just earlier as she crossed the room, every eye followed her progress. And yes, it was partly because of her exotic looks, but mainly the men's gaze moved over her body, then locked on her face. She was a beauty to behold.

"Laird!" Cook exclaimed when he entered the kitchens. "Come sit. Ye have nae eaten a bite since rising. Ye must be famished." The woman fussed over him, directing him to sit in the servants' dining room. A large sturdy table with eight chairs and a well-built sideboard were the only furnishings in the room.

His entire life, he'd often come there, liking to watch the hustle and bustle of activity in the adjoining kitchen as he ate. It was no different this time. A bowl of steaming meat and potatoes was placed before him, along with crusty bread and a crock of creamy butter. A large mug of ale finished the presentation.

Left to his own, he ate whilst the clanging of dishes filled the air around him. It was then he allowed his shoulders to fall, and he took a moment to close his eyes. There was much to do yet that day.

For the time being, he would not go on patrol as he was needed there at the keep. Duties that would take days to complete, if not weeks. The departure of warriors loaned to him by his cousin on Uist and the arrival of the new warriors from Uist to take their place. Along with the horses that would have to be exchanged as well.

Not to mention the plan they had in place to trap the attackers would begin the next day. He prayed it worked.

A voice caught Alexander's attention. It was Nala. She spoke to Cook, and he listened to see why the lass was in the kitchens.

"…get some carrots? I wish to give some to the horses." Nala's voice was rich with husky tones that made it unmistakable. "Thank ye."

Had the minx brought her horse? Alexander was sure she would have arrived with her mother in a coach. He'd noticed her earlier in the great room. Although she was not dressed in finery, neither was she dressed to ride. She was definitely up to something.

He took the last chunk of bread and used it to sop up the remnants of food in his bowl and ate it. After drinking the last of the ale, he leaned back in the chair.

Seeming to have the keenest of senses, Cook appeared. "Would ye like more, Laird?"

Alexander looked at the older woman and shook his head. "Ye dinnae have to call me laird. Ye raised me from a bairn."

"Aye, but I must set the example for the younger servants. Else, they get ideas," the stubborn woman insisted. Then she bent and pressed a kiss to his brow. "But ye will always be my sweet lad."

He left the kitchen and walked out the side door to the courtyard and caught sight of Nala making her way to the corrals.

For a moment he considered whether to follow her or see about his duties. However, curiosity won out, and he crossed the courtyard toward where she was.

She leaned on the fence and looked over the horses. When a brown gelding neared, Nala fished a carrot from her skirt's pocket and held it out for the animal to nibble. "Ye are a beauty, but too small," she said to the horse, who nudged her hand hoping for another treat.

"Are ye planning yer escape already?" Alexander asked, pressing his lips together to contain a smirk when she visibly jumped.

Keeping her attention on the horses, she didn't turn to him. "I like horses. Ye have a varied assortment."

There were about five and ten horses in the corral, some grazing, others standing under a shade tree, probably sleeping. "We breed some for riding, some for battle, and still others simply because they are a beautiful breed."

"Do ye sell them?" She finally turned to look at him.

For a moment he was lost in the depths of her thickly lashed eyes. Tearing his own away to look to the horses, he nodded. "Aye, we sell those like the one ye just fed."

"My father spoke to ye." Her statement was flat. "Ye ken how I feel about marriage."

"There were more foals than usual this year. Six in all. Four of them will be trained for battle."

Nala gave him a puzzled look and then turned to look at the horses.

Alexander continued, "It is the way of things. That each horse has a place and a purpose. They have little choice in most things, except temperament. I personally get to know each of the horses to help with figuring out what they are best suited for."

He looked at Nala. "I am nae so arrogant to ken that I am always right. But in all things, I do my best."

Understanding dawned and Nala's brow pinched and her jaw set. "I am nae a horse, Laird."

"It is very obvious ye are nae a horse, but a beautiful woman with a strong temperament. I am nae sure what type of man would be brave enough to marry ye."

A harsh laugh sounded as Nala looked skyward and then to him. "There is yer answer. 'Tis best to leave me be."

"I will nae do that," Alexander replied. "Do ye not consider what it will truly be like to have someone in yer life that will always be there for ye? Everyone has those moments when we need someone."

He'd not meant to say the second part, and his words surprised even him.

When Nala's lips curved, he understood Nala caught the slip. "Is that so? Are there times when ye are lonely, Laird? So lonely ye wish for someone to hold yer hand?" She mocked, with a playful batting of lashes. "Do ye pine for a lass to soothe yer delicate soul?"

