“I daenae ken,” Katherine admitted quietly, keeping her gaze firmly on the pages in front of them. “I do hope that he does, but it’s difficult to learn new things as ye get older.”
“Well, Grandmother always told me that it is never too late to change,” Agnes said simply, pausing her flipping for a second before deciding that she’d prefer a different story. “She used to tell me that even women her age could change if they put their mind to it. They just have to decide they want to. She said she often didnae want to.”
“She was so wise,” Katherine breathed. “I do believe that ye can do anythin’ with yer life if ye decide it is so. Yer father could decide to be a warm, emotional man tomorrow.”
Agnes giggled, bringing her hand over her mouth to cover the sound. When she recovered, she said, “He willnae!”
“Daenae ye ken that people are unpredictable?” Katherine countered, beaming. “Why, ye could decide that instead of growin’ up to be a lady of the clan, ye want to spend yers days ridin’ through the countryside with yer horse and sword to defend yerself.”
Agnes’s brow furrowed as she processed the suggestion. Then, the smile on her face split into a full-blown grin. She stopped looking for her story, meeting Katherine’s eyes once more as she said, “I think that I might like that very much. I must learn how to ride, though. And defend meself with a sword. And swim.”
“Ye’ll need to learn some healin’, too,” Katherine added, going along with the girl’s planning. “The plants that will help ye if ye get a cut and the kinds that will help if ye catch a cold.”
With a good-natured sigh, Agnes said, “So I cannae just start ridin’ through the Highlands tomorrow.”
“Nay, but if that’s somethin’ that ye want to do,” Katherine said, watching as Agnes finally settled on a tale after turning a few more pages, “then I suppose I could adjust yer lessons.”
“Startin’ with ridin’?” Agnes asked, overeager.
“I will see if I can convince yer father to allow me to teach ye,” Katherine said, scooting in close so she could better see the words in front of her. “But that would require him to decide he’s goin’ to be a bit more relaxed.”
“He will get there,” Agnes said, leaning her cheek against Katherine’s bicep. “Will ye read to me now?”
Without dwelling too much on the first part of what Agnes said, Katherine began to read. As she did, her body warmed, her throat dried, and she cursed herself for not being able to keep her mind off Liam.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Father! Father, wake up!”
Liam jerked awake, blinking in the darkness of his chambers. He glanced around the room, his protective instincts flaring. When his eyes landed on Agnes standing at the foot of his bed, her eyes wide and her face pale, he was on his feet and in front of her in an instant.
“What is it, Agnes?” he asked, frantically looking over her form for signs of injury. “Are ye hurt? Did somethin’ happen?”
Please daenae tell me somethin’ has breeched the castles’ defenses.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she wrapped her arms around him. The strength of her hold surprised him. It was almost as if she were clinging onto him for dear life.
She was saying something, but he couldn’t make any of it out. The words were muffled by his chest and her little sobs. It was a heartbreaking sound.
His blood ran cold. She’d never behaved like this before. Even when she had nightmares, she wasn’t inconsolable. She would listen to reason and logic.
Wrapping his arms around her fiercely, he asked, “What is wrong, Agnes? I cannae help ye if ye daenae tell me why ye’re so upset.”
As his mind ran through every single terrible possibility, Agnes choked out, “Katherine… She’s... she’s ill, Father!”
“What do ye mean she’s ill?” Liam asked, pressing his palm against his daughter’s chest to remind her to breathe. He waited until she took two full breaths to continue. “Is she with the healer?”
“When she was in me room...” Agnes tried to say. She took a deep, steadying breath, tears still streaking down her tiny cheeks. “She fainted. And she’s burnin’ up. I came straight to ye because I didnae ken what to do. Father, ye have to save her. Please. I daenae want her to join Mother and Grandmother so soon. Please, Father, I want her to stay here longer.”
Liam’s chest felt as though it were being crushed. He released Agnes and stood at full height. Without another word, he took hold of her hand and led her out of his chambers and to hers.
While Agnes had prepared him for the sight, he still wasn’t ready to see just how small and fragile Katherine looked. Her face was almost as white as the sheet she lay on. Her chest rose and fell unevenly. It brought back the memory of the last time he saw Lady Agnes.
Neither of us can lose anyone else.
“I will stay with her,” Liam said, pulling an armchair next to the mattress. Before he settled into the seat, he looked at Agnes once more. “Ye will go and fetch the healer, and then ye will use me chambers for the evenin’.”
“But—”
