Susana and the Scot (10 page)

“Oh, dear God.” Susana clutched at her breast. “I told her not to go there. I forbade her…”

“You forbade her?” Magnus chuckled. “There was your mistake. Since when has Isobel ever obeyed anyone?”

“I'm her mother. She obeys me.”

The chuckle became a bark of laughter. Susana glowered at her father and tossed her serviette onto the table. “Where is she? Where is that girl?”

Magnus shrugged. “I think she said something about hunting rabbits.”

Susana blew out a breath. In a nod to decorum, she forced something like a smile at the men around the table and said, “Please do excuse me. I must go find my daughter.”

Seeing his chance, when she stood, Andrew did as well. “I'll accompany you,” he said.

When Hamish leaped to his feet and parroted, “Yes. We'll come with you,” Andrew nearly kicked him.

Susana's face scrunched up. “You doona need to come.”

“Nonsense. We were hoping to tour the castle and the outlying lands with you today anyway. We'll help you find your daughter and then, perhaps, you can show us around.”

She placed her hands flat on the table and leaned in. “I doona need any help from you.” That she nearly spat the words didn't dissuade him. In fact, it spurred him on. Ach, she was a maddening woman. He wanted nothing more than to spend the day in her company.

And, if he was lucky, steal another kiss.

*   *   *

He was not lucky.

As Susana stormed from the castle, he and Hamish scuttled to keep up. She gusted a sigh when she saw a tall man passing through the bailey. He had the look of a warrior about him; Andrew recognized the well-honed muscles, the swagger in his walk, and the predatory expression on his face.

He also recognized the intensity in his eyes when they lit on Susana. And Andrew didn't care for it.

This man was obviously interested in her.

Then again, what man wouldn't be?

She seemed far too pleased to see him. “Ah, there you are, Keir,” she warbled.

He bowed. “My lady.”

“Have you met Hamish Robb and … Andrew Lochlannach?” She waved in their general direction although, Andrew noticed, she didn't bother to look at him. “They've come from Dunnet to oversee our defenses.” She attempted a cheerful tone, but failed. “Keir is my captain of the guard.”

Keir greeted them with a friendly smile, but Andrew could detect the reserve behind the mask. When his gaze landed on Andrew it stalled. His eyes narrowed and his scrutiny intensified. For some reason, he frowned. He flicked a glance at Susana and then forced another smile, although this one wasn't friendly in the slightest. “Welcome,” he said.

“They were hoping for a tour of the grounds,” she said meaningfully.

Keir pressed his lips together. “Och, I would love to offer you a tour,” he said. “Perhaps later?”

“Why not now?” A simple question.

Keir blanched. He glanced at Susana. “I … ah…”

“We're busy,” she said.

“Aye. Verra busy.”

Andrew crossed his arms. “Perhaps we can help with your … busy.”

Hamish leaned in with a grin. “We're trained men. We're quite accomplished at … busy.”

“Naturally.” Keir's tone was dry. Clearly, he wasn't impressed by this boast. “However, you've come at a verra busy time. Perhaps tomorrow?”

Aggravation gored Andrew. It was clear they intended to put him off—perhaps indefinitely. This would not do. Not at all. He was determined to learn as much as he could, as quickly as possible, so he could analyze their defenses and make the necessary changes. He was determined not to fail his brother in this.

Perhaps it was time for a little prevarication of his own. “Ach, I understand,” he said. He clapped Keir on the shoulder. “Not to worry. As you are too busy, my men and I shall … explore on our own.”

Susana blanched at that. Her gaze flew to Keir's.

His lips flapped. “Well … I suppose I could arrange a
brief
tour today.”

Andrew tried not to smirk, but failed. “A brief tour would be helpful. And then, tomorrow, we can discuss the defenses in more detail.” He offered this to Susana. Her only response was a frown.

“Of course.” Though Keir appeared all things genial, a muscle ticked in his cheek.

