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C ampbell watched the lass scurry away, unease filling him. He hadn’t expected her to be present at the morning meal or ask him about the incident so casually in front of his clansmen, who had been unprepared to see a strange woman sitting beside their Laird.

“What did she want?” Magnus asked from beside him.

Campbell would eventually tell them that he would wed, but until then, he wanted to be sure he wasn’t making a terrible mistake by allying himself with Clan MacLennan. He heard the whispers and caught the questioning glances, but continued his meal as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Until he came to a decision, he wanted no one to be aware of what he had proposed to Mabel.

“‘Tis nothin’, Magnus,” he replied, waving a dismissive hand.

“I ken ye, Me Laird,” Magnus drawled. “Ye look like ye just ate a lemon.”

“I might have made a mistake.”

Campbell made sure to keep his voice low, as there were prying eyes and ears everywhere. He didn’t need anyone to know what he had done until he had decided fully.

“What do ye mean?”

He had been troubled all night—after a very cold dip in the loch to cool his heated flesh and mind—by the proposal he had made to her. Now that he had mulled it over, just marrying for the boys’ sake wasn’t as sound as he had initially thought, and it worried him that he had made a hasty decision.

He knew the twins were still troubled and had difficulty eating, which would no doubt be worsened by what they had experienced the previous night.

Mabel was the only one who had made progress with them, and she seemed well-tempered and well-mannered, as would befit a lady of a clan.

But his desire for her shocked him by its intensity and had him worried that it had driven his hasty decision.

“I will tell ye once I have organized me thoughts,” he muttered, rising from his seat. “Ye will handle training this morn.”

He knew his man-at-arms wanted to protest, but as was his way, Magnus finally decided against it.

It isnae too late to call it off.

Campbell knew that, but that didn’t make it an easy decision. Especially not when her scent and presence lingered in the room that had once been fully his.

He had nearly kissed her when she hadn’t even intentionally seduced him, and he was already losing sleep over her. He could only imagine how her continued presence would upend his carefully ordered life.

Would he really sacrifice her future for his own?

She was brave to accept the marriage, but in a few years, when the cold, loveless nights hit her, wouldn’t she regret it?

“Ye’re a good man, Me Laird. Ye just need to show it beyond provision and protection.”

Magnus’s words haunted him still.

He had closed off his heart, seeing what love did to men who had fallen prey to it, and he had had no reason to open it, as his life was filled with turmoil after turmoil.

He wasn’t cruel, but what they needed from him was what he didn’t have to offer.

He couldn’t even picture what he could do to make his people love and not just fear him.

The lass threatened everything he knew about himself, and he feared he would find weakness still embedded deep within him, even after everything his father had done to rid him of it.

It was weakness that made his father unable to prevent his goddamned grandfather from breaking up their family, and because of that same weakness, his father had been hard on him.

But Campbell was thankful for the experience. It had made him see the man he never wanted to be.

Weakness would not win him wars or protect his clan from raiders. The intruder that had escaped only solidified his resolve. He wanted men to think twice and be ready to taste death before they considered his clan for the taking.

He spotted new correspondence on his desk and sighed, settling into the day’s work. He skimmed through the letters and sorted them into piles. However, when he saw his grandfather’s seal, he froze.

The man had sent more letters in the past couple of weeks than he had ever done in his life—and that was to say he never wrote. There had never been a need to, since Aiden had been his heir.

Campbell recalled the only time he had seen his grandfather—when he had come to take his mother and Aidan to McCormick Castle. There had been only the briefest of glances after which his grandfather had left without so much as a goodbye.

For him to reach out now…

Did he perhaps want to claim the boys as his heirs, now that Aidan was dead?

The thought had Campbell frowning and wondering if perhaps his grandfather had sent the intruder.

It wasn’t beyond him to behave in such a despicable manner, but he wouldn’t have wanted to harm the boys when he needed to claim them as his heirs.

