Killian thought of Fletcher’s words, then sighed. “I dinnae think she will hurt Niamh. She has a good heart. She even helped treat my wounds after we were attacked on our way here. She didnae have to, but she did it, and she fought by my side.”
He felt a tingle in his heart as he talked about Lily helping him. He still couldn’t understand why she had done it. He would have expected her to run when she had the chance, but she was still here.
“Ye were attacked? Do ye ken who it was?”
“They were men dressed as McLennan guards, but they didnae just try to kill me… They tried to kill her too.”
“Ye think it was Laird McLennan tryin’ to kill ye both? He has no use for a maid, so why will he try to protect her? It makes sense that it was him.”
“Who else could it be?” Killian asked as he drew in a deep breath.
He had to stay alert now and make sure he kept Lily safe during her stay here. His plan was not to have an innocent lady killed because of another man’s sins. He wanted Laird McLennan to pay, and he knew he would get his wish.
“I think ye should let the lady go,” Fletcher said after some time. “Just let her return to her people or leave.”
“Why?”
“Because she is innocent, m’laird. She will forgive ye if ye let her go now. We can find another way to get back at Laird McLennan for what he did to yer brother.”
Fletcher bowed after giving his advice, then backed up towards the study exit and walked out. Killian did not doubt that his man-at-arms gave him good advice. But he had come this far already, and he had to see this to the end.
He had to think of his next plan. His wounds were treated, and he was no longer bleeding.
It can wait.
Killian did not leave his study after the brief meeting with Fletcher. He dove right into work to keep his mind from wandering to Lily again, but images of her kept creeping into his mind, and he couldn’t stop himself from wondering what it would feel like to have her in his arms one more time.
9
Lily had barely slept the night before, and she had no appetite.
The laird’s sister, Niamh, kept talking with excitement. Lily kept her eyes shut most of the time and tried not to listen while she thought of her family back home.
“It is a lovely day, and we can take a walk around the keep. My maither had a garden, and it feels like ye ken a lot about flowers.”
“How would you know that? I have not told you anything about myself, and we only just met,” Lily said, focusing her attention on Niamh again.
Niamh and Killian had very similar features. They had the same eyes and shade of hair. Niamh wore her hair in two long braids, and freckles peppered her pale skin.
“I can tell from yer hands,” Niamh answered as she took Lily’s hands and stared at them. “Ye have delicate hands, but I can tell that they have held a sword.” She stared at Lily’s palms as she spoke, then traced the lines there with a finger. “There’s a certain hardness there, even though it is delicate. And they’re a bit green!”
Lily snatched her hands away from Niamh’s and then cleared her throat. She needed to do something, as sitting idle would drive her insane. She had never been one to sit idle.
He cannot keep me locked in this chamber.
Back in McLennan Castle, she had either been helping Amelia with her children or her herbs, or practicing her swordsmanship with Duncan’s men so that she could protect her. All her life, she had served her friend, and she had loved it.
Lily felt empty now. The chamber where she was locked up was huge. She had never slept in such a large chamber with beddings covered in the softest of silk and drapes with perfect embroidery.
“I do know a lot about flowers,” she told Niamh, who was still smiling at her. “I learned from my friend ever since I was little.”
“We are goin’ to be such great friends too,” Niamh gushed, her tone nearly sounding like a squeal. “And after the weddin’, I am sure that—”
Lily’s ears perked up when she heardwedding. “What wedding?”
“My brother hasnae proposed to ye? Is that nae why he brought ye here? I thought he had finally decided to marry and start a family.”
Confused, Lily eyed the girl for a little bit. She realized then that Killian probably had not told his sister about kidnapping her from her home and risking her life to bring her here.
