Page 31 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

She let out a scream, and he clapped his hand over her mouth.

“Dinnae do that, Lillie or ye’ll bring the servants runnin’.” She gabbled something loudly beneath his hand and clawed at him, but he held her to his chest tightly.

“I’m gonnae take me hand away now. D’ye promise nae tae scream again if I promise nae tae hurt ye? Ach, why am I even asking?” he said, pressing her face into his chest. It was warm and solid, and Lillie could feel the rapid beating of his heart. His arms were like iron bands binding her, and she knew that if he didn’t let her go soon, she would likely suffocate.

For some reason, the thought calmed her, and she stopped struggling. She felt tears coming to her eyes, and she wilted against him, out of sheer exhaustion. She could not fight any more. She would have to give in to him.

She stayed completely still, her shoulders beginning to shake.

“Are ye nae going tae scream?” he asked again. She shook her head.

He loosened his grip on her, enough to give her space to breathe.

“All right. I’m going tae take me hand away now.” He lifted it gradually away. Suddenly, the tears burst free, and great sobs shook Lillie’s whole body. Tears ran freely down her cheeks.

“Ach, dinnae cry please, dinnae cry like that,” he moaned, holding her more gently. “Look, if it stops ye cryin’, I willnae touch ye tonight, I promise. D’ye think I’m enjoying this? I dinnae want tae force ye. There’s naething I want less than tae force a woman intae me bed.”

Through her tear-filled eyes, she looked up at him, hiccoughing.

“D’ye mean it? Ye will nae force me?” she sobbed, a glimmer of hope in her breast.

“Nay, lass,” he said with deep sigh of resignation. “I promise I’ll nae force ye if ye dinnae want tae.”

More tears fell, this time of relief. Lillie’s heart felt immediately lighter. She trusted him as he had kept his promise the night before.

“Thank ye, thank ye. I just cannae dae it. ’T’is all too much fer me. Ye dinnae ken what I’ve been through. ’Tis the second time I’ve been kidnapped. I was taken prisoner by Laird Keir MacNeil last year, and he kept me as his captive for six months before me brothers came and set me free,” she sobbed, her nose and eyes running.

“Then, two days ago, I was kidnapped again, by Laird Caelin McIrving, and he sold me at that auction in place of his daughter, and then ye bought me instead of that other man, and ye forced me tae marry ye, and now ye want tae bed me, and I ken ye’re going tae hurt me, and oh, I just cannae take any more!” It all came out in such a rush, she had to catch her breath.

“Here,” Diarmaid said in a gentle voice, as if talking to child, handing her a handkerchief. “Wipe yer tears and blow yer nose.”

Lillie took the handkerchief gratefully and did as he said before handing the hanky back to him.

He shook his head. “Keep it.”

Diarmaid did not know what to think as he held a shaking Lillie in his arms. He was deeply moved by her emotional outburst. Yet he could not quite credit all she had told him. Could she really have been kidnapped twice? It didn’t seem very likely. But then again, why would she invent such an outlandish story? And she seemed very sure of her facts. He’d heard of Keir MacNeil and knew he’d had a fearsome reputation as a cruel brute. Could it all be true?

“Come on, come and sit down,” he told her, guiding her to the bed and sitting her down on the edge. He sat next to her, waiting until she had calmed down a little and could talk without crying. The way she looked at him with her big, bright gray eyes made his stomach turn over. He just wanted to hold her and comfort her, but he knew he had to try to get to the bottom of things and find out if her claims were to be believed.

“All right. That’s better. Now we can talk.”

She nodded. “Aye.”

“Look, all this stuff ye’ve been telling me, about nae being McIrving’s daughter and being kidnapped twice. Can ye start at the beginning and tell me everything up until I bought ye at the auction? That might help me understand what’s happened tae ye. D’ye see why ’tis hard fer me tae believe ye?”

“All right,” she said, nodding.

So, she took a deep breath and told him the whole story again, but with all the details.

“Now d’ye understand why I fight against ye and why I’m so frightened of what ye’re gonna dae tae me?” she asked when she had finished.

“’Tis quite a story,” Diarmaid told her, taken aback by the intricacy of her tale. It seemed too detailed to be made up. And he knew her well enough by now to be able to tell that, though she was courageous, she was at heart a sweet and gentle soul who cared about others. Seeing her making friends with the children and saving the little girl from choking had shown him that.

“I feel fer ye, Lillie, I really dae. I cannae imagine what suffering ye must have been through. Now I see why ye’re acting the way ye are, why ye’re so afraid of me bedding ye.” His heart ached for her. “I’m sorry fer all ye’ve had tae put up with, I really am.”

“Thank ye fer believing me at last. I wish I had some way of proving it all tae ye, but I cannae without me brothers tae vouch fer me.”

“I understand. Look, I want tae put yer mind at rest so ye dinnae havetae be so scared of me anymore. I’m yer husband, and I want ye tae like me, nae tae hate me and fear me. I swear I’ll nae touch ye again unless ye want me tae, all right?”