Page 14 of The Ruthless Laird's Virgin
Never trust a soul.
The memory of his father’s betrayal by the vicious Stewart Kincaid echoed in his mind as the horse drew into the courtyard in front of the castle.
Several men who had been shoveling hay onto a cart stopped and gawked at him as if they had seen a ghost. One man even made the sign of the cross over his chest and forehead as he muttered something that sounded like a prayer under his breath.
Iain Kerr was the first to come running down the stone steps as the horse came to a stop in front of the castle. “Me laird, it is good to have ye back,” Iain said, his sandy blonde hair flopping to the side and in much need of a trim. His dark green eyes followed Eleanor as Callum climbed down and helped her from the saddle. He was shorter and thinner than Callum, but not by much.
“Aye, it is good to be back home, and I have brought a wife back with me. This is Eleanor Whitacker,” Callum said as he placed her firmly on her feet.
Bowing respectfully, Iain came back up and smiled at her. “Welcome to Castle Fraser, Eleanor. We shall do our best to make ye comfortable.”
Callum noticed at once how she smiled at him, far more at ease than she had been in his own presence. A pang of jealousy took hold of his chest, but he quickly pushed it aside when Bran jumped up to lick his face, his thin, long legs reaching Callum’s shoulders. “Down boy, it is good to see ye too.” Callum laughed,forgetting his former thoughts as he petted the dog’s scruffy head.
Bran’s bright red tongue flopped to the side of his mouth as he turned his head to look at Eleanor with a wag of his tail.
Traitor.
Callum thought as he pushed the dog down and addressed Iain directly. “Call a council meeting at once. I will need to address the members and tell them of our plan.”
Iain nodded. “Aye, me Laird.”
“But before ye do that, find Marion and tell her to settle the new lady of the castle into her chambers. She will be needin’ a rest after our journey.” His eyes moved over Eleanor and the dust that had settled over her cloak and dress.
She had been wearing that same dress for four days, save for the nights when Fiona had given her something warmer to sleep in. He had taken the bed in the cabin while she and Fiona had slept side by side on a pile of hay. The situation had irked him at first, but the healer had insisted due to his injuries.
“And make sure her chambers are beside me own. She needs new clothes and anythin’ else she needs...” he barked at Iain in passing, assuaging some of his guilt for the nights on the floor and the almost fall.
They both followed him up the stairs as eyes marked their path. There would not be a soul in the castle who would not know that he had returned, and by nightfall, his enemies would surely know too.
Good.
He squared his shoulders and entered his castle.
Let them come.
CHAPTER SIX
Looking around the stone foyer of Castle Fraser, Eleanor took in the sounds of the distant chatter, banging in the courtyard, and even laughter. Wooden torches flickered in iron sconces on the walls, filling the air with a unique scent of hot iron.
Her senses were nearly overwhelmed as she smelled the faint hint of damp in the air. The hall around them was quiet, almost too quiet, as everyone seemed to be avoiding them. A few maids lingered about, but quickly moved away whenever Callum, who stood talking to the man he had called Iain, glared at them.
They thought he was dead.
Everything she was seeing, hearing, and even smelling felt far too overwhelming. She was used to the quiet comfort of her family home in Edinburgh. There were always fires blazing, and nobody ever avoided her.
Eleanor grounded herself, recalling the reason she had come to the castle. She needed to keep a clear head if she was to find Andrew. Nothing else mattered, not even how she felt, when the end goal was to ensure her brother’s safety.
“I am sorry to keep ye waitin’, me Laird.” A short, friendly-looking young woman with light red hair and a freckled face came hurrying forward. She curtsied to Callum before turning to Eleanor with a welcoming smile and a twinkle in her light green eyes. Her cheeks were round and plump with the fullness of youth, and the corners of her eyes crinkled slightly whenever she smiled.
“This is yer maid, Marion. She will show ye to yer chambers. Ye can wash before supper.” Callum barked before stomping off and not sparing a second look in her direction.
It amazed her how cold and calculated he could be, while there had been a moment on the moors when she had thought he had been teasing her.
Heat crept up the back of her neck as she thought of the ride to the castle and how his thighs had rubbed against hers. There had also been a brief touch where his hands had rested over hers, creating that same delicious knotting feeling in the pit of her stomach that she had felt in the cabin.
I have to be careful.
She reminded herself of the reason she had come to the castle and why she could not afford to be distracted. Andrew was still missing.
