Highland Heat (15 page)

Amber looked unsure, but she tightened her resolve and shook her head. “I cannae go against me laird’s orders.”

“Surely he did nae spend any of his valuable time talking about what a woman should be wearing.” Deirdre tried to make her voice more cajoling but Amber still frowned at her.

“He did in fact tell me that he believed ye well suited by silks and velvets.” Amber walked quickly across the solar to the bundled fabrics near the sewing table and pointed toward them.

“The laird has even bid me to make everything in the storerooms available for ye if ye find nothing here which ye favor.”

“Fine, show me the storerooms.” It wasn’t that Deirdre wanted to look at fabrics, but she did desire knowledge of how to leave the solar.

Amber smiled, relief showing in her eyes to see her mistress happy once more. Deirdre felt guilt renew its assault on her but for a much different reason now. Berating herself over her lack of control with Quinton was far different than the feeling that was chewing on her now. She’d never had to worry about hurting the feelings of personal servants, for she had never had any. Her father had insisted she and her sisters learn to help one another and not burden the clan by being pampered.

Deirdre felt stifled. The women of the Cameron clan were determined to serve her.

Well, she wouldn’t allow it to choke her.

“I am going to walk.”

Amber smiled, eagerness shining in her eyes. “I’ll be happy to show ye everything, and I know there will be many who will be happy to meet ye. Ye’re the first lady the laird has brought to this solar, so there is a great deal of speculation about ye…”

Amber chattered on while Deirdre followed her through the hallways that made up the castle. She discovered herself interested in hearing about Quinton. She shouldn’t allow the fact that he’d never brought another woman to the beautiful solar to make her feel anything at all and yet, she felt honored to be allowed to use the fine things.

The man was complex. But his people seemed to like him well. The castle itself was a maze of hallways, which connected the towers. Each tower was unique, having been built at different times. The oldest one was a simple, Norman one and it was rustic when compared with the eagle tower. But with the thick walls connecting them all, Drumdeer was a castle that would not fall easily.

Deirdre found the workrooms and kitchens more to her liking and never returned to the eagle tower. Her fine clothing might set her apart but she had been raised to be a competent manager of an estate and she knew every task being performed because she’d done them herself. The cook finally huffed and brought her a huge apron to cover her fine clothing.

The woman watched Deirdre with a critical eye while she helped turn the bread for the evening meal.

“I see yer father had ye taught a thing or two of value.” She declared after a time.

“Aye.”

The cook tilted her head. “I’ve girls who can turn bread a plenty, what I’m needing is help with the books.”

Deirdre dusted her hands on the apron. The books were considered the lady of the house’s duty. Since Quinton’s sister was no longer in residence, the cook would have had to beginning seeing to the written accounting of what was used every day in the kitchens.

The cook pointed toward an archway, and Amber was already grabbing a candleholder.

“It would be a great help for I need to keep an eye on the supper or we’ll all be wearing our teeth down by eating blackened fare.”

There was a note of relief in the cook’s voice that sent Deirdre nodding with agreement. It was a mark of respect that the woman was willing to allow her near the books. Those written accounts were her duty, and one she would suffer for if they were not kept correctly.

Deirdre followed Amber through the doorway and froze when she gained a look at the cluttered table the kitchen accounts were scattered across. Parchments lay on top of one another with the large books meant for keeping the kitchen accounts open on top of it all. Quills were stuck into numerous items—an apple, a wooden bowl, or a plate—to keep them from having their tips destroyed.

“As ye see, I am a better cook than bookkeeper.”

“You shouldn’t have to be both,” Deirdre informed her. “Someone needs to bring it to the attention of the laird that there are duties his sister did which still require attention.”

The cook laughed and so did the five girls peeking through the door frame. A sharp snap from the cook’s fingers sent them all hurrying back to their duties.

“Well now, it seems the position of another lady to be telling the laird what he should be doing. That is nae my place.”

