Page 34 of In Bed with her Highland Foe

“What?” Gilchrist felt his stomach tighten. Did she want to be alone with him too? Had that been part of her plan?

“The cat!”

The black kitten launched herself off the table and toward the door. Gilchrist hastily stepped inside and kicked the door shut behind him. The cat sat still before him, now licking her paws as if she hadn’t been interested in making her escape at all.

“I see she has been giving ye the runaround this morning then,” Gilchrist said as Kyven giggled. She walked toward him, and he realized that she had been near his bed.

Why were ye standing there, Kyven?

He hiddenly adjusted his trews as slyly as he could. Thoughts of Kyven and that bed were hardly helping matters.

“She tried tae escape. I was nearly seen,” she said between fits of giggles. “And… ye have nae been gone long.”

“Turns out, the scouts were on this edge of the village. The task didnae take us long at all,” he lied, for they had not even left the castle at all. He’d sent the food Kyven had had prepared anyway to the scouts, for it was a kind thing to do. “Were ye seen?”

“Nay.” She shook her head again and picked up his kitten, stroking the cat as she nuzzled in. “It was close though. Imagine what yer men might have said tae see me in here.”

“I imagine they would have said all sorts of things, though one thing for certain.” He took off his weapons belt out of habit and laid it in the nearest coffer.

“Ye getting undressed, Gilchrist?” she said suddenly. Then covered her mouth and blushed.

He turned to face her, noting that she was smiling nonetheless. There was a tension in the air.

Was that… sexual tension?

He could not be sure. He saw everything Kyven did as sexual, so he could easily be reading something that was not there.

“Habit,” he said and smiled, crossing the room toward a small cabinet he had in the side of the room. “I am sure ye dinnae wish me tae continue.”

She giggled but did not answer.

“Drink?”

“Aye, please.” She placed the cat down on the table between them as he poured out two glasses of mead. “I like her name by the way.”

“I dinnae,” Gilchrist said honestly, shaking his head. “I cannae call her Sir Meows-a-Lot.” Yet at the name, the cat turned to look at him. “Dinnae ye dare start responding tae that name.”

She meowed in innocence, prompting Kyven to giggle once again.

“Here,” he passed her the glass, thankful for this sudden easy air between them, as if they had stood in his chamber a hundred times before, and it was natural for them to do so again.

“Thank ye. I need this.” She took such a hefty gulp that Gilchrist stared at her in amazement over the rim of his own glass.

“Aaden told me ye didnae have an easy meeting with the council. Would that…” he gestured to the way she had downed half the mead, “have something tae dae with it?”

“Aye, it would.” She grimaced and turned away, moving to sit on the edge of his bed.

Gilchrist nearly joined her before he realized what he was doing. He absentmindedly stroked the cat then leaned against the table, so he was facing Kyven. She rested her chin on the short, squat bedpost as she fiddled with the glass in her grasp.

“They wish me tae decide by Sunday, Gilchrist,” she said, her voice so quiet it was barely audible at all. “I told them I would. I ken I have tae, me mind kens I must act like the lady of the clan. But me heart that doesnae want tae dae it. It is like they are arguing against one another.”

“Wait.” Gilchrist released the cat and took out a small Savonarola chair. He dragged it across the room and sat down before her, sitting close to her. She leaned forward a little, off the bedpost. They could have been in the library again, completely isolated, feeling like the only two people in the world. “Are ye saying ye dinnae wish tae marry him?”

“I… I dinnae ken.” She shook her head, staring down into her glass. “If I dinnae, I willnae be doin’ me duty.”

“Nay, that isnae true.” Gilchrist spoke with sudden passion. “Kyven, ye forget that I have watched ye in this position over this last year at least. I ken yer heart. I ken it is with yer people. Ye have held yer own in multiple council meetings, arguing fer their benefit. If ye decide nae tae marry Laird Shay, it is nae because ye arenae doing what’s best for them. It’s because yer gut instinct is telling ye it isnae the right thing tae dae.”

She smiled rather sadly, lifting her gaze to meet his. Those green eyes, so rich and dark were quite mesmerizing to gaze at.