“Thank ye, Mrs. Cain.”
“Have a bath readied for her as well,” Teague said. Perhaps it would soften her refusal to believe Éirich Castle a sanctuary for all. Or at least for those with the loyalty to deserve it. He politely eased a slight bow in her direction. “With yer permission, of course.”
“Thank ye,” she said, but didn’t smile. Just went flinty with determination. “That would be lovely. After I see my Robbie, of course.”
“Of course.” He made a grand show of offering his arm, knowing she wouldn’t take it. “Allow me to escort ye, mistress.”
She surprised him and clamped on to it as if trying to snap it in two. It made him nearly bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Rather than lead her back the way they came in, he decided to take her through the library and out through the gardens. Then she would see they weren’t an uncivilized den of thieves, but well-educated, skillful procurers of goods, information, and properties.
“Where are we going?” Her grip tightened as her attentiveness switched to the hallway and every door they passed.
“’Tis a shortcut to the offloading ramp and stables. That is where yer Robbie is helping Bhric and Calder.” He pushed open the library entrance and stepped back. “After ye, mistress.”
A soft gasp escaped her as she entered and slowly circled the room, pausing behind his desk. “What a wonderful place.”
The awe in her voice pleased him. He hurried to draw her attention to every overflowing shelf. Each wall, from ceiling to floor, was filled with maps, papers, and every book he had collected over the past twenty years. “My personal library.”
“How many are there?” she whispered, walking her fingers along the titles and pausing here and there.
“I dinna ken. Never bothered to count them.”
“Robbie would love this one.” She tapped on a thick spine. “He speaks Latin quite well.”
“He can come and enjoy these anytime he likes.” He admired her backside as she bent to check a volume on a lower shelf. The opening in her blanket skirt revealed everything he had tried to hide from his men. Perhaps those trews of hers weren’t such a bad thing after all. “Ye can come here as well, if ye wish it.”
She straightened and gave him a smile that actually seemed relaxed. “Ye are verra kind.”
“Aye, I am, and it is high time ye realized that.” He directed her to the double doors on the far side of the large, high-ceilinged room. “Those lead to the garden. Looks as though the rain’s kicked up again. Are ye certain ye dinna wish to wait inside for the wee one? It would give ye time to rest by the fire. Have a drink and a bit of bread.”
Her smile disappeared. “Dinna call him that. Not ever, ye ken?”
Confusion filled him. “Beg pardon, mistress? Dinna call who what?”
She wet her lips as though struggling to choose her words carefully. “Dinna call Robbie awee one. Not ever. He is fifteen and verra sensitive about his size. Many have bullied…treated him poorly because he is so small.”
“I see.” He bowed his head, regretting his unintended slight of the lad. “I beg yer forgiveness. I thought him much younger. As ye said, because of his size.” He moved to the garden doors, opened them, and stared down at the rain bouncing off the flagstones. “It willna happen again, and I shall also have a word with Bhric and Calder, so they know as well.”
“I fear Robbie doesna always realize his worth because of it,” she said as if fearing Teague didn’t understand. She joined him at the doors. Sadness and worry etched lines in her face as she watched the rain. “People can be so verra cruel. Like animals smelling fear or weakness. They attack and dinna let up until it is too late.”
The more she spoke, the more he understood her need to check on the boy and do all she could to protect him. It wasn’t because she feared himself or his men. It was because the lad had suffered what sounded like a terrible shunning in the past.
He studied her. “Ye do realize ye risk doing him more harm than good by trying to shield him from everyone and everything?”
Her gaze remained locked on the puddle just beyond the threshold. A soft, huffing laugh escaped her. “Ye sound like Robbie. He says I treat him like a baby and need to stop.”
“There is a difference between protecting yer bairns and making them so vulnerable they canna survive without ye.”
“I suppose that’s true.” A weary sigh underscored her words. “Perhaps I shouldna meddle with him while he is helping yer men.” She gave a flinching shrug. “But it makes my heart tight with uneasiness when he is out from under my wing.” She slid a glance his way, her sleek brow quirked to a plotting slant. “I dinna suppose there is a window or ledge where I might at least catch sight of him without his knowing?”
The windows of Teague’s private chambers overlooked the area where Robbie would be, but he hesitated to tell her. She might think it his ploy to get her into his bed. Not that he wouldn’t enjoy her company, but it was too soon to even hope for such. Skittish as a new colt, this lovely lady required careful planning. An artful tactic at which he excelled.
“Teague? Please?”
The pleading in her tone decided it. “My bedchamber window has a view of the yard where Robbie should be.”
“I see.” She studied him as though trying to weigh the goodness of his soul.
He lifted both hands in surrender. “The choice is yers, mistress. I can take ye there and leave or have Mrs. Cain or one of the maids escort ye. I leave it to ye.”
