Page 16 of The Highlander's Alluring Spy
He smiled despite his skepticism. Magnolia really did care for his daughter. He almost let himself get distracted by it until he glanced at the thick book in her hand and saw how she moved it ever so slightly behind her back. His suspicions raised once more. “What’s that?”
“A book, My Laird,” she said, a slight bite to her still deferential tone. She moved it further behind her back, confirming only that he was right to suspect. “If you’ll excuse me.”
She pushed past him, but he spun and caught her arm. Whatever she was doing, this was his castle, and he needed to know. Now.
“I didnae excuse ye, actually. What book?” he demanded. He could hear a rough edge to his words, but he didn’t care. He just needed her to answer. He needed to be able to trust her. He was entrusting her with his daughter!
She wrenched her arm free, glaring at him. “What does it matter? Am I not free to read what I wish on my day off?”
He folded his arms as if letting her go had been his idea. “Och, aye, but it’s nae exactly customary to ignore the Laird when he’s askin’ ye a question. I am yer employer if ye recall.”
Her cheeks went pink, but she didn’t seem embarrassed. In fact, she looked offended at what Nathair had said, and it showed in her voice. “You do not need toquestionme, My Laird. Or have I not already proven my loyalty to my job and to your daughter? Only yesterday, I risked—”
“Dinnae gi’e me that!” he snapped. “Dinnae ye throw Elaine in me face like that. I told ye already, ye’ve got me eternal gratitude for what ye did for me bairn. That disnae mean yer exempt fae the rest o’ the castle rules. Yer still my employee, Miss Leighmoore, an—”
“What happened toMagnolia?”Her temper had definitely flared now. The sting in her voice had turned into something sharper, and he was surprised by the heat he felt radiating from her as she stepped closer to him in anger. Even more surprising to realize was that it wasn’t all just rage.
He stared down at her. “What are ye talkin’ about?” he asked, his throat suddenly dry.
She scowled. “You were happy to call me by my name yesterday. Was that just some sort of reward?” She let out a disgusted huff. “I suppose as a nanny, I’m too low for youresteemedattention, given how you have barely said a word to me since I got here!”
He gaped at her wordlessly. She took the opportunity to turn on her heel and storm toward the door in a fury. She tried to leave, but he took a few bounds so that he was next to her. He grabbed her, pinning her against the door. Her back was to the wood, and her head tilted up, her blue eyes wide, and her pretty pink lips slightly parted as she stared up at him.
All he could hear in the world was the sound of his own heart pounding, much more quickly than it should.Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump.
Is hers doing the same?
He gulped silently, though he didn’t let the sudden change in his mood show on his face. His whole being tensed, and he could feel his heart thrumming in his chest, his blood rushing around his body so hard he could almost hear its sound in his ears. It had been more than four years since he’d been this close to a woman, any woman.
Nobody since Catrina had been pinned against a door by his arms, staring up into his eyes with mingled submissiveness and excitement. Nobody but she had been fully enthralled by the game they played where the Laird took his woman as his own.
Magnolia’s eyes widened as he stared into them. He could feel her watching as his gaze traveled from her eyes and down her long, pretty neck, to the neckline of her dress, stopping just north of the bodice.
Only Catrina had waited for him to inch his fingers down her bodice, hike her skirt up slowly with his knees, claim every part of her as his family had once claimed the land. The two of them had always started just like this, standing just as he stood with Magnolia now, and all he’d do was lower his lips to hers and—
But Magnolia was not Catrina. Even more, she was his employee, and she was behaving suspiciously.
I need to stop this. I need to stop it immediately.
He blinked a few times to clear his head and lowered one of his hands carefully to take the book from her. He backed off, his eyes not leaving her until there was a safe distance between them, then looked at what he’d taken.
It was an old book, but its leather binding was in pristine condition, mostly because it was the kind of book nobody wanted to read. It was filled with diagrams and blather about the building of the castle, the closed-off passages, the dungeons, and gardens. A whole lot of technical nonsense that was best left to the builders.
A right strange choice for a young woman. It is a right peculiar choice for anyone, really.
She looked at him without any shame or guilt, her cheeks still pink with anger, as he flipped through the pages. What would she want with something like this?
I feel meself fallin’ asleep just glancin’ through it. How on God’s green earth was she plannin’ on readin’ it?
He snapped the book closed. “I’ll be keeping this,” he grumbled in a low voice. He couldn’t imagine what Magnolia was doing with it, but he didn’t want her to just walk away with it. If nothing else, it would be embarrassing after the scene he just created.
She glared at him. “Do what you like, My Laird,” she said tightly, then turned and left the library.
He stared after her, then down at the book.
Just what, exactly, is this strange English girl tryin’ to hide?
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