“Good boy,” Kayden said. He cast one final glance at Lilliana, his gaze running over her face. “He will look after ye. Daenae worry. Whatever plagues yer dreams, it cannae hurt ye here.”
The clash of iron against iron was loud in the forge as Kayden hammered out a new blade. He was bare-chested despite the cold, rainy weather. He was glad of the hard, grueling work that required his entire focus. It kept his mind off his wife.
It had been almost a week rather than the ‘day or two’ that Fergus had promised, and she was still abed. When he allowed himself to think about it, he could feel the fear licking at his mind.
He had experienced plenty of loss in his life, but he was not ready to lose his wife. He heard footsteps approaching and immediately recognized them as Jacob’s.
“Lady McGill is awake,” Jacob said without preamble.
Kayden paused, panting slightly with exertion. He did not look at his cousin. “Is that so?”
“Aye. Betsy says she is awake and talking, itching to leave her bed.” Jacob chuckled. “She is even asking about trade routes and supplies for some reason.” He shrugged.
“Perhaps she is still delirious.” Kayden resumed hammering.
“Perhaps.” Jacob watched him work for some time. “Will ye nae go and see her?”
Kayden kept hammering and gave no response.
With an amused snort, Jacob walked away.
Later that afternoon, Kayden was still in the forge when he heard much lighter footsteps approaching. He paused, his heart speeding up, before continuing his work.
“That is impressive. You are a lairdanda blacksmith?” Lilliana asked saucily.
He cast a glance in her direction. “Some men have more than one skill. I ken it is an anathema to asassenach.”
He saw her frown out of the corner of his eye and felt a pang of regret for his coldness.
“If you are so dead set against English people, why did you marry me?”
The hurt in her voice made his stomach twist, and he paused his work to look at her. “I shouldnae have said that. I apologize.”
She gaped at him. “Youapologize?”
He smirked at her. “Why do ye sound so shocked?”
“Well, perhaps because I never thought I would see the day. Ye have been nothing but dismissive and arrogant since I arrived here.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Have I?”
“Yes, you have.” She gave him a challenging look.
They stared at each other in a standoff; the only sound was the roar of the fire.
Suddenly, Kayden chuckled, shaking his head. “Did ye want to see how me swords are made, or is there something else that brought ye here, lass?”
Lilliana’s eyes flicked down to his hands before returning to meet his gaze, then she dipped her head. “I do not know. I was simply passing by and saw you here.”
“Indeed.” He held up the sword. “Come in then and let me show ye what we do.”
She stepped tentatively into the smithy, her eyes on the ground—on the lookout for obstacles, he assumed. She stepped lightly over a discarded piece of iron and then past a few tools scattered on the floor before coming up to him. He saw how she followed the line of his arm, from his wrist to his shoulder.
She seemed a bit fascinated, and he quashed down the gratification he felt as a result.
He lifted the sword. “Do ye see the blade? Ye want to make it as tapered as possible, since that increases the sharpness. Would ye like to test it?”
She reached her hand out slowly and ran it over the rapidly cooling metal. She smiled. “It is less hot than I expected.”