“Well then,” Susana gusted. “I leave you in good hands.” She whirled and headed for the stables. Without a word, the men watched her retreat, escape perhaps. Andrew could only hope the others weren't thinking the same thoughts whirling in his head.

How much he would enjoy turning her over his knee and smacking that lush bottom.

*   *   *

Keir's tour of the castle was brief indeed. One could call it cursory. One could also call it a waste of time. But Andrew took from it what he needed. He and his men would fill in the rest of it on their own.

They began with a tour of the bailey, though it was very much like the bailey at Lochlannach Castle and Andrew had figured that much out for himself. What interested him were the things that were different, and disturbingly so.

“This is the armory,” Keir said, waving in the vague direction of a long low building set against the castle walls. “And the training grounds.” The lists were old, but in good repair, with archery butts and a fenced area for battle practice, much like the one they had in Dunnet. There were, however, no men training. “And these are the battlements.” Keir gestured to the ramparts. Again, much like those in Dunnet, and again unmanned.

“Do you not have men stationed up there?” It seemed to Andrew there should be at least a pair of them in the turret, where they could see far and wide.

Keir frowned at him. “They're on rotating shifts.”

Andrew and Hamish exchanged a glance. For a castle that had recently suffered raids and betrayal, they seemed woefully unprotected. And where were they? All the men under Keir's command? Andrew didn't see much evidence of them anywhere.

“Tell me about your troops,” Andrew asked.

“Our troops?” Why Keir frowned so, he had no idea.

“How many do you have? What is their training level?”

“They are verra well trained,” Keir said.

“Are they dedicated to defense?”

“Well, no. They are tacksmen and blacksmiths. Farmers.”

“Hmm.” Hamish stroked his beard. “So during the planting season and the harvest your defenses are down?”

It was exactly what Andrew was thinking. No matter the season, there needed to men dedicated to the watch. Trained men.

Keir forced a smile, but it didn't meet his eyes. “Naturally we have a plan to backfill during the harvest.” He didn't elaborate on what that was, and Andrew didn't ask because he knew the answer would be unsatisfactory. He made a mental note to include increased training and rotations in his plan.

Once they had reviewed the castle strategies, they set out to tour the land surrounding the castle. Keir showed them the apiary and the orchard to the west and the bustling town of Ciaran Reay to the north. He shared bits of information here and there, but nothing truly useful, and he danced around far too many questions altogether.

By the end of their tour, Andrew was mightily displeased.

“Well, what did you think of that?” Hamish asked as they made their way back to the kennels.

Andrew frowned. “A waste of time.”

“My sentiments exactly. Either Keir doesna know what he's doing, or his goal is to weaken the defenses, not shore them up.”

“Or—and this is the most likely explanation—he was simply wasting our time.”

Hamish chuckled. “I got that feeling, too. It doesna make sense, though. Why would they fob us off when we've come to help them?”

Andrew had a clue and it all boiled down to the resentment of a certain redheaded virago … who didn't want to give up the reins. What he needed to do was show her how much more effective their fortifications could be if she allowed men who knew what they were doing to design their plan of defense. “I doona think working with Keir will be verra useful.”

Hamish narrowed his eyes. “What are you suggesting?”

“I'm suggesting we do just as we threatened earlier, and explore on our own. And in the meantime, I think I'm going to have a little chat with Magnus.” If Susana wasn't going to work with him, he was going to have to work around her. No doubt her father would be more than happy to provide him with the information he needed.

With a grin, he made his way to the castle to find the laird of the manor.

 

CHAPTER SIX

Susana stared at her inventory list and then studied the stores. She tried not to grimace. They had plenty of mutton and ham in the smoke room, but with the influx of men from Dunnet, they would need more. Especially if they would be staying for any length of time. She sighed and made a note for Tamhas. They'd need to bring more vegetables up from the root cellar as well.