Perhaps he had written a letter to demand that one of the boys be handed to him.

Darragh Williams, Laird of Clan McCormick, had no sentimental bone in his body and would have no qualms about separating families.

Campbell eyed the seal and reached for the paper knife reluctantly. He read through the letter, his frown deepening as he did so. Then, he opened the drawer where he had shoved his grandfather’s previous letters and threw the recent one in there, grimacing.

Either his grandfather was growing senile, or he desperately needed something because he almost sounded concerned in his letters. Most of the letters stressed the need to find a wife, the most recent being a threat to find Campbell a wife. Which was, by all accounts, confusing.

Why would his grandfather care so deeply about his finding a wife? His marriage would serve no great purpose for the old man, after all.

Campbell couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling that there was something afoot he had yet to discover, but he didn’t want to lose sleep over a man who had done nothing for him over the years.

He thought back to Mabel and how she had been with the boys, and decided to proceed as he had planned. She was a most fitting godmother to the twins and perhaps would serve as a good lady in time.

All that remained for it to be a certainty was securing her family’s approval. Not that he needed it. If they refused, he could drive them to Gretna Green and get married there.

Putting aside the rest of the correspondence till later, he headed down to the courtyard to watch the men train.

Magnus spotted him almost immediately and walked around the courtyard, barking orders as he did.

“Come to have yer ass handed to ye, Me Laird?” he teased.

“Ye and I ken whose ass would be handed to whom, Magnus,” Campbell scoffed, eyeing the men.

Pride surged through him as he watched his men. They were soldiers who had gone to war with him and emerged victorious, bearing scars to show that they were willing to die to protect their families and the honor of their clan.

It was a mystery how the intruder had been able to sneak into the castle when he had such a ruthless force to contend with.

“Elspeth willnae forgive ye if ye hurt me,” Magnus retorted.

“She will be glad ye will finally rest.” Campbell smiled. “Did ye find anything?”

He was referring to finding clues about the identity of the assailant, and probably who was behind the entire ordeal.

“Nay,” Magnus answered. “But we arenae giving up.”

“Ye will need to increase the number of men on watch and shorten the switch time between shifts. I dinnae ken how he was able to sneak into the castle undetected, but I dinnae like how he thinks he has made a fool of us.”

“Aye, Me Laird. And if he left any tracks, we will find them and find him,” Magnus reassured him. “Dinnae worry.”

Campbell wanted to say he wasn’t worried, but he would be lying. If a random person could sneak into his clan and wreak havoc, it wouldn’t be long before he would hear the drums of war again.

The Highland lairds were vultures circling prey at all times. There was always war over land and livestock. That was why he kept his borders fortified with soldiers—to dissuade any attempts.

He looked over his men, who were training hard so that if the need arose, they would be ready to defend their clan. He would do everything in his power to prevent anyone from considering his clan ripe for the taking.

However, before he could speak, James, one of his clansmen, came up to him. “We have visitors, Me Laird.”

“Visitors?” Campbell echoed warily.

“Laird and Lady MacLennan,” James clarified.

Campbell nodded, dusting off his trews. “Show them to me study, then,” he instructed. “I will only be a moment.”

“I guess the lass is finally returning home,” Magnus mused.

Campbell felt a pang of guilt for not telling his friend about his proposal to Mabel. He expected a thorough lecture about hasty and foolish decisions, but for now, he would wait until he had informed her parents before sharing the news with anyone else.

He nodded and headed to his study, squaring his shoulders.

It wasn’t often that he met other lairds, but now that he was to meet one, he had to make sure to leave no room for perceived weakness.

“Laird Muir!” Laird and Lady MacLennan cried, rising to their feet quickly with matching nervous smiles on their faces. “‘Tis a pleasure to make yer acquaintance.”

Fear and apprehension radiated from them in such palpable waves that he wanted to smile. This would be an easy conversation.