Beside her, Logan stiffened.Did he care at all she was being subjected to such treatment?The old Logan would never have tolerated such looks and behaviour.It only reminded her how different he was now.Even if she could persuade him of the truth, would it make any difference?At times, she feared he was entirely lost to her.
“I have no interest in her, but it seems ye do, Ivar.”
Ivar laughed.“Aye, I have a fondness for Scotswomen.They are small and fiery.”
“Oh well, ye’ll like this one then.She has a sharp tongue.”
Riled by being talked about as if she was not even there, Lorna huffed.“Are ye to release me or no’?”
Gillean indicated to her with his hand.“See?”Laughing, he rested his chin on his hands and studied her.“Nay, I dinnae think so.I willnae have ye getting in the way of my plans and as I say, ye might be useful.”
Lorna held the air in her lungs and told herself to be grateful he hadn’t condemned her to death yet.As long as she was alive, there was hope.
Waving a hand, the laird motioned for Logan to take her.“Lock her up somewhere.”
“You will not deprive me of her company, will you, Gillean?”Ivar asked.
“Ye taken with her, are ye not?Very well...”The laird pursed his lips and Lorna waited several heartbeats—ones that pounded in her ears—for his decision.“Dinnae confine her but put her to work.”His expression grew delighted.“Aye, have her work in the kitchens.I’ve always thought she was too high and mighty for her station.”
A little hard work did not scare Lorna but that he wished to humiliate her sent fire through her veins.“Yer a twisted man,” she spat and dove for him.Logan snatched her arm before she reached the table and hauled her back.“Ye took everything from me and now ye wish for me to grovel on my knees for ye?I hate ye, Gillean.I hate ye!”She fought Logan’s hold until her muscles ached, but she might as well have been fighting the tide.He was too strong and powerful.
Gillean’s delighted expression grew stony.“Return her to her room and have some suitable clothes sent up to her,” he said tightly to Logan.“Be grateful, Lorna, that I have no’ bestowed some other punishment on ye.Ye turned yer men against me and that makes ye a traitor.Be grateful for my leniency.”
“Never,” she spat when Logan dragged her away.“I hate ye,” she muttered.
Chapter Nine
Rain pummelled the shutters, a deafening cacophony, as Logan led her into her chamber.The clouds had finally broken.A single candle remained lit, the rest likely blown out by the wind that blustered through the window coverings.
“Ye shouldnae aggravate the laird,” he warned.
Lorna rounded on him with a derisive snort.“I dinnae need to aggravate him.He does a fine job himself.”
He pushed the door shut with his foot and closed the gap between them.Why did she insist on making her position more dangerous than it already was?“If ye simply behaved yerself, ye would surely be ransomed off and ye could return home to yer family.But with ye behaving as such, ye’ll be lucky if he doesnae—”
“Kill me?”
He tightened his jaw.He did not want it to come to that—could not comprehend the courageous woman’s death—but he had seen the fury in Gillean’s eyes.
“Aye.”
“He shall ask for my death soon enough, when he discerns my reason for coming...”She paused and shut her mouth.
“To kill him ye mean?”
Shoulders straight, she eyed him coolly.“Aye.”
“Why would ye try such madness?”he asked, frustration making his voice more gravelly than usual—if that was possible.Why could she not have stayed in her fine castle, surrounded by fine folk, and away from danger?
“I had to avenge...”Her voice fragmented and she dropped her gaze, before lifting it.Whatever emotion had broken her voice had vanished.“He stole my dowry, tried to kill me and my family.Ithoughthe had killed ye.”
Logan failed to hide a smirk, yet disbelief made his brows rise.“Ye wished for vengeance?”
This petite, pale woman sought revenge like some bold warrior?Though he had to admit, every part of her bearing, from her proud stance to her steady gaze made her seem more a warrior than some of the young lads under his command.
“I wished for many things, but it looks likely none of those wishes shall transpire.”
“Yer a damn fool,” he whispered and inched closer.Some invisible force drew him in.It even felt as though she not only pulled him to her but something or someone was coaxing him from behind.
