It was always like this when she felt that Lydia was threatened in any way—even more so now, when she knew her life was in danger.
“We dinnae ken, Iris,” Lydia said softly. “It was only recently that Kieran realized his uncle might be behind all this. He dinnae even have solid proof before I left.”
Iris stopped her incessant pacing and came to a halt in front of Lydia, hovering over her, her face a storm.
“Ye’ve been in grave danger all this time,” she said. “And the man responsible for it was right under yer husband’s nose. Well… when I see him, I’m certainly givin’ him a piece of me mind.”
“Iris, he couldnae have known,” Lydia said pleadingly, pushing herself up to her feet as well to pull her sister into a loose embrace. “Please… please see reason. I daenae blame him for this, and neither should ye.”
Iris drew in a shuddering breath, one that seemed to calm her a little. But as Lydia kept her arms wrapped around her, she could feel her practically vibrating, still unable to contain her rage.
“Then Sebastian must be a very cunnin’ man,” said Elijah, approaching them slowly. He placed a hand on her shoulder, also trying to calm her, and Lydia let go of her, giving them some space. “If he has fooled Kieran so thoroughly… if he has fooled everyone around him, then he’s surely very dangerous.”
Lydia couldn’t deny that. She had never considered Sebastian as such a big threat, but it seemed he had truly made everyone think he was harmless when, in fact, he was the most dangerous of them all.
A wolf in sheep’s clothin’.
“Can we be certain it’s him?” Iris asked.
Elijah shook his head. “Nay. But he seems the most likely. An uncle, someone with valid claim to the lairdship, someone most wouldnae suspect.”
Lydia’s throat tightened painfully. The room seemed colder, smaller, as if the stone walls were closing in on her.
“But do ye truly think he is so desperate that he would come here with an army?” Lydia asked. “Why would he do such a thing? He’s been working from the shadows all this time. He has killed so many people in secret… Why would he come here now to fight?”
“Because he’s desperate,” said Elijah. “Because of the bairn… or because Kieran has found out the truth about him. Either way, he is desperate now, Lydia, and that makes him even more dangerous.”
“Ye think he kens about the bairn?” Lydia asked, her breath hitching in her throat. Her hand came to rest over her stomach, trying to reassure herself.
Surely, Kieran wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Surely, he would try to stop Sebastian.
But what if he doesnae know? What if Sebastian left without anyone findin’ out?
Not only was Lydia in danger, but her presence in Castle McMurphy made her a liability. She was putting everyone else around her in danger just by existing—her sister, Elijah, every soul in the keep would soon be at Sebastian’s mercy.
“I will ride to the borderlands meself,” Elijah announced, already striding toward the door. “We’ll find out what their intentions are before they come any closer.”
“Nay,” Lydia said, approaching him on unsteady legs. She couldn’t let him go to the borderlands. He was needed here, with Iris, where he could protect her. If Sebastian attacked the keep, then Lydia could trust no one else to keep her sister safe. “Ye cannae leave! What if?—”
“I must,” he said gently, interrupting her. “I’m the Laird here, and I’ll nae let any armed men near the keep without understandin’ their purpose. Iris, stay with yer sister.”
Iris nodded though worry tightened her face. She didn’t try to argue with Elijah, and so Lydia knew her sister thought this was the best course of action. But even though Lydia trusted her judgement, she couldn’t help but feel this was a mistake. She couldn’t help but feel she was putting everyone in danger and that she shouldn’t be there.
But she didn’t try to argue. She knew there was little point in it anyway if Elijah had already made up his mind.
Lydia’s voice shook. “If Kieran isnae with those men… then he doesnae ken they’re here.”
Elijah paused by the door, casting a glance at Lydia over his shoulder.
“Nay,” he said quietly. “He likely doesnae.”
Lydia swallowed hard around the knot in her throat. She imagined Kieran back at the keep, unaware of the danger shewas facing now. She imagined him finding out. She imagined him blaming himself for it because, of course, he would.
And her heart shattered at the thought.
“Then he doesnae ken,” she whispered, her hand drifting to her stomach again, “that we’re in danger.”
Elijah’s expression softened with sympathy—and something grimmer underneath. “Stay inside. Keep to the interior rooms. I’ll send word the moment we learn anythin’.”
