Tilly and Bailey looked at each other dubiously before nodding at Kieran, turning to walk back to the castle itself.
“Come with me,” Kieran whispered, not daring to offer her his arm to hold. He could not risk touching Vivien for fear of losing his self-control again.
She followed him, her cowl still drawn over her face. He led them to a secluded garden that stood in one of the courtyards of the castle. Kieran often sat there in contemplation, enjoying the peace of mind that the sound of the water gushing from the fountains brought him.
He had never brought anyone else there to join him, but something about Vivien was different.
“What are ye doing here, Vivien?” he asked, real concern causing him to frown.
He waited with bated breath for her to say something, anything.
* * *
Vivien lowered her cowl when she was certain there was no one around, shaking out her wavy tresses.
“I came to apologize, Kieran,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. Vivien needed to give Kieran the answers she had been unable to give him; she needed him to know that she could prove him right. Reginald had indeed ordered the attack on Kieran’s men.
Reginald had stolen Kieran’s sister’s necklace.
If there was one thing Vivien could do to rectify at least some of the pain her husband had inflicted, it was to return the necklace that rightly belonged to Kieran’s people.
“Ye took a big risk tae come an’ apologize, Lady Vivien,” he replied, standing a few feet away from her.
“I regret not telling you who I really am, Kieran. I never wanted to hurt you. I was only trying to protect myself. Lord Stone is not a kind or forgiving man. I shudder to think of what he would do to me if he found out…” her voice trailed off, goosebumps flashing across her skin, “I just couldn’t risk it.”
“I understand, Sassenach,” he replied, his eyes softer than they had been the last time she had seen him. Relief washed over her; Kieran didn’t seem to hate her for her betrayal. Instead, he seemed calm and collected as he stood and studied her.
“I can only guess at how ye live within that castle. I cannae hold it against ye – I dinnae want tae. Now that I have had some time tae breathe, an’ think, everything is clearer than it was that day.”
“Thank you,” Vivien said, at a loss for words. Kieran had been furious that day; she had barely recognized him. The man who stood in front of her now was the person she had thought him to be. She only hoped that this was the true version of Kieran. She needed it to be. She could not bear it if another man treated her as nothing more than someone only good enough to give birth and sew shirts. She had been marginalized by men her entire life; she was stuck with Reginald, who was the worst of them all.
Vivien needed to believe that there was at least one man out there who would not treat her that way.
“I dinnae believe that is the only reason ye came here, Lady Vivien,” Kieran said, taking a step towards her, closing the distance between them slightly.
“You are right,” she agreed, furrowing her brow. She needed to find the words to tell him why she was there; she had tried to find the best way to tell him on her journey to his castle – to no avail. She had no idea how to put it, so she simply blurted out the words, leaving Kieran’s reaction up to himself.
“I found this in Reginald’s private study. I needed you to see it,” she said, her hands shaking as she pulled the necklace she had found out of one of the pockets in her cape.
Kieran’s eyes grew as wide as dinner plates, his breathing slowing down so much it was almost imperceptible.
“How did ye – I cannae believe it,” he stuttered, clearly shaken by the sight of the pendant.
“I had hoped I was wrong. That will teach me tae even think o’ ever trusting another Englishmen for as long as I live.” Kieran’s voice rose in pitch and volume as he continued – he seemed unable to control his anger at that moment, causing Vivien to take a step backward. “I knew I was right; seeing the evidence of it does not mak’ it any better or easier like I hoped it would.”
“It belongs to your sister, am I right?” Vivien whispered, no longer sure of who she was betraying anymore. Was she betraying her husband? A man who was fully prepared to instigate the genocide of all Scotsmen? Or was she betraying Kieran, a man she did not know but with who she felt the deepest connection to that she had ever felt in her life?
Vivien had no answer for her own questions. She was following the roadmap her emotions were laying out for her; that was all she knew.
“Aye. This is the necklace. Have ye not put yersel’ at great risk, taking this from him an’ bringing it tae me?” he asked incredulously, still turning the pendant over in his hands, looking at it from every angle as though it was too good to be true.
Vivien nodded silently. She could not force herself to speak. When Reginald found out that the necklace was missing, there would be hell to pay. If he even suspected her for a second, she would be punished. It was a risk Vivien was willing to take.
“I believe you are correct, Kieran. I think Lord Stone ordered the attacks on your people. I can’t see any other reason for him having your family heirloom hidden in his desk. It is of no value to him as an item. The only value is in it being a trophy of his cruel ways. He wants to wipe the Scots out – I don’t know why.”
Kieran nodded, a certain sadness tinging his expression.
“That does not surprise me as much as ye might think it would. I have spent my entire life being treated worse than an animal by the English. It is not shocking to hear that they want us eradicated.”
