Page 30 of A Kilted Marriage of Convenience

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Ciara woke up with a start to the sound of curtains being drawn and Lillie chirping delightedly about something. She had gotten a little used to the girl’s bright behavior over her time in the castle, but this was startling for her. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as Lillie plopped down on the bed in a most unladylike manner, chattering all the way.

Ciara found herself nodding along as she belatedly tried to understand what Lillie was in such a good mood about. She managed to catch the end of her prattle. “…and och, what a lovely day it would be!’’

“Lillie,” Ciara managed to cut in, ‘’whatever has gotten into ye this morning?’’

The girl seemed to realize that she had been going off on her own, and Ciara was too sleepy to catch up. “Och, I am sorry for waking ye! I was just so excited over the news of ye marrying my brother. I came to get ye since ye were sleeping in. Hurry now, we are going to get yer measurements to make ye a wedding dress, and the day is already half over as it is!’’

Ciara allowed herself to be ushered into the washing tub at the corner of the room, already filled with water, as Lillie sorted through her things for a dress. Ciara listened distractedly to the excited chatter coming from behind the screen. Her mind raced behind to the events of the previous night. She had made love to Aidan, and then he had left.

Aidan had left. The last memory brought a wave of emotions rushing through her bones, running through her mind even more intimately, as if some unseen force was intruding into her essence. She remembered how intense their moment together had been, she remembered the passion, the thrill. It was all soured by how Aidan had disappeared. His cold departure left her feeling stung and raw. This, combined with the overwhelming guilt she felt at how successfully she had tricked him into marrying her, left a sinking feeling in her gut.

This was the plan she had set into motion, and yet she felt awful. Although it was no love match, Aidan was better than that vile Laird Morrison her father had wanted her to marry. The guilt still chaffed at her, however. What if it all came crashing down on her? What if Aidan unraveled the whole plot? What then?

In that moment, she realized something chilling: she had come to fall in love with Aidan MacDonald. Terribly, undeniably.

The divider parted with a rush, and Ciara was shaken out of her reverie by the intruding voice of Lillie behind her. “Say, how long daes it take ye to clean up after a night doing nae a thing but sleeping?’’

Ciara smiled forcefully, pulling herself out of the tub, and pushing down all recollections of her adventures with Aidan. She took the towel the girl offered her. “Nae long enough Lillie. Nae long enough.’’

Ciara tried to withdraw into her shell, but she looked at the happy girl next to her with confusion and could not withhold her question any further as they walked. ‘’How is it that ye are so excited about the wedding? I expected that ye would be against it, as it isnae doubt a bid to get at my father.”

For the first time the whole morning, Lillie stopped talking. She turned slowly to look at Ciara for some moments, who squirmed under the scrutiny. When Lillie finally spoke, it was in a calm voice. ‘’I am aware of the reason for the marriage, and kenning my brother, I am sure he has vengeance on his mind, as he is yet to forget how our parents were murdered and how I was abducted. Still, I ken that ye will be a great wife for Aidan and what’s better than having my friend be my sister-in-law as well?”

Lillie took a pause, and the silence stretched. She still held on to Ciara’s hands as she looked intimately at her, watching her expression. Then Lillie asked, cocking an eyebrow, “Dae ye mind getting married to my brother? Are ye betrothed to anyone else? Ye dinnae have anyone else ye are in love with, dae ye?’’

The questions took Ciara by surprise, and she blushed a deep red as they hit. She managed to regain her composure by taking several deep breaths before answering. “Nae, I have nae one else. There was nae one else before I left my home.’’ Technically, that was a lie, but Lille had asked if she had someone she loved, and she certainly did not love the man her father had betrothed her to.

Lillie pressed again, “Dae ye like my brother? Even the slightest bit?’’

Again, Ciara had to control herself before replying quietly, “He is quite charming.”

Lillie beamed at this as Ciara blushed deeply again. There was no denying how much she had fallen for Aidan and how he made her feel, despite the fact that their relationship was built on a bed of lies.

The rest of the day was spent in a more cheerful mood, as Lillie’s energy was infectious enough to banish Ciara’s guilt, even if just for a few hours. The visit to the seamstress was fruitful as they managed to create a most beautiful dress.

Approaching the castle gates, the stumbled upon Hannah and decided to once again collect herbs. Only this time, they resolved to wear cloaks and bring more guards with them for extra protection.

“Are ye sure that cloaks are any good?” Hannah murmured as she adjusted her hood over her head.

“That is why the guards are following a safe distance away and keeping an eye out. They will never get another chance to catch us by surprise like they did last time,” Lillie assured her as Ciara listened to the two talking quietly, picking the herbs that Hannah directed her to choose.

“I hope we dinnae have to deal with that again. We are still healing the soldiers who got injured last time,” Hannah added with a sigh.

“We? Yer mother is letting ye help her this time?” Lillie sounded slightly excited.

“Barely,” Hannah said, looking morose. “Mother still daesnae trust me.”

Ciara, who had been listening, could not help but speak up in confusion. “Why would yer mother nae trust ye?” she asked.

Lillie pressed her lips together and Hannah smiled wistfully. “Well… I was nae always like this,” Hannah confessed. “This is a learned behavior that took me years to master and longer to get used to.”

Lille nodded and rested on the edge of her basket. “It is true. Hannah used to be a troublemaker when we were younger,” she chuckled, staring off into the distance as though lost in her memories.

Ciara could not believe it. She looked at Hannah again. “Ye? A troublemaking lass? I cannae believe it,” she said.

Lillie laughed low. “I cannae blame ye for doubting it. Honestly, it took me a while to get used to the new Hannah when she changed back then. It was so sudden, ye ken. I was confused about how to deal with her for quite some time, for she went from sneaking out to diligently helping her mother and learning how to heal,” she said.