“Aye,” Fergus said, nodding his head.
Lilliana folded her arms, perturbed, and turned to Kayden. “Surely now you can see that Ihaveto go help,” she said desperately.
“What can ye do that isnae being done already?” Kayden asked gently.
“We can try to confirm the illness, so we know how to treat it! We can discover how it spreads instead ofguessing. We can triage the patients based on the severity of their condition,” she said intently.
Kayden took a deep breath, pursing his lips before reaching out to unfold her arms and take her hands in his own. “I willnae let ye go,” he said, dipping his head to look into her eyes, his voice firm but gentle.
Lilliana glared at him, bosom heaving, teeth gnashing.
He looked back at her, unyielding.
With a shriek of frustration, Lilliana snatched her hands out of his and stood up, a string of sneezes echoing through the hall as she disappeared back into the depths of the castle.
Kayden waited until Lilliana disappeared before following her out of the hall. He was worried that she might try to run again or head to the village alone.
All he was trying to do was keep her safe.
He turned just in time to see a hint of her blood-red gown whipping around the corner, the silk clinging to her hips before flaring as she ran up the stairs.
That dress was a mistake. It drew every eye in the hall, andhismost of all. She looked absolutely striking.Toostriking. Like something set alight and left unattended.
He took a slow, deep breath and followed her.
Once he saw her step into her room, he went into his own and shut the door behind him, leaning against it with a long sigh. The image of her at the high table lingered, the column of her throat above the crimson silk, the way the candlelight had caught in her hair, the way half of his clan had pretended not to stare… it all drove him mad.
There was a sharp bang against the connecting door, and before he could react, it flew open, framing Lilliana like an avenging angel. Kayden had unlocked it late last night in a moment of drink-induced foggy-headedness and had forgotten to turn the lock again.
He should have felt regret, but his mind cleared when he saw her soft blonde hair escaping from its plait, shining against the dark wood, and when her bright brown eyes shifted quickly to burn into him with righteous fury. The red gown made her look less like a proper English lady and more like sin itself.
He straightened up. “Lilliana. This is a surprise.”
“Is it? I think we still have much to discuss.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Discuss? Ye mean yer string of endless demands?”
She stepped into the room, hands on her hips. “Endless?” she asked incredulously.
He shrugged with a smirk. “Seems so.”
“All I am asking for is a chance to use my knowledge to your villagers’ advantage! I do not understand why you are fighting me so hard on this.”
“Ye arenae ready to walk alone among the sick.”
“How would you know? What gives you the authority to make that judgment? I am your wife! Do you not think you should start treating me as such?”
He frowned. “Do I mistreat ye? What has one to do with the other?”
“You think your people do not see how you treat me? How you have treated me… discarded me like some useless accessory?”
His frown deepened. “I daenae ken what ye mean.”
“Every time I ask for a chance to do something, you tell me I cannot. You treat me like a petulant child, not like your wife. I am seen to have no authority. How do you expect your people to respect me? Or even accept me?” Lilliana said before breaking out in a series of sneezes.
Kayden took a deep breath, then let it out through his nose. “Ye need to stop thinking that everything revolves around ye and what ye want. I am trying to keep ye safe,” he snapped amid her sneezes.
“Why do you hate me so much? What did I do?” she asked, her eyes glittering, bosom heaving as she sneezed once again.
