Page 13 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

“Och, ’tis beautiful,” Lillie said with a gasp of wonder before she could stop herself. From her seat in front of Diarmaid, a multicolored carpet unrolled before her as far as the whitecapped mountains in the far distance, patterned by purple heathered moorland and cultivated fields dotted with farms and livestock.

In the center, couched on a wall of solid natural rock, was a sprawling stronghold of gray stone, with four rectangular towers set diametrically at the ends of a high curtain wall. Five storeys of windows glittered in the sunlight, and a huge guardhouse squatted like some great predatory beast, its maw an archway filled by a set of enormous gates studded with iron.

Silently, she admitted she was impressed, though she would rather die than let him know she admired anything that belonged to him.

“Aye,” Diarmaid agreed with a nod of satisfaction. “That’s home. Ye’d best get used tae it, fer it’ll be yer home as well, as the new Lady Kincaid.”

Lillie’s enthusiasm deflated instantly, the comment reminding her she was his booty, not an honored lady lawfully betrothed to him. A forced marriage awaited her. And worse. The thought made her shiver with apprehension.

They descended into the valley and followed the broad road leading to the gates. As they drew nearer, she heard excited shouts from inside, watching as the portcullis lifted, its heavy chains screaming as the gates swung wide. They rode beneath the archway and into a vast cobbled courtyard. To her right was a towering stone keep, to her left, an expansive castle green peppered with trees and laced with well-worn pathways.

People milled around, some of them going about their business and others gathering around, cheering and calling out greetings, clearly pleased to see their laird and his brother safely returned. The returning men hailed them with cheery salutations.

Diarmaid dismounted and lifted her from the saddle by her waist. His hands spanned it easily, making her feel even smaller and more vulnerable than she already did as he set her on her feet. Ciarán slid from his saddle too, and both sets of reins were handed to a stable lad who led away the horses.

“Come on,” Diarmaid said, taking Lillie by the arm and pulling her along.

“Where are we going?” she asked, nervously glancing around at all the strange and curious faces staring at her.

“Ye’ve a wedding to prepare fer,” he told her bluntly as the three of them entered the keep. She barely had time to look around her at the great hall she found herself standing in before Ciarán split off.

“I’ll see ye in the chapel,” he said before disappearing down a long hallway leading into the interior of the castle. Still gripping her arm tightly, as if there was anywhere she could run, Diarmaid whisked her up a stone staircase. At the first landing, he veered off to the left, where several doors opened off a broad hallway whose walls were covered with large tapestries.

“In here,” he said, opening one of the doors and pushing her inside. “I’ll let the servants know of the ceremony as soon as I have spoken tae the priest and will send women tae attend tae ye. They’ll be here shortly,” he told her, then shut the door, leaving her alone. The key turned in the lock, which was no more than she had expected. Even so, her spirits sank further at the prospect of being forced to marry the man.

Looking around, she saw she was in a pretty, well-furnished chamber fit for a lady. Sunlight poured in through two large windows. Hope of escape leapt in her breast as she hurriedly crossed to them, but it soon died when she looked out and realized she was at least twenty feet from the ground.

In despair, she went to the canopied bed and sat on the edge, her head in her hands, contemplating her doom.

She sat, tired from their journey and thought of her fate. There had to be some way to escape before the ceremony actually took place. She reflected for a while, evaluating options.

After about half an hour, however, her gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feminine voices and dainty footsteps in the hallway. She looked at the door as they grew louder and then stopped. In another moment, she heard the key turning in the lock, and the door opening.

Three waiting women, dressed in dark gowns and white caps, entered. All of them stared at her, smiling, their eyes filled with excitement. The eldest and tallest of them stepped forward and bobbed a curtsey.

“Me lady, I’m Lorna. The laird has sent us tae prepare ye fer the ceremony,” she said with a curtsey.

“And I’m Penny,” said the small, mousey looking lass who wore an expression of ill-concealed delight on her freckled face. Lillie noticed she had a linen covered dress bag over her arm and realized with a chill that it was likely her wedding dress. She could not help wondering where it had come from. Did her husband-to-be keep a supply of them handy for occasions such as this?

“And I’m Sheila,” said the last, a curvy girl with a generous bosom and darker coloring. She too curtseyed before adding, “And I’m tae do yer hair and makeup.”

Lillie continued staring at them for a moment, not knowing quite how to act. In truth, she felt like cursing them and pushing them aside to run out the door. But she told herself it was not their fault she was there. They were only obeying their laird’s commands. Besides, she was very aware she would not get far, even if she managed to make her way out of the room. She would need friends at the castle if she was going to have to live there as the laird’s lady.

“Good day tae ye’ all,” she finally managed, unable to garner much enthusiasm. As it turned out, she did not need it as the trio soon proved to have enough for several people between them as they bustled about their appointed task with gusto.

The preparations began with footmen hauling cans of hot water into the room, supervised by Lorna, who then instructed them on filling the tub in what Lillie discovered was an adjoining bathroom. Once the men were gone, Lorna locked the door and popped the key in her pocket. If she thought it strange that the bride-to-be had to be locked in, or that she had appeared out of the blue with absolutely no warning, she did not show it, instead exuding an air of cheerfulness.

They gathered around her, clucking like hens as they efficiently set about readying Lillie for her wedding. Listlessly, she allowed herself to be divested of her now grubby clothing and urged into the hot, scented water of the bathtub.

Wonderful as it was to feel the soothing effects on her sore wrists and ankles and have the dust of the road scrubbed away, it only reminded her of when Caelin McIrving’s women had forced her to bathe in preparation for the auction.

Was that only yesterday? So much seemed tae have happened since then.

She complied with their every request as they dried her, scented her skin with oils, and dressed her in fresh underthings. Then, Penny took out the wedding dress. When the exquisite pale-blue velvet and silk gown was slipped over Lillie’s head and smoothed over her hips, they all gasped in delight, admiring her from all angles. Lorna made some fine adjustments, and with a few strategically placed pins, the dress fit her perfectly.

“It’s one of Miss Maddison’s,” Lorna told Lillie. Lillie recognized the name of Diarmaid and Ciarán’s kidnapped sister, the one they believed this Odhrán Lennox, the man who had wanted so badly to buy her at the auction, was keeping captive. If she had not felt sick with fear, she would have admired the girl’s taste.

But despite her feelings, she imagined the unfortunate Maddison was suffering more than she was. The fates of the other girls who had been sold off also seemed worse than hers, for she could not say the Laird of Kincaid had treated her badly so far. From that point of view, she supposed she was the lucky one, so she steeled herself for the ceremony that lay ahead. She knew with certainty that she would not let him touch her, and once this whole matter was clarified with the help of her family, the wedding could be annulled.