Kieran’s jaw locked, irritation coursing through him. Michael didn’t know; he couldn’t have known because Kieran hadn’t told him yet. But soon enough, news of the pregnancy would spread, and he would realize why Kieran couldn’t let Lydia stay.
Michael stepped closer. “Daenae ye think danger might follow her? If ye’re sendin’ her away to keep her safe?—”
“I said it’s none of yer business!” Kieran said, his voice quiet but no less dangerous for it. “I’ve made me decision, and it’s final. I daenae need counsel on this!”
Michael stopped speaking at once. Kieran breathed hard, his chest tight, the chill of the rain battling the heat on his face. He dragged a hand through his hair, turning his back to the courtyard as if he could outrun what he had just done.
Seconds passed before he spoke again, his voice low and raw. “I willnae lose another wife. I willnae bury another woman whotrusted me. I willnae put her through what the others faced. I willnae… I willnae lose her.”
Michael said nothing, for once realizing silence was the only answer, and Kieran steadied himself with a long exhale.
He needed work, purpose, something to strike his blade against. Something to drown out the hollow ache tearing through him.
He turned sharply to Michael, eyes colder now, focused, almost lethal. “I have a task for ye.”
Michael straightened. “Whatever ye need.”
“Infiltrate Sebastian’s estate.”
Michael’s brows shot up. “Ye’re certain ye want to attempt that? The man’s slippery as an eel. And now with Lydia gone?—”
“This isnae a discussion,” said Kieran. “Ye will enter quietly. Ye will search his study, his cellar, his private rooms. Ye will find the proof I need. Anythin’ that links him to the murders.”
Michael hesitated only a moment. “And if I find nothin’?”
“Ye’ll keep searchin’ until ye do,” Kieran answered.
He turned toward the castle, rain soaking through his tunic, but he didn’t care. He felt nothing now but the cold rage simmering where his heart had been.
“Sebastian started this,” he said, voice low. “And I will finish it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The carriage wheels groaned and slowed as it turned up the long gravel drive toward Castle McMurphy. The sight of it was familiar, almost comforting in a way her home could never be now. All around Lydia were lush green slopes dotted with heather, framed by the dark sweep of pine forests. The sky here was clearer, but the cold was just as biting, damp, seeping into her bones.
Her stomach churned, not with sickness but with the heavy ache of abandonment. Her fingers drifted instinctively to her abdomen, as if to reassure herself the child she carried had not vanished with everything else.
Kieran had sent her away without explanation, without goodbye, without even meeting her eyes.
A sharp sting filled her throat. Her eyes burned; her chest burned, the feeling radiating outwards in an uncomfortable ache.
When the carriage came to a halt, the gates flew open, and Iris spilled out of them, as if she had been waiting behind for her to arrive. A smile graced her face. Her twin sister’s blonde hair was pinned loosely, the early afternoon sun catching the strands like threads of gold. Her features, so much like her own, softened the moment she saw her.
Lydia stepped out of the carriage on shaking legs. She didn’t remember handing her satchel to the servant or how many steps separated them. She only remembered the instant Iris reached her?—
And Lydia broke, falling into her arms with a sob.
“Iris,” she choked, but no more words came out. The grief overtook her, a wave of it, crashing over her with relentless viciousness.
Lydia clung to her sister, burying her face into her shoulder as tears surged hot and fast. Iris stiffened in surprise then tightened her hold, rocking gently, her own breath hitching.
“Lydia, what happened?” Iris said into her hair. “Why are ye so shaken? Are ye hurt?”
“I… he…” Lydia tried to speak, but her voice cracked. She gasped, gripping Iris’s sleeves. “He chased me away.”
Iris pulled back just enough to frame Lydia’s face in her hands. Her eyes—usually calm, almost unnaturally so—were wide with alarm.
“Kieran?”
