Page 7 of A Kilted Marriage of Convenience

CHAPTERFOUR

Aidan did not have much time to process the situation. Maria yelled at him to carry the girl so they could return to the castle before the storm caught up to them.

He ran with her in his arms, and they arrived at the castle just as the first raindrops began to fall.

“Bring her to my private infirmary,” Maria said, before turning to the maids and ordering them to set water to boil.

Ciara’s body was freezing cold in his arms, but even then he had to appreciate how soft she felt. For the first time, he got a good look at her face. He was blown away. Despite the unnatural blue of her lips, the paleness of her skin from the drowning, and her eyelids twitching in discomfort, this woman was a stunning beauty.

It was shocking that someone so beautiful could be the child of such a horrible man. He had to remind himself that beauty said nothing of her character, so he looked away and focused on getting to Maria’s chambers. Aidan placed her on the bed while the short dark-haired healer worked quickly, trying to find the herbs she’d need in her many jars.

“She only woke up briefly on the beach. We have to make sure that she is warm, or she might still die from the cold,” Maria was muttering. She pointed at the fireplace. “Please, help me stoke the fire. I need the room as warm as it can be.”

Aidan and Darragh did as asked; the warmth of the fire a welcome sensation for them too. Aidan heard Maria straining, and he looked up to find that she was struggling with the girl’s wet clothes.

“I need to take this off, as it is just making her worse, but it is too much for me to rip,” she explained when she saw them looking.

Aidan and Darragh exchanged glances. “I will dae it. Ye should leave,” Aidan said, stepping up to the task.

He unsheathed his dagger from his belt as he walked toward the bed.

For some reason, his throat was dry as he placed the sharp edge of the blade against her dress with one hand and lifted the cloth from her skin with the other. The fabric truly was heavy, and thick. With one clear cut, he ripped the dress open, down to her navel.

He tried not to look. Truthfully, he did. But the beckoning of her peaked pink nipples against the swells of her breasts was too hard to ignore. Looking away, he cut the dress down to the tuft of red below her navel before turning to Maria.

“This will be enough, nae?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady as he swallowed to wet his throat.

If Maria noticed that he had been swayed by the woman’s nakedness, she said nothing. Instead, she waved him away and took up the spot where he had been standing. Gently, she removed the rest of the clothes from Ciara’s body, and Aidan turned to the door before he saw any more than he had to.

“Make sure that ye dry yerself properly and stay warm. I cannae have ye sick as well,” Maria said as he opened the door.

“’Twas but a little dip in the sea. Surely, I am strong enough to ward off the cold,” Aidan said, scoffing slightly.

“Many a man has thought himself too powerful to be careful and thus has been killed by the slightest of ailments. It will dae ye well nae to fall victim to yer own pride.” Maria sounded unimpressed and tired.

Aidan did not look back at her. It was not as though he had planned to ignore her instructions anyway. He sighed. “Aye, I will dae as ye say.”

“I appreciate it, my laird. In turn, I shall continue to pretend I didnae notice where yer eyes strayed upon my patient,” the woman responded dryly and with a smirk he pretended not to notice.

His eyes widened, and he shut the door behind him immediately. So, Maria had noticed after all. With a groan, he began heading for his chambers, where he could get out of his wet clothes and try to make sure he did not get sick. He could not lie that Ciara MacNeil was attractive. He was a man, after all. How could he not notice her beauty?

It wasn’t as if he took advantage of her, so he shouldn’t have to feel guilty. She was Keir MacNeil’s daughter, for God’s sake! All the better if he could take advantage of her and make her father suffer. It was all part of his revenge. Yet, he could not bring himself to think about it.

The moment he arrived in his chambers and slammed the door behind him, he ripped his wet shirt open. The fireplace was lit, and a hot bowl of broth sat on his table. Indeed, he had no time to consider the complicated feelings brewing inside of him. He needed to take care of himself now.

* * *

The rising sun was streaming through big windows when Ciara woke up. She stared at the light being cast on the polished floors in confusion. But moments later, the memories came crashing back, making her flinch as she recalled the huge wave that had swallowed her.

She looked around some more. Where am I? Did Father catch me and bring me back? She was in a room that smelled like medicine, and something boiled over the fireplace. She was definitely not back at her father’s keep, that was for sure. This place did not look familiar in the slightest.

Had someone saved her and brought her to the convent? The door opening drew her attention, and she turned to find a short, dark-haired, older woman stepping inside. She paused in the doorway when she saw that Ciara’s eyes were open, and she turned to the girl walking in after her, muttering something before she entered the room alone and shut the door behind her.

“Good to have ye back among the living, lass. Ye gave us quite the fright for a bit there. Ye ran a fever all through the night. I was nae sure ye would make it,” the woman said, passing her and going to fiddle with what she was boiling over the fireplace. Ciara touched her forehead and found it clammy with sweat. It seemed this woman was nursing her back to health. Was she the one who saved her? “My name is Maria,” she added.

“I was... in the sea,” Ciara croaked. She raised her hand to her aching throat. The dark-haired woman, Maria, came over with a wooden cup in hand as though she had been expecting Ciara to struggle with speaking.

“Drink,” she ordered. “With all the seawater ye swallowed, ye need to soothe yer throat.”