It was his turn to huff at the comment. "That is nae what I meant."

"What did ye mean?" She lifted to her toes. "Poor Alexander, needs to be comforted."

"Would ye do it? Would ye comfort me?" he teased back expecting she'd be shocked.

Instead she grinned, lifted her hand, and slid it down the side of his face. "There, there."

The touch sent tingles of awareness through him, but he refused to show any emotion. At his lack of reaction, Nala pressed further, cupping his jaw. "Would ye like Nala to kiss it and make it better?"

Alexander narrowed his eyes despite wanting to ask that she never lower her hand. "Enough."

"Hmm, I think ye dinnae mean it," Nala said, then to his astonishment she pressed her lips to his jaw. "Now, go on a be a good laird."

Frozen to the spot as Nala turned on her heel and briskly walked back to the house, Alexander finally let out a breath. To his consternation, he'd become aroused, his cock hardening and pressing against the front of his breeches.

What was he a lad of ten and five?

Letting out a grunt, he blew out breaths, willing the damn thing to soften. At noting the sway of Nala's hips, his cock twitched, and he cursed out loud.

"What is it, Laird?" One of the stable lads hurried toward him. "Do ye require a horse?"

"Nae," he replied in a husky tone. "Perhaps a swim in a cold loch is more what I need."

Knox and four men came to the corrals. His cousin looked at him and then turned to look in the direction of the house. "What are ye doing?"

"Considering who would marry Nala Maclaren."

"Nae me. Dinnae ask. I will marry when my beard turns gray." Knox shrugged. "There will be many who would. She is bonny. Nae, not bonny. Nala is a rare beauty, she is."

"There is the matter of her temperament," Alexander stated. "She is fiery and refuses to stay at home. Instead goes out riding despite warnings about the attackers."

Behind them, the warriors began saddling horses, preparing for the last patrol of the day. Knox stole a look toward the house. "I know of one man who could possibly take on the beauty."

Alexander's eyebrows rose in surprise. He'd yet to think of anyone. "Who?"

"Ye. Of course. I doubt ye can tame the wildling, but the mantle of being a laird's wife would."

Chuckling at his expression, somewhere between horror and shock, Knox walked away whistling a happy tune.

Alexander frowned at his cousin's back. Surely there was someone who was worthy of Nala. There had to be. He considered his guardsmen. But came up short. He'd considered Knox, but his cousin was not keen on being ordered. He had no doubt Knox would leave on a bìrlinn without a destination, rather than marrying a woman not of his choosing.

"Wait," Alexander caught up with Knox. "Are ye setting up a trap today?"

"Aye," Knox said nodding. "The wagon is just now leaving. We have a woman who volunteered to come along and ride with Hamus. We will spread out and hide where we can. They will nae attack near trees, I am sure of it. The mysterious archer lurks among them."

"It could be the injuries will keep them from riding. But it has been a few days," Alexander said.

Shortly thereafter, four men on horseback left. The fifth man guided the wagon out of the gates and next to him was one of the women servants. A brave lass.

"Laird," his scribe hurried over. "We are ready to discuss the tallies of accounts." The younger man was slim, his clothing always clean, and his hair neatly brushed back from his face and held in place with a strip of fabric. His scribe was fastidious with accounts and rarely forgot anything, which suited Alexander well.

The entire time his scribe and the storeroom man went over ledgers, Alexander's mind kept returning to what Knox had said. That he should marry Nala.

Just a few weeks earlier, he'd insisted he was not the least bit interest in marriage and yet when Knox suggested it, Alexander was shocked. Not at the suggestion, but at the fact that he found the idea appealing.

Several times, he had to ask the men to repeat what had been said, until he admitted to not being able to concentrate.

He stalked from the house, down the steps to the shoreline and walked to where the waves lapped gently on the rocks. Dragging his tunic over his head, he then removed his breeches and dove into the frigid water.

The shock of the cold made him gasp, but the feel of the water against his skin was tantalizing and just what he needed. Alexander swam to a good depth and then continued sideways for a while, and then back. His arm muscles strained to move him forward, his legs pushing him to continue.

Turning toward the shore, he was finally able to touch the bottom, and he walked forward until the water was waist-high. He pushed his hair back from his face, deciding it was time to cut it as he usually did every summer. Once he rinsed the salt water from his body, he would seek out the stablemaster and ask that he cut his hair.

Just then movement caught his attention. A lass walked along the shoreline toward the village. Alexander recognized her and rushed to dress. Nala was up to something, and he was going to find out what.

