She faltered. Every Highlander wore his swords, and their shields were piled up close to the door. There was no conversation as everyone consumed their rations for the long day ahead.
She stared past them all. Alexander was not seated. He stood by the head of one table, but he was looking directly at her.
He was going to war. She should wish him dead—both because she wanted Castle Fyne back, and because he had destroyed her relationship with Peg.
But still, she did not wish him dead. As she stared at him, her heart lurched, as if with dread.
Now, she knew firsthand what war was like. He was a great and mighty warrior, but all it took was one true arrow, or one fatal sword, and he would be mighty no more.
She said, very quietly, “I’d like a privy moment.”
His eyes flickered as he came forward. “Do ye wish to go upstairs? Or step outside?”
Peg was upstairs. “Outside.”
“I thought so.” He touched her elbow, as if to guide her. Margaret leapt away instantly.
She hurried ahead of him, her spine stiff, but he opened the heavy door for her. Outside, they paused atop the wood steps leading down to the courtyard. It was freezing and she shivered, noting that the sky was just beginning to pale in the east, but stars winked above them in the blackness of the west.
She faced him. “You have stolen my maid from me.”
“That was not my intent.”
“But that is what you have done. I cannot have a maid with loyalties to my enemy.”
He studied her. It was a moment before he spoke. “I agree. Yer maid must be loyal to ye, not to me. But I dinna steal her. Yer maid has an appetite. She is a bawd. Her character is flawed. She could have refused me. She did not. She is not good enough for ye.”
Margaret had not expected such a response. “I have known Peg since we were children. She has been an important friend for most of my life. You knew she was in my service.”
“Aye, but I also knew she would rush to my bed, if asked—she is not a true friend, Lady Margaret.”
Margaret was taken aback. Was he right? She had always thought of Peg as a true and loyal friend. “And you had to ask her? You could not ask someone else?”
“I dinna think much about it. If ye wish to be angry with me, so be it. But ye should punish her and dismiss her.”
She was bewildered. “Why do you take my side? She is your lover!”
His brow lifted. “She warmed my bed for a night or two—she is but a passing amusement, Lady Margaret, not a mistress.” He then added, “Ye almost seem jealous.”
“I’m hardly jealous.” But as she spoke, an odd pang went through her. “I am angry and I am also sad. Because of your need for amusement, I have lost a friend.”
He suddenly swept off his mantle and threw it around her shoulders. “Sometimes, blessings come in disguise. ’Tis good to learn of her weaknesses now, before ye could be truly hurt.”
Margaret gazed up at him. Was he concerned for her? Did he care that her maid was now of questionable loyalty?
And was he right? Was it better to have learned now how easily Peg could betray her, rather than at a later time? Castle Fyne had been besieged and defeated, and Scotland was now in the throes of war. She could have asked Peg for aid in some way related to her predicament, never knowing that she might not be loyal. And what about later, when she meant to use trickery to see William? Would Peg keep her confidence? If Alexander asked her, upon his return from the battle, would she divulge it? “I suppose it is best that I learned of her true character, but I am hardly going to thank you for your part in all of this.”
He smiled. “I never thought ye would. Yer a strong, brave woman—ye need strong, brave allies.”
The scents hanging to his mantle began to waft over her. She smelled pine, fire, the sea...and man.
His smile vanished. He regarded her closely. “Sir Neil is a better ally. Ye can trust him.”
She hugged his mantle closer. Why was he telling her that she could trust Sir Neil? Again, she had the oddest notion that he cared. But she had to be wrong. “Why would you advise me like this?”
He hesitated, no longer smiling. “I admire ye, Lady Margaret, but yer very young and very untried. And ye have no champion now.”
“You cannot take that role. You cannot be my champion, not even in this moment—you are my enemy.”
