Page 8 of A Highlander for the English Widow

The way he had acted around the girl, though… Was this aura of protection simply something that was borne from his duty as a laird, or was there something more? He was of a mature age, having shaken off the freshness of a boy a long time ago by the look of him. She was the same. Life had a way of eroding the innocent, lush youth of a person with all its rigors and trials. What trials had affected him? What sorrows had plagued his heart? She found herself intrigued by his mystery in a way that she had not been intrigued by a man for a long time. Even though she had not enjoyed her marriage, she had still remained faithful to her vows and wanted to be the most ideal wife possible without giving Hamilton any further reason for complaint other than the fact that she could not provide him with a child. That did not mean that she did not feel the same stirrings that other women felt or the same longing for company. Although she loved the Highlands, the nights could be lonesome, and her errant heart made her think about what Logan would be like to court.

Amanda had not put much thought into entering another romance yet. For one, she knew that people would talk, and while the talk of people had never much bothered her, she was always aware that she should not do things to provoke any gossip. She was still grieving, or supposed to be, and it would be improper for her to be seen with a man. But after the grieving period was over, well, what then? She glanced down at her bare finger, the one that had been covered for too long by a golden wedding ring. She had become accustomed to the habit of stroking her ring with her thumb. It was strange to feel nothing there anymore, and it was a reminder that she was free of the vows she had made to Hamilton. There was truly nothing stopping her from beginning a new life and even giving her heart to another man if she so chose, but would she?

After Hamilton she wondered if men were too much trouble than they were worth. Her heart had been through rough seas, and she did not want to torment it further. It would have been far easier for her to remain alone, as she had grown used to over the last number of years.

But then there were moments when her lips yearned for a kiss, or her arms craved the warm feeling of another, or when her mind needed stimulating and she simply wanted some intelligent and lively conversation. She thought to herself that she was becoming naïve again, just as she had been when she was a girl, always dreaming of the perfect man to come riding into her life with charm and grace and an open heart. She had been proven a fool once before, and to make the same mistake again would have been shameful.

She pulled her thoughts away from Logan and the rest of this sorry business, trying to focus on the girl. She was a beautiful little thing, with wide doe eyes, curly hair, and a face the shape of the moon. She was inquisitive, although this might have been due to her skittishness as well. Her eyes darted around wildly as though it was impossible for them to settle on anything. She remained close to Amanda, never straying a footstep away.

Amanda walked a little slower than usual to ensure that the child could keep up. Whatever had happened to her had traumatized her to a great degree, and although Amanda did try and coax a few words out of her, the girl remained silent. She didn’t even smile when Amanda pointed out the beauty and wonder of the forest.

It didn’t take them long to reach the keep, thankfully. It rose from the surrounding area, a grey slab amongst the lush greens and browns of the forest. Its windows were slitted, suspicious eyes that gazed warily out to anyone who approached. The doors were high and wide. When closed, it would have taken a battering ram and a hundred men to break through. Amanda’s estate was open and elegant, built gracefully to show off wealth and prosperity where anyone might be free to wander in. Not so with this keep. It was built for function, with not a brick wasted on style. It was foreboding and safe but loomed over them and cast a chilling shadow. If Amanda had not been with Logan, she would have been intimidated.

The girl certainly was.

“It’s going to be fine. You’re going to be safe here,” Amanda said, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. The girl still winced whenever anyone went near her. “We’re going to get that cut looked at, and you can have a nice meal and a drink as well.” Amanda wore a wide smile as she spoke, hoping that the girl would soon come to realize that the danger had passed, at least for the moment.

Logan strode into the keep after hammering on the doors. Two guards were there. One of them spoke to him casually about the market, but Logan was in no mood for chatter. He marched past them abruptly. Amanda flashed the guards a quick smile. They looked surprised to see her but asked no questions. The girl seemed awed by being in the keep with its dim walls and dark light. Lanterns were lit at intermittent intervals, providing halos of light that spread together and only left narrow shadows. Still, the girl moved even closer to Amanda.

