Page 17 of A Virgin for the Highland Beast
A sharp knock at the door snagged him from the precipice of his thoughts.
“What?” Hunter snapped as the door creaked open wider.
“M’Laird, the lasses are settled in the west wing,” Archie’s voice echoed in the room, a sense of concern tingeing his tone.
“Aye, fine,” Hunter said, waving his hand to dismiss him.
Hunter didn’t care where the girls stayed. It could have been the stables and it still wouldn’t have mattered.
He didn’t want to care about them, yet Emma’s story rang a hard bell in his head, playing a haunting melody he couldn’t shake. He couldn’t believe that her life was so similar to his own.
“Do ye think we should station a guard near their rooms?” Archie asked, stepping further into the study.
“Why? Do ye think they pose a threat?”
Hunter’s gaze hardened at the thought. He understood Archie’s position on the matter. The girls, after all, were strangers.
But the last thing he wanted was to make them feel as if they were his prisoners, unable to roam freely about the castle. A chill raced down his spine, thinking of all the years when a guard was stationed outside his cell.
“They’re lasses,” Archie said with a slight chuckle. “How much harm could they do?”
The pros and cons warred in Hunter’s mind. While it could offer him valuable insights about the girls, it could also ruin his marriage prospects, should they find out.
“Then there’s nay need for a guard, aye? Besides I dinnae think that will sit well wit’ them if I’m tryin’ to wed one and keepin’ a guard hoverin’ around them as well. For now, they’re to be treated as our guests.” Hunter’s voice was resolute. “I promised them sanctuary, and that’s what they’ll receive. Ensure they are comfortable and unharmed.”
“Aye, suppose ye’ll want to make a good impression on them,” Archie said.
Hunter let out a huff and shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ve somehow already messed that bit up,” he said.
“If they arenae comfortable wit’ yer mask, maybe ye can charm them,” Archie suggested, trying to rally Hunter’s spirits.
“’Tis nae the mask,” Hunter said, turning back to his reflection in the window, allowing his fingertips to lightly brush over the leather mask. “Seems they’ve already had a run-in wit’ me before.”
Hunter saw Archie’s shocked expression in the reflection and turned to face him.
“Have they, now? And when did this take place?” Archie asked.
“The thing is, it never happened,” Hunter answered.
The confusion on Archie’s face magnified as his eyebrows crowded the bridge of his nose.
“I’m nae followin’ ye, M’Laird,” Archie said as Hunter moved from the window to his desk and plopped down.
“The lass that was in here, Emma, she mentioned how she and her clan believe I killed her braither. The thing is, I never met the lad, nor do I remember her family comin’ here.”
“Did she say when all this took place?” Archie asked.
“Nay, just that it must have happened around the time I was…” Hunter paused as a wave of anger ripped through him. Even the mere thought of his time in that prison sent ice flowing through his veins. “She thinks I killed him and that’s why I left.”
“Surely her family would have told her a different story,” Archie said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Hunter glanced at him. “Her parents never made it back to their home to tell her anythin’,” he added. “She’s had this preconceived notion about me for years.”
Archie’s lips curled as he held back the laugh bubbling within him. Hunter’s eyes narrowed as he leaned back in his seat, clearly unamused by his friend’s lack of understanding.
“What’s so amusin’ to ye?” Hunter’s voice turned deadly as he glared at Archie.
The moment Archie picked up on Hunter’s hostility, he cleared his throat and dropped his smile. “Me faither was right,” he said. “Stranded damsels arriving unannounced often bring trouble in their wake. Seems to me like they just dropped a cannonball right on our front yard.”
