"I'm tryin' plenty!" she called back. "Ye're just too good at hidin'!"
"That's because we've been playin' this since we were wee!" Alyson's voice came from somewhere near the stables. "Ye'll get better!"
She'd been reluctant to join them at first. Four grown women playing children's games seemed ridiculous. But Catherine had begged, Sofia had encouraged, and Alyson had simply grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the keep before she could protest further.
And now, running through corridors and hiding behind walls, laughing at Catherine's terrible hiding spots and Sofia's dramatic protests when found, Liliane felt something she hadn't experienced in years.
Joy. Simple, uncomplicated joy.
"Found ye!" Catherine pounced from around a corner, making Liliane shriek with surprise.
"That's nae fair! I wasnae ready!"
"That's the point!" Catherine was breathless with laughter. "Come on, me sister’s still hidin' somewhere near the gardens."
They ran together across the courtyard, their skirts hitched up like children, not caring who saw them or what they thought. For the first time since arriving at Keppoch, Liliane felt... free.
"I'll check behind the outer wall!" she called to Catherine. "Ye search near the well!"
"Done!"
Liliane ducked around the corner of the keep, slipping into the narrow space between the outer wall and the storage buildings. Before she could take another step, though, she froze in her place.
Dear Lord…
Through a gap in the stones, she could see the forest beyond the wall. And in that forest, three men. They weren't moving toward the keep, weren't making any obvious threatening gestures. But they were there, watching, their plaids unfamiliar even from this distance.
Her heart began to pound for entirely different reasons than the game.
Scouts? Raiders? Her father's men?
The thought sent a chill down her spine. What if they’d come for her, to drag her back to Munro lands, to finish what her father had started? She could almost hear the ring of steel, the shouts, the chaos of that night in the forest. Her stomach knotted.
Would he truly go so far? Send men across the Highlands to reclaim the daughter he’d already sold?
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to breathe, to focus on the present. But her gaze darted toward the distant tree line all the same, searching for movement.
The wind stirred the heather, whispering like unseen footsteps, and every instinct screamed that danger might not be far behind.
"Liliane? Did ye find Sophia?"
She jumped at Catherine's voice, forcing her expression into something resembling normalcy as she turned to face her.
"Nay. She's nae here."
"Too bad. I thought fer sure she’d be here" Catherine paused, her eyes narrowing. "Are ye alright? Ye look pale."
"Fine. I just ran too hard. I need tae catch me breath."
"Ye sure? Because ye look like ye've seen a ghost."
"I'm certain." Liliane forced a laugh. "Just nae used tae all this runnin' about. We didnae play games like this at Foulis."
"Well, ye're at Keppoch now. We play games, we laugh, and we definitely dinnae stand around lookin' serious all the time." Catherine linked their arms. "Come on. Let's go find Sofia before she falls asleep in whatever hole she's crawled into."
As they walked back toward the gardens, Liliane's mind raced. Should she tell someone about the men? Tòrr should know, but what if it was nothing? What if she was just being paranoid?
But what if she wasn't?
