Page 23 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

After a few moments of silence, the biggest of the boys stepped forward and asked, “Are ye a ghost, miss?”

Lily laughed. “I’m nae a ghost, I can assure ye. But I only arrived here yesterday, so I’ve nae had time tae meet many folks. Will ye nae come and talk tae me fer a wee while? ’Tis a bit lonely up here all by meself.”

To her amusement, this prompted a frantic, whispered conversation among the children. The boy who had spoken before said, “That’s exactly what a ghost would say.”

“Is that so,” Lillie asked. “Ye seem to ken a lot about ghosts. Have ye met many then?”

The boy shrugged sheepishly. “Nay, but Hetty here has met quite a few.” He indicated the small, skinny girl of around six or seven with black curling hair and dark eyes standing next to him. She was sucking her thumb and staring at Lily intently.

“That’s very interesting. Hetty must be one o’ those lucky people who can see the spirits, eh? But I’m nae a ghost, and I havenae seen one either, even though I grew up in a castle just like this one.”

“Did ye?” the boy asked, clearly interested. He came forward a few paces, and the others followed him, all looking at her with interest now.

“Aye, but it’s quite a few miles away from here,” she said. “I’m feeling a wee bit homesick.” That was true enough.

“Ah! We ken what that feels like, right enough,” the lad said. “We’re all orphans, ye see. Our families were killed in the wars. We had nae homes and nae one tae care fer us, so the laird brought us here tae live.”

Lillie was taken aback by this news. Her barbarian husband had a kind side to him, it seemed.

“Is that so? I’m very pleased to hear it. And d’ye like livin’ here?”

“Och, yes. Everyone is kind tae us, there’s plenty tae eat, and warm beds tae sleep in. And we have each other,” the boy explained.

“Ye’re like a wee family,” Lillie said, smiling warmly at them all. She was pleased to see she was slowly winning them over. They had gradually come closer and did not seem scared of her anymore.

“Aye. I’m Rufus,” the boy told her. “I’m the eldest. Ye ken Hetty there,” he jerked his thumb at the tiny girl who saw spirits, “and that’s Dougal, Jimmy, and Shona.”

“I’m honored tae meet ye all. Now, I need yer help. Will ye come and finish this toasted bread for me? I’ve had too much porridge, and I cannae eat it all meself. I dinnae wish to waste it.”

She laughed to see how quickly they scampered up to the top table and helped themselves to the bread. They chewed on it enthusiastically, in between asking Lillie questions about herself. Then, as they were talking, Hetty suddenly had a coughing fit that shook her little frame violently. She bent over, with Shona patting her back. But soon it became obvious that Hetty could not catch her breath, and she was starting to go blue in the face. Lillie quickly realized the child was choking.

She leaped into action, seizing Hetty around her waist and giving her a sudden, hard squeeze under her ribs. Hetty coughed one final time, and a piece of bread flew out of her mouth. The child gasped, pulling in air frantically until she could breathe properly again.

“There, I think ye’ll be all right now, pet,” Lillie told the child, setting her on her feet gently, adding, “That’s why ye should never eat and talk at the same time.”

“Thank ye for helping her, melady,” Shona said, her arm around Hetty’s shoulders.

“Aye, thank ye,” came a chorus from Rufus and the other children. The grateful looks on their faces touched Lillie’s heart.

“I’m glad I was here tae help,” she told them, filled with relief that Hetty was out of danger. It had been a hair-raising moment. “I learned that off our healer at home. ’Tis something tae remember, all of ye, in case it happens again.”

“Aye, thank ye, we’ll remember,” Rufus told her before asking shyly, “Would ye like tae come and play hide and seek with us fer a while? We dinnae usually let anyone else play because they’re nae in our gang. But ye can be part of it if ye would like, Miss Lillie.”

“Och, thank ye, children. I’d be honored tae join yer gang,” she said, touched at the invitation since it clearly meant a lot to them.

However, inwardly, her heart leaped in her chest, and she glanced over at the guards, who were still chatting in low voices. It had immediately struck her that a game of hide and seek about the castle promised to provide opportunities to shake off her unwelcome escort.

If I can dae that, I’ll be able tae carry out the next part of me plan!

The game began quite simply and was limited to the dining hall. Lillie volunteered to be the seeker, and after covering her eyes and counting slowly to one hundred, she spent the next twenty minutes or so pretending not to find the children, though she knew well enough their hiding places.

There was much laughter and shrieks of delight as she gradually discovered them, some crouched beneath the chairs and benches, others flattening themselves behind the wall tapestries, or behind the heavy window draperies. They played again, and this time, Lillie took note that her escort was no longer paying much attention, clearly thinking she was engrossed in the game.

Rufus was seeker, and so when he started counting, she ran off with the others to find a hiding place. She chose to hide behind a wall tapestry near the top table. The door she knew was concealed behind the nearby curtain was only a few feet away from her. If she could somehow get to it without the guards noticing, she would be free of observation. She planned to race along the corridor, up the stairs, and back to the healing rooms fast as she could. Even if the guards realized she was gone, they would not know where to look for her.

She waited until Rufus had counted to fifty before peeping out. The guards were not looking, so she inched along behind the tapestry towards the door concealed by the curtain. Once into position, she checked on the guards again but they were talking and not taking any notice of her. She stealthily slid from behind the tapestry, along the wall, and behind the curtain.

To her delight, the door to the hallway had been propped open. She wasted no time before picking up her skirts and racing away down the hallway, praying she would not bump into anyone coming the other way. Luck seemed to be with her, but when she got to the place where she had to turn right for the great hall, she saw a serving girl coming around the corner. Lillie dived into an arched doorway which had a small recess on each side. Holding her breath, she pressed herself into the recess, waiting silently until the girl passed by.