Adam nodded, still focused on Kali. “She’s still my cousin.”
“Distant relation,” Sam corrected. “Which works to your benefit.”
“How so?”
“Well, if she were a close kinswoman, ye could no’ ogle her.”
“Shite.” His best friend made an important point. There could be no denial of how much he enjoyed gazing at her already. She lit the landscape aflame with her red hair and searing eyes. Like an eclipse, she overshadowed anything or anyone she stood near. A man’s attention would naturally wander in her direction.
“And who is the fortunate maid chosen to serve her?” James asked.
“Heather,” Adam said.
James grinned and tasted the mutton. “A good match, I think.”
“Aye. Father left that decision to me. He wants nothing to do with the girl—other than setting the terms for her confinement.”
“But ye do,” Sam observed.
Adam shrugged. “If no’ me, then who? She’s a lowlander, someone needs to look after her.”
“MacKay hospitality?” Joseph jested.
“I want the three of ye to keep watch over the lass if I am unable,” he said, ignoring Joseph’s barb.
“An easy enough task,” Sam said, flicking traces of meat from his thumbnail. “Perhaps the lass would enjoy another visit to the village or a ride into the hills?”
“Nay,” Adam said too loudly. Loud enough for several of the other soldiers at the table to stare at him in question. He waved them off and leaned closer to his friends. “I will be the one to spirit her away when the opportunity arises.”Perhaps to a secluded place where I can kiss her—just once.
Chapter Four
Kali gazed out the only window in the tower, unsure how long she had slept. The blazing sun had sunk below the horizon now, casting in shadow the new land to which she had come. Yet the sky was still streaked with stunning colors: orange, pink, and purple. And the moon—bright and nearly full—shared the sky with the sun. She sighed; what were her sisters doing now? Were they safe? Had they remembered her words of warning and kept their promises to remain obedient and quiet with their father?
She slapped the stone bordering the window and cried out at the stinging pain. She shook her hand, cursing herself silently for being a fool. Unlike her younger sisters, Kali had a keen sense of justice and a temper that matched the color of her hair.
Nothing would stop her from returning home to reunite with her sisters: nothing and no one. Even Laird MacKay couldn’t keep her locked away if she decided it was time to leave. As she turned about, she found Heather standing quietly in the doorway, waiting for her.
“How long have ye been there?”
“Long enough to see ye have much on your mind,” the maid said, curtsying.
“Ye are aware of my story, then?”
Heather nodded. “That ye are being punished for grave disobedience. Adam explained what retaliation I might face if anyone found out I was serving as yer maid.”
“Oh?” Kali sat in the padded chair in front of the hearth. “And what sort of punishment did he mention?”
“Shunning.”
Kali closed her eyes.Shunning.The act of refusing to acknowledge someone existed any longer. She hated such tactics. Cowards believed in superstitions. Cowards turned on their own people. Cowards started cruel rumors.
“Doona worry for me,” Heather said, approaching with a goblet of wine. “I am not yer typical Highland lass. I’ve a streak of rebelliousness in me. At least that’s what me mam has always said.”
Kali accepted the wine and took a deep drink. “Are ye a rebel?”
Heather seemed to think about it. “I never sat in the women’s solar learning to weave and sew like the other lasses me age. I preferred running wild with the lads, learning to fight with me fists, and fishing.”
Kali chuckled. “Ye will make a useful companion, Heather.”
