Lachlan felt his eyebrows pull together in dismay. “It’smyjob to protect her, Alex, not yours. You’re my scout. I do not require anything else from you.”
Alex shook his head. “Youmay not require it, sir, but Lady Catherine does. I saw you last night, you see. I know that you went to her tent, and I cannot allow you to take advantage of her like that again.”
Slowly ascending beyond the top step, Lachlan held up a hand. He needed to keep the lad calm. “I’m not taking advantage of anyone, Alex. I am Lady Catherine’s escort, and she wants me here. She invited me.” Just to make the situation absolutely clear, he added, “She’swaitingfor me.”
“But she’s innocent and vulnerable,” Alex shakily argued, “and has no memory of her life. Last night you seduced her. I have no doubt of it. I know all about your shady reputation. I’ve heard how you make the lassies swoon and do anything you ask of them. But Lady Catherine is different, and I won’t allow such…improprietyto occur. Not with her.”
Lachlan inclined his head curiously. “Did your cousin Gwendolen tell you to keep an eye on me?”
“Nay, sir. I have eyes and ears of my own, and as I said, I saw you last night. I know what’s going on. I know what you plan to do here, and I cannot allow it to happen.”
Alex tilted his head to the side and closed one eye, peering at Lachlan down the long length of the gun barrel.
Lachlan spoke in a calm, quiet voice. “I promise you, I’m here to keep her safe, Alex.”
It was a lie, and Lachlan knew it. He was here for improprieties of the worst kind, and he was suddenly beginning to wonder if young Alex MacEwen might have been a better man for the job of her protector.
“I don’t believe you,” the lad said. “And I’ll shoot you if you try to get past me. Go back downstairs.” Alex cocked the hammer.
Lachlan was beginning to grow impatient. “Put the gun down, Alex. I don’t want to hurt you.”
The door to Catherine’s room suddenly swung open on its hinges, and dressed in her shift with a woolen shawl wrapped around her shoulders, she stepped into the corridor.
Eyes blazing with fury, she glanced back and forth between the two of them. “What’s going on here?”
Lachlan gestured with his hand toward Alex. “Go ahead. Answer the question.”
The young clansman cleared his throat. “It’s my duty to protect you, Lady Catherine. I cannot, in good conscience, let this man cross your threshold. You know my reasons.”
Lachlan regarded her with narrowed eyes in the dim candlelight. “You’ve already discussed this with him?”
“Yes,” she confessed, her shoulders dropping in defeat. “Fine. If you must know, he told me today that he saw you leave my tent last night. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was afraid it would influence your decision, and you would stay away.” She turned her ardent gaze to Alex. “But I assured Alex that I was capable of making my own decisions. Isn’t that right?”
“Aye, Lady Catherine.”
“And must I repeat myself again?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.”
Every inch a noblewoman, she did not release him from her bold stare. “If you must know,” she said, “I demanded that Lachlan guard my bed tonight, and I wish for him to stay. If you don’t like it, you will have to point that musket atme, Alex, because my heels are quite firmly dug in on the matter.”
In that strange, awkward moment Lachlan realized he was completely, irreversibly in love with her, and his mind clouded over with unease for the future.
“But Lady Catherine,” Alex argued, “he’s… I don’t know how to say it without causing offense, but…”
“Speak freely, Alex,” she impatiently responded.
The lad swallowed. “He’s a debauched seducer.”
“I beg your pardon?” she said.
It was true. Lachlan could hardly deny it, but he wasn’t about to interrupt. He looked to the young man to explain himself.
“But there’s more. He’scursed, my lady. It’s not safe to be alone with him. You don’t know the half of it.”
Catherine turned her gaze to Lachlan and spoke with confidence. “Idoknow it, Alex. I know all of it, and I also know he would never do anything to jeopardize my safety. He is here, at my request, to protect me.” She turned her eyes back to Alex again. “Have you told anyone else what you saw last night?”
Alex released the hammer and slowly lowered his weapon. “Nay. I would never say anything that would harm your reputation.”