Their footsteps echoed through the keep. A few servants appeared, but Logan ignored them all, aside from ordering them to find Deirdre. They rushed away, but it wasn’t quick enough for Logan, who then bellowed Deirdre’s name at the top of his lungs as if to summon her from a deep abyss. And, indeed, within moments she appeared. She was a ruddy-faced woman with straggling hair and a stern look on her face. Wrinkles lined her face, and she walked with a slight stoop yet somehow maintained an intimidating aura.

“What are ye yelling at me for? Haenae I told ye before that just because ye are a man now doesnae give ye the right tae shout at me like a misbehaving cat? Now if this is about yer da⁠—”

“It’s nae about him,” Logan interrupted, and then he stepped aside, revealing the cowering form of the girl. Deirdre’s expression softened and she sighed.

“What hae ye gotten yerself intae now?” she muttered under her breath.

“I dinnae know who did this, but the cut keeps bleeding. I dinnae know if there are any other wounds. Can ye see tae her?” Logan asked.

Amanda found it interesting how he asked Deirdre to look at the child rather than demanding it.

“Aye, I’ll see that she’s well. Come on then, ye wee thing,” Deirdre said, and turned, expecting the girl to follow her. The girl did not move. Amanda smiled apologetically at Deirdre and then bent down so that she was at eye level with the girl.

“Nothing bad is going to happen to you here. This is a safe place. Logan and I are just going to be right out here waiting for you, but you need to go with Deirdre because she can help take the pain away. You’ll feel much better afterwards, I promise, and then we can see about getting you that meal and a nice drink,” Amanda said.

She gently pulled the girl’s hands away and led her to Deidre, and thankfully the girl did not protest. Amanda breathed a sigh of relief as Deirdre led her away, and she leaned against a wall for support. At least the girl will have some proper care, she thought. Hopefully the wound was only skin-deep and would not need too much in the way of treatment. But the question still remained: Who had done this, and why? What possible reason could anyone have for harming a child?

Sometimes the world simply did not make sense to Amanda—or not the world so much, but rather the people in it.

6

Logan watched Deirdre and the girl walk away, disappearing up the stairs to Deirdre’s chambers, where the healer had all of her concoctions and ointments and herbs. He turned to see Amanda leaning against a wall. Her dress was covered in blood where the girl had pressed herself against the fabric. Dark scarlet smears were lashed all over Amanda’s clothes, and it made a lump form in Logan’s throat. There was a pulsing thought in his mind, and he tried to shake away the feeling but was unable to do so.

“Ye can gae if ye want, Amanda. The girl is safe now,” Logan said, unsure if he was telling her this for her sake or his own. The uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach just would not go away.

Amanda furrowed her brow and looked offended that he would suggest such a thing.

“I’m not going anywhere. You’ve seen how that girl is. How do you think she’s going to react if she comes out and finds that I am not here? I don’t know quite why she has made a bond with me, but clearly she feels safe with me around, and I am not going to jeopardize that. After all, just because she is going to be healed does not mean that she’s going to feel comfortable enough to talk. I might still be needed. Besides, I would like to see for myself just how talented your healer is.”

“Deirdre will see that she recovers well. She is the best in the land,” Logan said. “Would ye at least like a change of clothes?”

He noticed the way Amanda looked down at her dress, as though she hadn’t realized the state of the clothes until this moment. She gasped a little but then had that resolute look on her face again, the one that Logan was becoming well accustomed to.

“I think I shall be fine, thank you. I don’t wish to go anywhere in case the girl needs me,” Amanda said, speaking with fierce emotions as though the girl was her own child.

As it happened, she did not need to fear being missing when the girl returned, as she was gone for a while. Logan sent for some drink and a bit of food to tide them over, and he was glad when Amanda did not refuse his offerings. She was not stubborn in all things, after all. It still struck him as odd that a duchess, even a former duchess, would do all this for a random child on the streets. It occurred to him that he had not given Amanda her proper respect and that perhaps he should have made more of an effort to speak with her during the years she had been in the area.

“Ye dae hae a way with her. Are ye like that with all children?” he asked, intending for it to be a compliment, but he noticed how she stiffened.