Page 12 of A Kilted Marriage of Convenience

CHAPTERSIX

Lillie shut the door behind her, and walked into the room to meet Ciara. “Well, ye… Ye are quite lovely,” she said with a small nervous laugh as she got close enough to look at Ciara directly. As though realizing what she had said, she blushed. “I apologize! I was just surprised because ye are so beautiful. I made a thoughtless comment.”

Ciara froze in shock, completely caught off guard. Her guilt sputtered and died out, replaced by surprised amusement. Lillie MacDonald thought she was beautiful! Had the girl looked at herself? She was a goddess come to life!

“Thank ye! I am so flattered that ye think so when ye are a such a beauty yerself, my lady,” Ciara said, not bothering to hide her enthusiasm. “Look at this tangle of curls I have! In comparison… look at yer hair! The waves are so silky, so bright.”

Lillie laughed through her blush and took Ciara’s hands. “I for one think yer curls are gorgeous. I am rather plain, I fear. My brothers think me a lamb,” she said.

Ciara cocked her head to the side, regarding her. She could not lie. Lillie did resemble a lamb. Unlike her brother’s eyes, the gray of her irises was soft, softly framed by delicate blonde lashes. Her kind demeanor made it hard to see her as anything other than a lamb. However, if Lillie did not like to be regarded as harmless, then Ciara would not reinforce that.

“I simply think that ye are beautiful. It daenae matter how ye look. Ye can be fierce and strong even when ye look ‘tame’ as ye put it,” Ciara said.

Lillie did not know it, of course, but Ciara was speaking from her personal experience of the MacDonald girl, as she had witnessed her strength in her father’s dungeon.

Her father had been meaning to break her spirit, yet Lillie seemed to have persevered. It was probably a bit frustrating to be seen as a lamb after going through such an ordeal and having the strength to keep fighting. The girl squeezed Ciara’s hands as though she had just found her kin after long separation.

“Ye understand me so well! Dae ye face the same with yer family as well? I overheard my brothers saying yer father daenae let ye go anywhere.”

Lillie’s question was innocent, but Ciara’s smile faded. All the occasions her father had hit her came flashing through her mind along with his harsh words. She was sure the MacDonald brothers would rather die than see their sister married to a man like Laird Morrison, but Keir meant to sell Ciara off to him gladly.

“I suppose ye could say it is similar,” she lied, as she could not allow them to find out that her father did not consider her important. The more that they thought she was treasured by him, the greater her security was in the laird’s castle. She hated to lie to Lillie, however, so she left it at that. The girl would assume the rest for herself.

The two moved to sit on the bed, Lillie still holding her hand. “It gets hard sometimes, dealing with my brothers. I ken that they love me, but I want them to take me seriously. For example, I told them to leave ye alone. I didnae want any woman to go through what I went through, but they ignored me and are keeping ye captive anyway because of their anger,” Lillie explained.

Ciara’s heart began to beat faster. She knew that Lillie felt guilty that Ciara had been taken, but to hear that she was actively against her captivity made her worried. She was glad the MacDonald brothers did not listen to their sister, and she had to hope that they continued to ignore her.

In her daze, Ciara had not said anything in response, and Lillie seemed to remember who she was talking to. She clapped her hands over her mouth. “I am so sorry! That was insensitive. I daenae ken why I am complaining to ye when ye are the one being held captive.”

Ciara rushed to calm her down. “Nay, nay! I understand. I too suddenly feel like I can tell ye anything. Ye dinnae have to worry about me. I am nae being treated badly by yer brothers,” she said.

Lillie seemed deep in thought. “I promise ye that my brothers are nae bad men. I ken that it probably is annoying to hear me say that as their sister, but they would never hurt ye like…” Lillie trailed off, clearly uncomfortable.

“Like my father hurt ye,” Ciara finished. An awkward silence passed between the two girls, and she squeezed Lillie’s fingers. “I am so sorry for what he did to ye. I tried to—I wanted to—”

“It is alright. Ye are nae yer father, nor are ye responsible for his actions. I am just sad that my brothers have to use ye to get their revenge just because they cannae forgive him for his cruelty.” Lillie was twisting a strand of hair between her fingers nervously.

Ciara gave her a weak smile. “Ye truly are too kind. Would it be easier on ye if I were insufferable? I could begin to make a fuss and treat everyone badly. I’ll bet I can make quite the nuisance of myself and make ye all so frustrated that ye nae longer feel bad that I am a prisoner.”

Lillie seemed stunned that she could joke about her situation. A surprised laugh escaped her, causing Ciara to start laughing as well. The two women spent a few minutes giggling at the silliness of their situation. Ciara could tell that she would have been good friends with Lillie if they had lived in a different time, and led different lives.

Are ye so sure about that? What dae ye think she will think of ye if she finds out that ye are using this situation? Using her kindness?

Ciara’s own thoughts brought her back to reality. If only they had met under better circumstances, she would have been able to say that she was Lillie’s friend with confidence instead of fear.

A knock on the door startled the two girls. “Excuse me, my lady. May I enter?” a male voice asked from outside. Lillie turned to Ciara, indicating that it was her room and her choice.

“Come in,” Ciara whispered, and she felt ashamed. They treated her like a guest, not like a prisoner. A young guard opened the door and stepped into the room. He looked very proper and serious, as he bowed first to Ciara and then to Lillie.

“Lady Lillie, I didnae ken ye were in here. I apologize if I interrupted ye,” he said.

Lillie waved his apology away. “Nay, nae at all. Is something the matter?”

The guard straightened. “I was assigned to watch the lady tonight…” A beat passed, and Lillie turned to the window.

“Och, goodness… I didnae realize it had gotten so late, Lady Ciara. I was rude, I apologize,” Lillie said, getting to her feet.

“Nay, nae at all. I enjoyed yer company.”