“Ye daenae haveto worry about him ever again. That name can be struck from yer memories if that is what ye wish,” Theodore said in a grave tone that set Madison on edge.
And how do ye ken that?"Madison's voice came out smaller than she intended. Hope warred with doubt in her chest—she desperately wanted to believe Lewis could never hurt her again, but trust hadn't served her well in the past. The thought of taking this laird's word without proof sent ice trickling down her spine.
"Trustin'people has nae worked out so well for me in the past. What guarantee do I have that what ye say is true?"
The laird's jaw tightened.He glanced at Piper, then Flora, before his gaze returned to her. "We destroyed the camp where they kept ye. Burned it to the ground. The men who ran it—most are dead or scattered. As for Lewis..." His eyes darkened. "The bastard slipped away during the fight, but he'll be hunted down. Me and the other lairds willnae rest till he's brought to justice. Ye have me word on that."
Madison's throat tightened.It wasn't the certainty she craved, but it was something.
"There's nothin'I can say or do that will convince ye I mean ye no harm," he continued, his voice rough. "Either ye have faith in me or ye daenae. I would like to think that one day, I could earn yer trust. Until then, I'll take yer ire."
"Laird MacLeon,”a thin man announced the moment he entered the room. Madison had never seen him before and could only presume he was someone of importance by the way the laird spoke so privately to him. She swallowed hard as the laird and the man's hushed tones tickled her ears.
“Seethat the carriage is made ready. We leave as soon as the lass is ready,” the laird said glancing at Madison. She couldn’t stop the heat that flooded through her veins and warmed her skin. It was as if he had looked right through to her very soul.
“I daenae want to go.I want to stay here,” Madison insisted as she clung to her companions. How could she leave Flora or Piper now that they had been reunited again? Surely fate didn’t want them to part ways, not now. They had already lost Gabriella, who had been taken by some other laird.
“There willnae be anythin’left within the week. Ye’ll have nay roof over yer head and nay food. I would stay with ye, but I have nae the time to babysit.”
“Babysit?I daenae need someone to look after me,” Madison said as the laird handed her a steaming bowl of stew. The smell made her stomach twist. For a brief moment she had forgotten all about her hunger, but now that it was before her once more, there was no way she was going to deny it again.
“Clearly,”he said, smirking at the way it took her only a moment to stare at the bowl, before diving in.
Madison’s eyesrolled back from the pleasure. She couldn’t remember the last time she had tasted such things. All she knew was that she had finished the contents before she knew it. He grabbed her empty bowl and replaced it with a fuller one. She looked up at him.
Why are ye so kind?
This all hadto be some front, a mask he wore in front of people. Certainly, he wasn’t this way behind closed doors. Noman she had met had been.
“Like I said before,we’ll leave when the lass is ready. I’m sure once the belly is full, sleep will come all too easily.”
Madison pausedas terror rippled through her. “Ye spiked the food?”
The laird rolledhis shoulders back and shook his head. “It must be very exhaustin’ to be ye. But to answer yer question. Nay. I wouldnae do somethin’ like that to an innocent. An enemy, that’s a different story, but ye… nay. And I’m sorry for what ye’ve been through, truly, I am. But ye’ve got to let that hate go, or it’ll eat ye alive.”
She watchedas the laird moved to back to the cook and speak with other men that came and went. She couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she understood one thing in that moment, the laird wasn’t like Lewis. In fact, she was certain he wasn’t like anyone she had ever met before. Still, the uncertainty about him grated on her nerves.
“He’s too nice,that’s what the problem is,” Flora said. “He wants somethin’. Mark me words. When he has ye alone, he’ll ask ye to do somethin’ for him then. Men are never this nice without a cause.”
“And where will ye go?”Madison asked, her gaze lingering on Piper before shifting to Flora.
Piper's brow furrowed."The dark-haired laird—Elijah, I think his name was—said I'm to come with him to his castle. To recover." She rubbed her arms, uncertainty flickering across her face. "He promised once I'm well, he'll help me find me family."
Flora nodded,her voice barely above a whisper. "The younger one, Laird Gilmour, said the same. That I'm to stay with him until..." She trailed off, glancing down at her too-thin frame.
"Until ye'restrong enough to travel," Piper finished gently.
Madison's throat tightened.So they were all being taken to different castles, separated after surviving together. "What of ye? Where will ye go when ye mend?" Piper asked, her eyes searching Madison's face.
Madison glancedat her injured leg, the dull throb a constant reminder of her limitations. The aching wouldn't stop until it fully healed—and that would take time she didn't have.
Madison glancedto her injured leg. She wished the aching would stop, but it would be constant until it fully healed, that much she was certain.
“I daenae ken.I daenae have any stock in what the laird says. I’ve had men make many promises to me before and nay one has panned out. There is nay reason for me to think he will either.”
“Ye never ken,”Piper said as she placed her hand on Madison’s injured leg as gently as she dared. “Sprinkle a pinch of faith andhope on anythin’ and ye’ll see a miracle. I believe Laird MacLeon means ye nay harm. Ye should give him a chance. He could be the one to help ye find yer family.”
Madison’s heart tightened.The chance of Piper being right weighed on her. It was a leap of faith that Madison wasn’t ready to commit to doing. She pulled in a long deep breath as she glanced to the laird.