The cook lowered herself but there was a look of relief on her face as she quickly returned to her kitchen.

Deirdre looked at the mess and discovered herself smothering a soft giggle. It would seem she had found a place at Drumdeer.

“Let’s see what sense we can make of this mess, Amber.”

***

“Where is she?”

Quinton didn’t care for how angry he sounded. He wasn’t in the mood to examine his emotions too closely. He turned to glare at Coalan, the silence of the ladies’ solar sending his ire up even more.

“Somewhere in the castle. She did no’ leave.”

“Ye’re certain of that?”

His captain scoffed at him. “In those clothes? Me men had better be sure she did nae get past them.”

Quinton normally had more faith in his men. He didn’t care for the fact that he doubted them now but there was something about not knowing where Deirdre was which made him forget why he was normally so sure of things.

The reason really wasn’t so hard to put his finger on. He’d spent too much time thinking about her during the day when he had important things to focus on. Instead he’d looked up and wondered what she was doing.

Tracking her through his castle became an interesting journey as he heard tales of what she’d helped with. The spinners claimed she knew her way around a spinning wheel, which was no light praise. His cook smiled when she spoke of Deirdre and commented on the fact that she wasn’t easy to fool when it came to how much flour it took to put bread on the tables.

“She spent most of the afternoon in there.”

The cook pointed to the back room and he walked through the archway to see the account books neatly stacked. There was a roll of parchments waiting on one side of the table to be entered into the books but they were contained in a basket to keep them from spreading across the tabletop.

“The lady took the books in hand, and I’m right grateful for it,” the cook announced.

Quinton turned to look at the woman. “I suppose I should have recalled that my sister was seeing to the account books.”

The cook lowered herself. “Ye’ve more important matters to be concerned with than women’s duties.”

He caught sight of several maids looking around the doorway and noticed that the kitchen was utterly silent. His people were waiting to see what he’d say about Deirdre doing a task normally reserved for the laird’s family.

The fact that the cook had allowed her near the books said the woman respected Deirdre.

Quinton discovered himself grinning as he absorbed the fact that Deirdre Chattan was no pampered laird’s daughter. He found the knowledge sitting quite comfortably on his shoulders.

“Yer faith is well placed,” he announced before quitting the kitchens to search for Deirdre once more.

When he found her at last, it was in one of the older towers near a set of kitchens used only when there were guests. The rest of the time, it was where the musicians gathered at the end of the day to play tunes on their instruments. The younger folks danced in the center of the room while enough older Cameron people sat on the benches to make the gathering respectable. One of the hearths had a fire laid in it and Deirdre was illuminated by its light. Her silk velvet overrobe shone like a fine jewel as she sipped mulled cider from a common wood mug and nodded her head in time with the music.

When the dance ended and another began, a lad offered her his hand in spite of Amber shaking her head at him. Quinton watched, realizing he was very interested in seeing what she’d do when she didn’t realize he was watching.

***

Deirdre shook her head, refusing the offer to dance. The young Cameron man looked disappointed but she didn’t regret her choice.

She was becoming frustrated with the way she compared every man to Quinton. She was acting the fool to do such a thing. Quinton Cameron had received what he wanted from her. Allowing herself to dwell upon him was sure to led her to heartache and disappointment when the man wed himself an heiress.

But she refused the next offer to dance and then another one.

“Do nae ye care for dancing?”

She jumped, her body responding instantly to Quinton Cameron’s voice. A ripple of awareness went across her skin, even before she turned to look at him. His grin was too smug for her taste, a glint of victory in his eyes which rubbed her temper because the brute obviously believed she was waiting for him.

“I was just waiting for a man I truly wanted to dance with.”

“Is that a fact?” His grin became a wide smile.

Deirdre sat her mug aside. “It is. Coalan, will ye partner me?”

The captain had his hand out instantly but he frowned making her think it had simply been reflex that saw him responding to her invitation. Deirdre didn’t allow him to rethink his position but placed her hand in his and gripped his fingers when he began to withdraw it. She pulled the half resisting man toward the forming dance set and smiled at him.

