Page 26 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

“I would like to have the tea that Finian gave me please. Will ye have them make a pot and bring it up tae me, please? A big pot. And the ale and wine too. I’ll get dressed meself, dinnae worry.”

“I’ll do that now, melady,” the obliging maid said and went off to do as she was bidden. It did not take her long to return with a footman bearing a tray containing everything Lillie had ordered. Thinking she would be going down to dinner at some point during the evening, though she had no appetite, Lillie had dressed herself in the pale blue gown. She was combing out her hair, using a comb she had found by the laird’s bed, when they came in.

She thanked the footman as he deposited the tray on a sturdy table, eyeing the large tea pot, from which steam was rising. It would not matter if it cooled while they were at dinner. The herbs would work just as well.

“What time does the Laird usually dine?” she asked.

“Och, I almost forgot!” Penny exclaimed. “Ye dinnae need tae worry about going down tae dinner in the hall, melady,” she said. “Raymond, the cook, told me that the laird has ordered dinner fer two up here. He said ye’ve nae been feelin’ too well, so he thought it would be best fer ye. Is that nae thoughtful of him?”

Lillie was speechless for a few moments, but when she thought about it, whether they dined in the hall or in his chambers, it would make no difference. If her plan did not work, then unless her brothers arrived within the next few hours to save her, her maidenhead would be taken by the laird.

Oh, Lord, help me!

“I see. How thoughtful indeed.”

“Well, if ye have everything ye need, melady, I’ll leave ye tae yerself until the laird comes. But just call fer me if ye need anything.”

“All right, Penny. And thank ye fer everything. Good night.”

“Good night tae ye, me lady!” Penny gave her a brilliant, knowing smile. Mercifully, she then left the room quietly with the footman.

As soon as she was alone, Lillie went to the table and lifted the lid of the tea pot. She sniffed the steam and looked inside. Using the spoon provided, she stirred the mixture and tasted it.

It tastes like boiled grass! But it’s bland enough tae be undetected in ale or wine. And the dry herbs in his dinner will make him fall asleep quickly.

Now all she had to do was wait, so she looked around for something to occupy her time. There was a small pile of books on one of the nightstands. She went to investigate. As was to be expected, there was a well-thumbed copy of Burns’ complete poems, but most of the books she did not recognize. She ended up picking one called The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia by someone called Samuel Johnson, purely because it had an engraving of a man riding a strange creature she knew to be a camel etched into the cover.

Taking the book, she tried to settle down in a comfortable armchair in front of the fire and opened it. But of course, not a single word sank in, though she read the same page over and over. Her body was as tense as the string of a drawn-back bow ready to let an arrow fly, and her ears strained for any minute echo of the familiar bootstep in the hallway.

CHAPTER TEN

“Now, what shall I write?” Dairmaid asked, leaning his elbows on the table, frowning with concentration. “I need tae word it just right.”

“Aye, well, I say just be straightforward about it. Tell ’em we just happened tae be traveling in that area and came across the auction by accident,” Cairán suggested.

“Shall I say we recognized Lillie as his sister, d’ye think?”

“Why? Had ye seen her before then?”

“Nay, of course I hadnae.”

“Well, then tell him the truth. Just say ye believed her tae be McIrving’s daughter, and we got there just in time to tae save her from being bought by Lennox, a well-known brute.”

“Aye, that’s the truth. We could nae stand tae see a noble laird’s daughter being bought by that bastard… so I bought her mesel’, and we brought her back here to safety.”

“And now ye’ve married her,” Cairán added bluntly.

“Aye, I’ll say we rescued her and thought it only fair tae the lass tae dae the right thing and make up fer the disrespect shown tae her by makin’ her me wife. And that it was also tae avoid the risk of Lennox coming tae reclaim her as his own,” Diarmaid scribbled furiously on the parchment.

“Och, the man’ll think ye’re a saint, Braither! Will ye say anything about how we believe ’t’was Murphy Lennox who murdered our parents and brother and is keeping our sister captive?”

“Aye, I think I will. The MacDonalds are a powerful clan. It would explain why we acted against Lennox by saving Lillie, and MacDonald might decide tae assist us in getting revenge on the Lennoxes fer arranging the auction on the first place,” Diarmaid said, thinking quickly.

“That would be grand!”

“Aye, with enough force behind us, we could destroy them and maybe rescue Maddison.” He paused, then added, “Of course, all this depends on whether Lillie really is who she says she is.”

“D’ye still think she’s lyin’?” Cairán asked.