The answer was simple. It was to protect him and his family, and she hoped that he took this opportunity to figure out how to protect his family and clan instead of searching for her.
Her heart twisted in her chest as she thought about their last night together and how perfect it had been. Never before had she cared for someone like she did him, and if her time on this earth were drawing to a close, he would be the last thought in her mind before her life was snuffed out.
It was humorous to think about how they had come together in the beginning, yet now she was his wife. Her best memories, however fleeting, were because of him. Ainslee would be forever grateful that she had that small amount of time with Arran.
He was the reason she had survived her brother’s attack all those years ago. She was destined to be part of his life.
“Sister.”
Ainslee glared at her brother as he came into view, a tankard of ale in his hand. “Liam.”
He frowned. “I dinnae like seeing ye tied tae that tree.”
Surprised, she lifted her chin. “Would ye rather see me tied tae a stake? Or how about mah head on a pike?”
Liam shook his head slowly. “Ye know, if ye had just married him, I would have left ye alone. I was only doing what Da would have done.”
Ainslee snorted. “Da would have never wed me tae a man like that. If ye cared aboot me at all, ye would have believed me.”
Liam took a long draw of his ale before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I believed ye, but we all do things for the better of the clan, not because we enjoy it.”
She didn’t believe him. He was not trying to better his clan with her marriage or with this battle. He didn’t care about their clan, those that had been with their family for generations.
His only interest was power. “Dinnae think for one moment that I believe ye.”
Liam chuckled, holding up his tankard. “Aye, ye were always smarter than I was. Ye would have been a formidable woman had ye wished tae sit beside me and rule our clan.” He then sneered. “Now, I have a sniveling wife who cannae give me an heir.”
Ainslee did not change her expression, though she was glad that Liam had not learned the truth about his wife and her infidelity. She could only hope that if this did not work out in the end and Liam remained alive and well, that Meredith had already departed the keep to live her life as she wished to do so.
He drained the tankard before throwing it into the dirt, his eyes wild. “And now I have ye. What should I do with ye?”
“Let me go,” she said.
He threw back his head and laughed. “I dinnae think that is in the fates for ye! Ye must die this time, of course, but I must decide if it should be before or after I destroy Mcaiwn. I cannae believe that ye helped him escape. What did he offer ye? Did he offer ye a chance at freedom?”
He had, but the plan was for them to go their separate ways. At the time, Ainslee had been upset with him for kidnapping her.
Little did she know that it would turn out to be the most wonderful thing that had happened to her. “I saved a man that ye had condemned tae death,” she finally said, pushing her longing for her husband aside so that Liam would not pick up on anything related to her marriage.
It would put Arran in even more danger, and she could not allow it.
“He was our enemy!” Liam shouted, drawing the attention of his warriors around them. “He should have been yers, Sister!”
“Ye tried tae kill me!” she shouted back. Let his warriors know what sort of coward their laird was. She no longer cared. “I will fight ye until the day of mah death. I owe ye nothing but a knife in yer cold heart.”
Liam’s expression grew murderous, and he leaned in. “Ye think ye can kill me?”
Ainslee met his gaze with one of her own. “I know I can.”
Liam pulled away, looking at his warriors. “Wot do ye say? Shall we see wot mah dear sister can do with a blade?”
The catcalls followed, and Ainslee attempted to formulate a new plan quickly. If Liam gave her a dagger, she could kill him. It mattered not that if she succeeded, she would likely die herself. It was the best option she had to escape with her life.
“Alright,” Liam said, pulling out a dagger from the pouch at his waistband. “I will give ye a chance tae kill me.”
Ainslee watched as he sliced through the ropes at her feet first, then the ones at her hands, giving her a moment to rub the blood back into her wrists before removing the final rope around her waist. Ainslee stood the best she could, her vision darkening as she fought back the wave of nausea that rose with the movement. If she did defeat her brother, it would be a miracle given the state she was in.
Her vision cleared, and she forced herself to straighten, looking at her kin. “Surely ye know I dinnae have a dagger on mah person.”
