Page 1 of A Kilted Marriage of Convenience

PROLOGUE

The crawlspace was damp, narrow, and clearly not made for human passage, as the roughness of the walls snagged her cloak and skirts. Yet, Ciara MacNeil wormed her way through, determined to see her journey to its end. It was one she had made several times before, often bearing bannock or water for the prisoner who lay at her destination.

But this time was different. She journeyed bearing no gifts, and a nervous sweat dotted her brow. Once again, she thanked the stars that she was not distressed by tight spaces, as she would probably have fainted given how hard her heart was pounding.

Ciara could still hear the commotion outside. Clan MacDonald had attacked just as she had retired for the night and there was shouting in the castle as her father’s soldiers rushed to stop them.

I have to hurry. I dinnae have much time left!

Ciara knew why they had come. The woman. The beautiful blonde woman with sad grey eyes that had been dragged in by her father two weeks ago, and locked in the dungeon where she did not belong. That woman was Lillie MacDonald. Ciara had watched from her window as they dragged her by her luscious tresses, unbothered that she had bloodied her feet as she dug them into the ground, defying them.

Ciara’s father, Keir MacNeil, was proud of his new acquisition. And before long, everyone knew that he had imprisoned the sister of Laird Aidan MacDonald.

To what end did he torture her? For unreasonable hatred, taking root in an old feud. Ciara growled low in her throat. As if killing the previous Laird MacDonald and his wife was not enough. Her father continued to torment their poor family.

Ciara hated his rule. He was a terrifyingly wicked man who knew no kindness or mercy for anyone, not even her, his own daughter. She always spoke against his heartless acts of war, and this time was no different. However, like always, her words fell on deaf ears, and she was forced to flee before one of the dishes he threw in her direction actually met its mark.

She took matters into her own hands and began to take food and warm clothes to the prisoner secretly. She was horrified at what Keir had done when she saw the woman. Lillie looked to be about her own age, but the hopeless and startling emptiness in her gaze made her seem like she was a hundred years older. Her hands and feet were bound in heavy ropes too tight to untie. The knots were so firm that the woman’s wrists and ankles were red and swollen. She looked like she had taken quite a beating too.

At first, Lillie MacDonald had been wary of her, eyes wide with distrust. Eventually, she allowed Ciara to massage her hands and legs, to ease what pain she could. If only she could cut the ropes. But she knew that if she did, her father would notice. Ciara had discovered that the soldiers had ceased beating Lillie, and were now trying to break her spirit by leaving her hungry instead. However, it had not been working since Ciara kept bringing her food without their knowledge, sneaking into the prisons at night whenever she could.

She was happy that Lillie’s people had come for her. Whatever her father had planned for the young woman was not going to be good, and she was determined to make sure that Lillie escaped safely.

Ciara finally reached the end of the secret passageway and wriggled into the dungeon. Like she always did, she checked the hood of her cloak, making sure it was firmly over her head, leaving her face in shadow. She tied it at the neck for added security.

She could not afford for the cloak to come off. Ciara’s vibrant red hair could not be mistaken for anyone else’s, under any lighting. There was only one other person who had hair like hers, and that was her father. If Lillie knew she was the daughter of the man who had captured her, she might not trust her anymore. Or even worse, she might let someone know she was helping her. So every time she visited Lillie, Ciara tied her hair in a ponytail so tight that she could feel it pulling at her scalp, and then she wore a cloak over it.

She grabbed the keys hanging on the wall and hurried to the cell, trying to be as quiet as possible—a problem most of the time as her clumsiness knew no bounds.

Ciara found Lillie on the ground, her hair covering her face. Her body was limp, and she looked dead. If she had not known better, she would have thought actually thought so. However, the girl was just sleeping, completely exhausted after having been abused and starved all day.

Usually, Ciara would have brought food, but today she had come with a knife instead. She hurried over to Lillie’s feet and sawed at the ropes until they came loose, revealing the raw skin beneath. She quickly did the same for her hands as well and tried to make Lillie sit up, waking her in the process.

There was a bruise on her face as though she had been slapped, yet this did not stop her from giving Ciara a weak smile when she touched her hand, recognizing her. Over the time she had spent in captivity, Lillie had grown to recognize her by simple touch. Her face twisted in confusion, as Ciara began trying to lift her up.

“Wait… what are ye…” Lillie struggled to speak.

“We have to go. Yer people are here to save ye. If ye dinnae get up now, ye may never be able to escape from here,” Ciara whispered fiercely, hoping to ignite the woman’s will to survive. She held out her hand for Lillie to take.

It worked. The other woman looked at her hand for a while, and then took it. Lillie leaned on Ciara, wincing because of her weak and sore ankles. They were slower than Ciara would have liked, but they finally made it to the end of the secret path leading out of the dungeon.

The passageway was like a mouth to hell. It was hard to traverse alone but almost impossible now they were two. Now dragging Lillie, whose determination was not enough to give her all the strength she needed, Ciara’s heart was beating twice as hard. Finally, the girls breached the doorway after what seemed like eternity. The cold night air hit their faces, and they collided with two huge men who had been running toward the doorway.

Ciara and Lillie toppled backward. Panic arced through Ciara, and she grabbed her cloak, keeping it over her head even as she fell, trying to hold Lillie as well.

“Lillie!” one of the men exclaimed. He scooped the weak girl in his strong arms, not looking at Ciara. She watched from her spot on the ground as the two men hugged the girl one by one. She sighed in relief as she realized that these were MacDonald clansmen.

The two men were tall, towering over her like trees. They were broad too, filling up their hooded armor in a way that she hadn’t realized was possible. For some reason, she found herself drawn to the bigger man. The air around him was tenser, and he seemed more dangerous. But somehow, this sparked something inside of her, something unfamiliar: a strange magnetic pull.

She shook her head to clear the strange thoughts away, for this was not the time to consider anything else but how to return unnoticed. Now that she had completed her mission, all she had to do was hurry back to her chambers before her father realized she was gone.

But just as she was about to slip away, someone grabbed her by the arm. Turning around, she saw the bigger man holding her. With a small yelp, Ciara made sure to hold onto her hood, keeping it over her face with her free hand.

“Who are ye?! Where were ye taking her?” he hissed, his grip on her arm so tight that she feared it might fall off. Blonde hair peeked out from beneath his hood, and his gray eyes felt like shivs piercing her skin as he glared at her. His rugged features were contorted in a mixture of rage and distrust, but Ciara was not sure that was the reason for the quick beating of her heart.

“Nay! Leave her be! She saved me!” Lillie yelled weakly. “I am only alive because she helped me.”

The grip on her arm loosened immediately. The man’s gaze softened, understanding the situation. Ciara saw him wonder what he should do and noticed how his expression was sincere as he bowed his head to her.