He did not like that voice.
Well, it was a good thing that none of this mattered. He would leave for the sea tomorrow and come back a much better man. Even Emma would appreciate him for it, eventually.
By dawn, before the first strip of light slithered through the horizon, Logan left his chambers without speaking to anyone and crossed the yard, where the mist hung close to the ground. The stables smelled of horse and hay, and a lantern swung by the door and made a soft circle on damp stone.
David stood just inside, checking the wooden planks around him almost out of habit rather than need. He looked up when Logan entered. The set of his shoulders had hardened, and the temper that had flared in the hall had cooled to something tighter, more controlled, more dangerous for its precision.
“Me Laird,” David greeted. “I take it ye are preparing to leave?”
Logan nodded. “Aye. But I just needed to take one last look around the castle. Ye ken, memorize it before I leave. ‘Tis a good thing I found ye anyway.”
David’s eyes widened. “It is?”
“Aye. I had a few things I needed to tell ye before I leave. Ye will be responsible for me wife’s safety,” Logan commanded.
“Aye, me Laird,” David answered at once.
“This isnae just a task ye can do on yer free time, David,” Logan warned. “I wantyeto guard her at all times. Especially when she isnae with her maid.”
“Aye, me Laird.”
Logan outlined more of what waited beyond the walls. Ships, sails, and the kind of water he might face out at sea.
“I expect reports,” he added. “Regular when there is nothing. Immediate if there is something to speak of. Do ye understand?”
“Aye, me Laird.” David listened like a man drawing a map in his head.
“Ye make sure she is comfortable,” Logan said. “Her rooms decorated the way she likes. Her meals served when she asks. Her security fixed and kept.”
“Aye, me Laird.”
Logan’s face darkened. “Withouttalking to her, let alone touching her.” The last words came out in a growl that belonged to night and steel.
David flushed to the hairline and looked down at his boots.
“I assume ye can do that perfectly, David?”
“Aye, me Laird,” he replied, flustered. “I meant nay harm in the hall.”
Silence fell between them as a horse shifted and bumped a stall door with its shoulder. The mist pressed against the open half of the stables like a quiet breath.
Logan studied David and felt the tug of fairness. The man had done what a hall would ask for on a wedding night.
He quickly dismissed the thought.
Not now.He could not afford doubt.
“I hope nothing happens before I return,” Logan said. “But if it does, I trust ye to be able to lead the men or hold off the worst until I return.”
“Aye.” David hesitated. He worked his jaw once, as if to move a word to the right place. “Just asking here, me Laird. Are ye certain about leaving so soon?”
Logan did not let the question sit.
“The clan needs money,” he said. “Stability. Strength. There are promises out there that must be fulfilled and paid for. I willnae see us suffer when the winter comes.”
That was a real excuse. Atrueone. What he refused to mention was the other trueexcuse. He did not say that he was afraid to stay and find what marriage might ask of him in daylight.
David nodded. “Aye, me Laird.” Doubt still lived in his eyes, but he set it aside with the discipline that had made him useful for weeks.