She set her teeth as she thought of him, the stone in her shoe, the niggling gnat who wouldn't leave her in peace. It had probably been cowardly of her to pass Andrew off on Keir. Keir hardly deserved such punishment. But she'd had one conversation with that impossible man that morning and had reached her limit.

Her day hadn't gone any better after she'd left him. There was a leak in the roof of the smithy, the wheel at the mill had cracked, and two of their crofters were embroiled in a feud over a pig. To make things worse, she hadn't been able to find Isobel.

This was hardly something new. Isobel was known to disappear for hours on end, either hunting with her friends or running amok in town. But today it was an annoyance, because Susana really wanted to talk to her daughter and remind her to stay away from Andrew.

The thought of the two of them spending any time together made her stomach churn.

She shivered. The storeroom was beneath ground and cool, but that was probably not what sent a shiver through her.

Damn the man, he was exasperating.

“Susana.”

She started as his voice surrounded her, as though she had summoned him with her wayward thoughts.

She spun, clutching her list to her chest, though it couldn't protect her. Nothing could.

He leaned against the doorjamb—so tall he blotted out the light—and crossed his arms over his chest. His grin was annoying. Everything about him was. The way the muscles in his arms bunched, the way his chest flexed, the taper of his waist … “What are you doing here?” she snapped.

“Just looking around.”

She stepped deeper into the room—away from him—and pretended to count ham hocks. “You already had a tour.”

“It was not … satisfying.”

“Wasn't it?” She forbore a sniff. Likely Keir had taken her meaning and given them a perfunctory tour.

“Nae. It wasna.” He stepped closer. She could feel him, smell him. She pretended to count faster. “You werena there.”

She blew out a breath. Though he came around to her side, she didn't look at him. “You dinna need me there.”

“Nae. But I wanted you.”

Her heart clenched. Those words, those words alone, scuttled all thought.

She forced her spine to stiffen; forced her defenses to rise up. He was irresistible, aye, but she needed to resist him. She had to. That kiss, yesterday, had nearly swept her back six years in time, nearly made her stupid and naive once more. She couldn't allow herself to be seduced again. Especially by a man who obviously seduced so many women, he couldn't remember them all.

Still, his presence at her side befuddled her. His gaze on her face burned. She cleared her throat and fought for distance. “Keir is verra thorough.”

His chuckle rang through the room.

She whirled on him. “He is.”

“I'm glad you have such faith in him.”

Something in his expression caught her attention. She frowned. “Why do you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“As though my faith is misplaced? Keir is a loyal and dependable man. He's served Dounreay for years.”

Andrew's expression firmed. “I'm sure that is the case. And I'm also sure the tour was anything but thorough. However, even given that, Hamish and I found some elements seriously lacking. I have some suggestions I would like to present to you.”

God he was irritating. The tilt of his head, that pretense of deference. As though he had any intention of letting her retain any power whatsoever. “Suggestions?”

“For one, I think there should be men on the walls at all times—”

“We need the men for patrols. We doona have enough to assign them to the walls.”

“You do now.” He stepped closer. “With my men. And your troops should be training regularly, in a designated rotation, not just when they wish to do so.”

“We hardly have time for that.”

“You should make time. Keir explained that many of your fighting men are farmers and tacksmen. Merchants.”

“And?”

“And, if those men find themselves in a battle with hardened soldiers, they will appreciate the extra training.”

Damn it. She wasn't sure what enraged her the most, the fact that he was presumptuous enough to tell her how to defend her land, or the fact that he was right. “Can we discuss this later?” She gestured to the mutton. “I'm busy.”

“I see that.” His eyes glimmered.

“I need to figure out how I'm going to feed all your men.”

“They can hunt.”

She glowered. “I canna have our forests decimated.”

“According to your father, the forests are teeming with game. However, if you are concerned, I will send a letter to Alexander asking him to send supplies. We had no idea you were in such dire straits.” He glanced meaningfully around the room, filled to the brim with meat.

She frowned at him. Tapped her foot. “They
are
his men.”