Page 69 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

But he put the question aside for the moment, for there were more urgent things to attend to just then.

“We’re nae going anywhere without Lillie,” he said.

Odhrán looked at him in obvious confusion. “Lillie? Who’s Lillie?”

It dawned on Diarmaid then that Odhrán believed Lillie to be Morin McIrving, Caelin’s daughter.

“She’s me sister,” came a loud, deep voice. Aiden came and stood next to Diarmaid. “And I want her back, now!”

“And who might ye be?” Odhrán asked, frowning as he looked Aiden up and down.

“I’m Aiden MacDonald, Laird o’ Clan MacDonald. The lassie ye’re holdin’ is nae Morin McIrving, but Lillie MacDonald. Caelin tricked ye.”

“The auld bastard,” Odhrán said, shaking his head in clear disbelief. “I kent I should nae have trusted him. Well, ye can have her.” He signaled to one of his guards and gestured for the man to fetch Lillie.

While they waited, Diarmaid continued to watch Odhrán. The man hardly took his eyes off Maddison.

After a few minutes, the door opened. Diarmaid turned, and suddenly, Lillie was running towards him. His heart sang to see her beautiful face alight with joy as she flung herself into his arms with a sob.

“Diarmaid! Thank God! I was so worried ye would nae get here in time,” she exclaimed, hugging him with all her might and peppering his face with kisses. He held her tight and kissed her hair.

“It was close,” he told her, suddenly noticing she was dressed differently. He held her at arm’s length, scrutinizing her. “What’s that ye’re wearing?” he asked, frowning.

“A wedding dress,” she explained. “They were going tae make me marry him.” She pointed at Odhrán. It was then that she appeared to notice who was standing next to Diarmaid for the first time. She screamed, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared at her brother in shock.

“Aiden! Is it really ye?” She broke away from Diarmaid and ran to her brother, and Diarmaid was touched to see how the siblings embraced each other so fiercely.

“Aye, ’tis me, Sister,” Aiden told her, laughing. “I had tae come, seein’ as ye got yerself intae another mess.”

“What has been going on?” she asked, looking around the room in perplexity, until her eyes came to rest on Diarmaid. She went over to him.

“I couldnae believe ye’d betray me, and then when I read yer note, I kent I was right,” she told him, looking up at him with a radiant smile.

“I’m sorry, Lillie, I had tae let ye think I was gonnae hand ye over, otherwise I was afraid ye’d give the game away,” he explained, taking hold of her shoulders. “Can ye forgive me fer lyin’ tae ye?”

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. “Ye’re already forgiven.”

“That’s very touching,” Odhrán observed drily. “Now, I’d like ye all tae leave. Just because I have nae interest in bloodshed, doesn’t mean we’re allies.”

“With the greatest of pleasure,” Diarmaid growled, putting his arm around Lillie and turning to Ciarán and Aiden. “’Tis good tae finally meet ye,” he told Aiden, and the two men clasped wrists in greeting. “I have tae thank ye fer comin’ tae help us.”

Aiden smiled and shook his head. “Anything tae get me sister back safely. When yer braither here,” he gestured to Ciarán, “sent me a message tellin’ me what was happenin’, Darragh and I came right away.”

“Where is Darragh?!” Lillie asked, looking around the room.

“He’s back with the men,” Aiden explained.

“OUT! Have this conversation elsewhere, or I swear tae God I’ll ask me men to attack,” Odhrán asked, sounding almost pained.

And so the room was cleared of Kincaids and MacDonalds, with the injured being carried out by their comrades. Fortunately, it transpired that none of the soldiers who had fought their way to the study had lost their lives, something which Diarmaid later put down to them having the element of surprise on their side when the attack on the castle was launched.

Once outside the castle, the two armies loaded up the injured and the dead, and the Kincaid and MacDonald families rode out together, Lillie riding with Diarmaid, and Maddison riding with Ciarán, with Aiden and Darragh by their sides.

As the evening sun blazed the last of its warm rays over the land, they left Castle Lennox far behind, making for the safe haven of Castle MacDonald.

“I plan tae have a great feast tonight, Sister,” Aiden said to Lillie, “tae celebrate yer homecomin’ and welcome our new family.”

“Och, thank ye, Aiden, that’ll be grand. I’m so happy. I cannae wait tae get back and show Diarmaid me home!” To emphasize her joy, she squeezed her husband’s waist tightly, making him cough suddenly.