That only gained her a frown from him but he moved in time with the country dance. Coalan abandoned her the moment the last notes were finished, giving her a quick pull on his bonnet before he hurried away from her. But one of the younger men who had tried to get her to dance stepped up and partnered her for the next dance.

The music was lively and the dances put sweat on her forehead. Her thigh ached but she laughed because it felt good to move. But her partner suddenly disappeared when she turned in time and she came back around to face Quinton. He offered her a cocksure grin as he took to chasing her up and down the set in time with the music. His people began to hoot and encourage him with loud clapping. It was only a dance and yet she discovered herself more breathless than she should have been. He caught her up against his wide chest and swung her around in the correct finishing motions of the dance but she felt like it was the first time she’d ever been embraced. Her senses were full of him, the way he smelled, the way he held her against him with just the right amount of pressure.

She stumbled when he set her back on her feet and the room filled with laughter. Her face flooded with color and she offered him a quick courtesy before dashing off and out of the room.

“I see ye do enjoy dancing for ye’re blushing.”

Deirdre bit back the gasp that tried to escape her lips. She walked farther out into the night, feeling exposed in the light.

“It’s warm inside. Spring has truly arrived,” she muttered in a sweet tone that even Kaie would have approved of. Quinton lifted one eyebrow and offered her an expression that no doubt he’d used at court when circumstances forced him to appear mild.

“I’m feeling it quite keenly myself.”

His tone became wicked and she fought the urge to laugh. “Behave,” she muttered but it was the truth that she wished he wouldn’t.

“Why should I?”

She propped her hands on her hips. “Ye are intent on being naughty.”

“Lads are naughty, I’m a man grown.”

She turned and began walking. The darkness suited her mood suddenly. “I’ve noticed.”

He chuckled, the sound soft and enticing when coupled with the shadows. “Good. But I confess I would have enjoyed proving the fact to ye if ye’d declared me a liar for saying it.”

He suddenly captured her hand in the dark. She felt the connection between their flesh travel up her arm leaving goose bumps along the way.

“Come lass, let’s disappear into the night shadows before Coalan takes his eyes off young Amber long enough to notice I’ve given him the slip.”

“Now ye sound like a lad.”

“Nae lass. When I was a lad, I thought having so much attention was something to envy.”

She couldn’t suppress a short laugh.

He grinned at her and pulled her gently up a set of stairs and then into a hallway. Their steps echoed between the stone walls but only because everything else was so silent. It was the time when the church preached against going out of doors for the demons and witches were at play.

Of course, it was also the time when lovers met. Her cheeks warmed as she felt the sure grip of the man she’d been unable to resist.

Lover…

“Do nae slow down… Coalan knows me better than I know myself at times.”

Quinton sounded as eager as a boy on his way to ride his favorite horse between study sessions. He tugged her up a set of stairs and across a section of wall before going through a doorway into a small courtyard.

He sighed when he’d succeeded in pulling her into the center of it. The moon wasn’t quite high enough to illuminate it yet but there was enough light from the stars to show her small patches of greenery. She could smell the rosemary and heather and a bird bath stood off to one side, its water appearing glassy in the night.

“Running away from yer captains… is that yer game, Laird Cameron?”

“It is and I’d appreciate if ye’d play along and dispense with the titles.”

He stretched out his arms and leaned his head back. She heard a few pops before he straightened back up with a low groan. “Do nae mistake me, Coalan is an excellent man but there are times when I need to breathe.” His voice sounded tired but also relaxed. She actually felt privileged to be sharing the moment with him.

“And ye do nae get many of those now that ye are laird and earl?”

He shrugged. “I understand why and expect ye do too.”

“Aye, my father is never alone.” It was necessary since more than one clan had a reason to plot the murder of a fellow laird.

“I doubt ye were allowed to be either.”