Page 63 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

Not caring that she was almost naked, she leapt from his embrace and whirled to stare at him. A cold chill was stealing through her veins that had nothing to do with her lack of clothing. Her hands tightened into fists at her side, and her heart began thumping in her chest, driven by a mixture of anger and fear.

“We’re nae going tae see Aiden, are we?” she demanded to know.

Diarmaid sat up and looked into her eyes. She could see the sorrow in them, but that did not lessen the pain she felt when he shook his head and said in a low voice, “Nay.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Agasp of shock left her lips as she continued to stare at him in growing horror.

The pained, sorrowful expression on his beautiful features told her he was broken inside by what he was doing. But the searing pain in her own heart was like nothing she had ever felt before, and it was simply too much to bear.

“Lillie,” he said, rising and coming towards her, holding out his hands.

“Get away, dinnae touch me,” she shot at him, her breaths coming short and sharp as she rushed to gather her clothes and pull them on as quickly as she could. It was difficult because she was shaking uncontrollably from head to toe.

“Where are ye takin’ me?” she asked, but she already knew the answer.

“We’ll be at Odhrán Lennox’s castle in a few hours’ time… and ye’ll be traded for Maddison. But Lillie—” Again, he approached her as if to explain something, but she backed away.

“I told ye tae stay away. I dinnae want ye tae touch me. Ye told me ye loved me. I gave ye me heart. I trusted ye. And all the time ye were lyin’ behind me back, intendin’ tae betray me.” The tears were coming thick and fast now, making her voice hoarse and halting as she sobbed out the accusations.

“I dae love ye, Lillie, ye’ll never ken how precious ye are tae me, but I have tae dae this. Maddison’s me blood!” he said imploringly.

“And I’m ye wife,” Lillie hissed back. “Ye’d have been kinder tae kill me, but then ye would nae be able tae exchange me fer yer sister. Ye’re a liar and a betrayer, Diarmaid Kincaid, and I hate ye with all of me heart!”

Seeing him flinch as her last barb hit home, she turned and ran blindly back through the trees the way they had come, arriving back at the pond badly shaken and crying. Dashing the tears aside with her sleeve, she went immediately to her horse and pretended to busy herself with the saddlebag, attempting to hide her tears and turmoil from the men.

Seconds later, Diarmaid emerged from the trees looking flustered and came towards her, his eyes pleading. She turned a fierce glare upon him, lifting her chin in proud disdain, and mounted her horse without his help. She felt relief when he seemed to get the message and deflected his path to his own mount, the great black stallion Douglas.

“Away, men!” Diarmaid commanded, swinging himself into the saddle. He waited for the rest to be ready before he kicked up his stallion, and they resumed their journey to Castle Lennox. Lillie rode behind him, feeling numb but for the sensation that her heart was disintegrating into tiny smithereens.

During the remaining hours of their journey before they reached Castle Lennox, Lillie refused to look at or speak to Diarmaid. He felt terrible, and he had to keep telling himself it was for the best, that Lillie would hate him just for a short time.

He had a note for her in his pocket that he had prepared before leaving. He intended to get it to her somehow when he had to leave her. It told her of his plan, and that he would be coming back to get her. He simply could not bear the thought of her being locked away somewhere and not knowing he was coming back to get her, but he couldn’t risk telling her the truth and not having a genuine reaction from her. What if the Lennox clan didn’t believe them?

Castle Lennox finally came into view in front of them, a massive, fortified stronghold occupying a slight promontory that dominated the surrounding moorland and forested hills. The gates were open for them, and the party rode through into a huge central courtyard. There, his men were made to wait under guard, while he and Lillie dismounted.

He took Lillie’s arm, but she shook him off, walking in silence a few feet away from him, with her head held high. She moved mechanically, her eyes blank, her face expressionless, like a human-sized, beautiful doll walking at his side.

They were led into the keep and through the castles’ first floor hallways by a group of armed guards in Lennox tartan. He presumed they were being escorted to the laird’s inner sanctum, where the exchange would take place.

On the way, despite his inner turmoil, Diarmaid tried hard to concentrate on remembering as much of the layout as he could, to make it easier for him when he returned to find Lillie. Finally, they were shown through a set of double doors into a spacious study. On the way in, Diarmaid touched the note for Lillie hidden in his pocket.

Odhrán’s face was the first thing Diarmaid saw. His foe was standing beside his father, who grinned wolfishly when they entered. Diarmaid made sure Lillie was within easy reach, for he had no clue when the moment to give the note to her undetected might present itself.

He found it odd at first that Murphy did the talking, while Odhrán remained silent at his side, seemingly content to do so. The last time they had met, Odhrán had been red-faced with fury. Now he appeared calm, but Diarmaid detected a tension in his demeanor, and he was surprised to see no real malice in Odhrán’s face when their eyes met.

“I’m glad ye’ve seen sense a last,” Murphy said with a malicious smile when he saw Diarmaid. “It took ye long enough.” He paused, coming close to Lillie, leering at her and looking her up and down in frank appraisal. Inside, Diarmaid was seething. He fought to keep from attacking the man, telling himself repeatedly to bide his time, that the plan was everything, and he must do nothing to jeopardize it, for Lillie and Maddison’s lives depended up on it.

To his surprise, Lillie made no protest but simply stood like a marble statue, her chin in the air, as if the Laird of Lennox did not exist.

“Now I can see why me boy made such a fuss over getting the lass back,” Murphy drawled, fondling a lock of Lillie’s hair that had come loose. “She’s a bonny one all right,” the old man said with a provoking lasciviousness that had Diarmaid’s fists clenching.

“Have ye wed her?” Murphy asked abruptly, circling Lillie in the manner of a sniffing dog.

“Nay,” Diarmaid lied. That was part of the plan. And this was where it could all go wrong if Lillie spoke up and told the truth. He watched her face tensely, but all he saw was a slight flutter of her eyelids. To his great relief, she remained silent.

“So, she’s still a maid, eh?” Laird Lennox said, gripping Lillie’s chin and turning her face this way and that, as though examining a horse he was considering buying. Once again, Diarmaid breathed an inward sigh of relief, for Lillie showed no sign of being on the verge of exposing his lies.