Then—
“M’Laird!”
A voice cut through the quiet around them, and he drew back at once, blinking.
For a moment, she thought she had imagined it. But then, a moment later, it came again, the voice more urgent than before.
“M’Laird, are ye there?”
He tore himself away from her, a low growl in his throat like it was the very last thing he wanted to do, and grasped her hand, pulling her behind him as they made their way out of the woods.
She was still breathless from the kiss, his stubble leaving a graze against her skin that still throbbed with every step as she struggled to keep up with him.
On the other side of the clearing, one of the guards was standing, his hand still wrapped in the reins of the horse he must have ridden down here on. As soon as he laid eyes on Tavish, she could see the panic on his face, and it was clear something must have happened in his absence to cause such a reaction.
“M’Laird, thank God,” he exclaimed, and he waved them over, hardly seeming to notice the tension still hanging in the air between them, much to her relief. “There’s been an attack at the village of Naoburgh, they need ye there at once!”
Cold dread rushed over Ailsa’s mind as she took it in. An attack? Who would have been attacking a village in his lands? And what would they want with him down there now, too?
By the time she looked over at Tavish, she could see that something had shifted within him, something moving to brush aside the passion that they had just shared to make room for his duties as Laird.
He nodded curtly, making for his horse.
“Take her back to the Keep,” he called to the guard as he swung his leg over his steed.
She parted her lips, intending, for a moment, to argue with him, but when she saw the look on his face, she knew that it would have done her little good. He had already made his mind up, and the best she could hope was that, whatever had happened, it would not leave him in too foul a mood when he returned.
Because she wasn’t sure she could cope with his anger when she still felt barely able to handle his desire.
Chapter Eleven
“Ye dinnae kenanything about what happened?” Ailsa pressed as she caught up with Martha, who was in the middle of putting away some freshly dried clothes.
The maid looked at her with raised brows and shook her head for what must have been the dozenth time since Ailsa had started this interrogation.
“I wish I could tell ye more, m’lady,” she replied. “But I dinnae ken a thing. I heard that there was some problem at the village, but I’ve no idea what happened.”
Ailsa sank back onto her bed, her brows knitting together as she tried to make sense of it all. She’d hardly had a chance to take in what was happening before she had been bundled on to that horse with the guard to be carried off back to the Keep. It was driving her mad to think that something might have been happening out there that she knew nothing about.
Martha had been making her way out of the kitchen when she had gotten back, and she had tried to coax some information out of her, but she seemed to be as blank on the matter as Ailsa herself was.
The look on Tavish’s face told her most of what she needed to know, that this was serious and he could not risk another secondof waiting before he went after it, but that did little to sate her curiosity.
Her head was spinning from the rush of everything that had happened; the way he had kissed her and then the way he had left her behind just as quickly. She had known, of course, that her new husband would have duties to attend to as the Laird, but she did not realize what kind of state the place would be in when she came here.
Was it so dangerous out here that there was so much dissension, so much to fear? The look on his face had told her one thing, and she did not want to believe it, not when her memories of this place were so idyllic.
“Is there anyone here who might know more?” she asked, cocking her head to the side hopefully.
She could already hear Tavish’s voice in her head, telling her that it was not for her to worry herself about, but she had as much right to know as anyone else. If she was to be lady of this place, she needed to make sure that she kept up with everything that happened here.
Martha lifted her head, and Ailsa could tell at once from her expression that the answer wasyes.She sprang to her feet, eyes widening.
“There is, isn’t there?”
“Look, ye shouldnae worry yerself about all of this,” she protested, but Ailsa planted her hands on her hips and gave her a hard stare.
She felt a little bad, nudging the girl to give her something like this, but she needed to know. She had to find out if Tavish was in some sort of trouble, even if he had proven today that he was more than capable of handling himself in the midst of it.