His clothes clung to his wet body, and he tugged at the tunic, then gave up and followed the stubborn woman. She was outside the keep walls alone after all the warnings he'd given her. As his guest, she was under his protection and no matter how independent, the lass had to learn to comply with the rules of living in the keep.

She didn't seem to have a destination in mind because she stopped, shaded her eyes with her right hand, and stared off into the distance. A few moments later, she bent and picked up something that she threw into the water.

"Nala." He'd caught up to her and took her by the arm. "What are ye doing? Ye cannae go about alone. I have told ye more than once."

Wide-eyed, she looked up to him and then back toward the keep. "I was told by the guards at the gate that they keep watch on the shoreline." She studied him, her gaze traveling down his chest to his waist. "Ye have no weapon yerself."

He gave her a droll look. "If ye were to be attacked here, and the guards had the eyes of a hawk, how long before they could reach ye?"

Chin lifted defiantly, he could tell she'd not acquiesce. "Do ye believe those men, who've been attacking people would dare to come here within the sight of Keep Ross?"

They wouldn't, but that wasn't the point he wished to make. "Why is someone nae with ye?"

"Yer mother is resting. Ainslie is feeling poorly. And I dinnae know any of the servants well enough to ask one to walk with me."

He doubted a small detail like that would keep Nala from asking for someone to come with her. She liked time alone. He understood it.

When he looked at her, she was studying him, searching his face. For what he wasn't sure. But when his body began to react, he eyed the water. "Let us walk back."

Nala stood her ground. She turned to look at the ocean and closed her eyes. Tears slid down her cheeks and she sniffed.

After hesitating, he placed a hand on her shoulder, hating that she trembled. This was a side of Nala, he wasn't sure how to deal with. "Nala, why are ye crying?"

Keeping her attention on the horizon, she swallowed and took a breath. "I feel as if I have little say in my circumstances."

"If given a choice what would ye want to do with yer life?"

Eyes wet, she looked up at him. Even with her nose pink and lashes clumped from crying, she was amazingly beautiful.

"I-I am nae sure. No one has ever asked me."

When she fell against him, seeming exhausted, Alexander wrapped his arms around her. "Ye wish to ken what I think?" he whispered into her ear. "If ye marry the right man, ye will have many of the same freedoms ye have now."

She shuddered and let out a long breath, her head on his chest. He tipped her chin up and met her gaze. "I will do what I can to ensure ye are well taken care of."

When Nala's gaze lingered on his lips, he was lost to her.

All thought left except the need to kiss her, and Alexander took her mouth reveling in the feel of her taste. When her arms wrapped around him and she responded, time stood still.

Attackers could have approached, and Alexander would have been helpless because, in that moment, only Nala existed. He plundered her mouth, slipping his tongue between her lips and she melted against him. Her fingers digging into his back pulling him closer.

The hardening of his shaft brought Alexander out of the whirlwind that was the beauty in his arms, and he pulled back.

They were breathless, chests heaving, eyes locked.

"I-I…" Nala began, pressing her hand over her mouth.

"I apologize," Alexander said motioning for her to walk ahead, he didn't dare touch her for fear he wouldn't be able to pull away again. "We should head back."

As they walked back, Nala gave him a questioning look, her swollen lips beckoning for another kiss. "Ye dinnae have to apologize." The fiery lass lifted a brow. "I quite enjoyed it."

Fighting the urge to puff out his chest, Alexander pressed his lips together to contain a smile. "I am glad to hear it."

"Dinnae do it again," Nala quipped. "Or I will demand ye marry me."

"What?" Alexander stopped in his tracks. "Why?"

Nala gave him a droll look and continued walking. "I jest. However, it would nae be a bad idea. Neither of us wish to marry. We can pretend."

Alexander raked hair away from his face. She was so beautiful it took his breath away. It was easy to imagine a life with her. "When I marry it will be someone willing to be my wife in every aspect. Someone I care for and who cares for me."

Her mouth fell open and then closed, gathering her skirts, she walked faster, trying to get away from him. They'd arrived back at the lower portion of the keep, from which they'd have to climb stairs to get to the main house.

When Alexander caught up to her and took her arm, she'd climbed a pair of steps so that they were at eye level when she turned and he asked, "Are ye cross?"

She bit her bottom lip catching his attention and reminding Alexander that he'd had the morsel in his mouth. "Ye would never marry me. That is what ye mean to say."

"I didnae say that."

Nala let out a huff. "Good because I would never marry ye." With that, she took her skirts with both hands and ran up the steps.

Alexander scratched his nape. Women were confusing creatures.