“Sir,” she called, jerking to her feet with the scroll in one hand. “Did Killian send you? Are you here for the ledgers? Did Laird McLennan withdraw?” Her heart thundered as she asked the questions in a rush, and she nearly forgot to breathe for a moment.
Fletcher closed the door behind him, locked it, then took a step towards her as she waited for his answer.
“Did ye find anythin’ in the ledgers?” he asked slowly as his eyes shifted from the ledger in her hand to her eyes again. “Anythin’?”
Lily noticed the sheath of his sword at his side and his tense shoulders as he placed his right hand on the sword’s hilt.
“I have not found anything yet,” she whispered, then stared at the scroll in her hand one last time, read through the last lines, and spotted the last name written there.
Fletcher Gillies.
A knot formed in the pit of her stomach, and cold terror filled her body. She slowly raised her head to look at Fletcher again, and seeing that he was staring right at her, a lump formed in her throat.
Lily hoped he did not notice the change in her demeanor as she stilled her tremors and looked to him again, meeting his hard gaze with a flinch this time.
“I, uh… I did not,” she lied.
Her throat closed up, but she held her breath. The wheels in her mind spun with her thoughts, creating a whirlwind of terror that clawed its way right through her till it clogged her throat.
It was Fletcher that night? Fletcher was the only one with Peter. They met Richard Easton together and… Oh, goodness, Killian needs to know.
“Did he tell ye?” Fletcher asked. “Did he tell ye that I have served his family for many years now? That I have worked and tolled for them? His faither and then his brother? That I have done everythin’ they wanted? While ignorin’ every thin’ I have always wanted?”
“I, uh… I should head to my chamber and—” Lily dashed towards the door, but Fletcher grabbed her shoulders before she could make it far, spun her around, and shoved her hard to the ground.
“Did ye think ye could get away from me?” he growled, his features hardening as he sneered at her.
Lily whimpered when he grabbed her and drew her up on her feet again. “I have served them and done all they wanted, butonce I wanted somethin’ for myself, he thought I didnae deserve it.”
Her body trembled now, and tears stung her eyes while her racing heart caused pain in her chest. Lily tried to move her hand to the hilt of her sword, but he twisted her wrist till she cried out, then pulled her sword out and tossed it aside.
“So, you killed him?” Lily spat bitterly, not bothering to hide her disdain as her eyes bore into his. “You killed his brother for your selfish reasons? It was all you? All this time… you lied to him, you made him… Goodness, there is an ongoing war right now because of you.”
“Tha mi beo leis a chlaidheamh,” Fletcher hissed before he burst into a wild cackle that echoed through the entire study.
Lily remembered the words Killian had said to her the night he had shown her the dirk found in his brother’s body after he had died.
“I live by the sword,” Lily muttered, holding her breath as a sob tore through her to the surface.
“I killed for them my entire life, and all I wanted in return was my own gold mine here in the Highlands. I could have been wealthy if he let me have my way, but Peter cared more for his plans, and he didnae see the need to let me in on his business!”
“None of that justifies killing a man… None of that justifies betraying your family.”
“I do not care!” Fletcher yelled, his eyes bulging out in his red face.
Lily rarely got scared in battle, but at that moment, she knew she was in actual danger.
“Fletcher, please…”
“I tried to end it the simple way,” Fletcher continued before his grip on her arm tightened. “I tried to take ye both down. I tried to kill him, but ye got in the way, and then I tried to kill ye, but ye survived somehow… What more do I have to do?”
Lily struggled against him now, but his grip was too tight, and she couldn’t breathe.
“Now, all I had to do was get ye two alone so I could finally put an end to this. Laird McLennan willnae forgive Killian for killin’ ye, and that will be their end.”
There was madness in Fletcher’s eyes as he dragged her out of the study with him, not caring that he was hurting her as she struggled against his hold.
“What are you doing? Let me go! Fletcher, please, I’m begging you. I need you to let me go and—”
