Page 27 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

“Yer faither, perhaps,” Evander said. “But Freya will never believe ye. She loves me. An’ she has proof o’ how much I love her, ye can read all me letters tae her. What proof dae ye have that anythin’ happened here tonight?”

Aaden hardly thought that was good enough. Even if Freya believed Evander, if Laird Stewart didn’t, then there was no way he would allow this marriage.

Then again, he does love his daughters very much. He doesnae seem tae say nay tae them.

If Freya insisted she wanted to marry Evander, even after her father and her sister told her he wasn’t good enough for her, would her father forbid it or would he give in and allow her to have what she wanted, regardless of what was right for her?

“Proof? I have proof right here!” Lilith said, pointing at the maid, who was doing her best to become one with the wall behind her back. “Ye. Ye’ll tell me faither what happened, will ye nae?”

The maid didn’t even have to speak for Aaden to know that she would never reveal anything to anyone. Her hesitation was obvious as she glanced between Lilith and Evander, trying to gather the courage to speak.

“Forgive me, me lady, but I… I’m afraid I will be sent away,” the young woman said. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she looked at Lilith imploringly, hands clasped in front of her as if in prayer. “Please, I never wished tae cause harm, but Mr. MacEwan insisted an’ I didnae ken what else tae dae.”

Evander looked terribly pleased with himself then, though Aaden thought he should be anything but proud of this. When their gazes met, Aaden stared at him with a look he hoped would convey just how much of an idiot he thought Evander was, but it didn’t seem to faze his cousin at all.

“Well, Aaden saw what happened,” Lilith said, refusing to let this go. When she turned to him, she looked at him with such certainty that Aaden didn’t know how he could ever refuse. She was right, after all; Freya didn’t deserve the pain that Evander would cause her.

Before he could respond, though, Evander said, “I think ye should dae what ye came here tae dae, Aaden, instead o’ meddlin’ with what I am doin’.”

His stomach sank at Evander’s words. It didn’t surprise him, though; if Evander was going to fail his mission, then so would Aaden. Evander would make sure of it.

But there was more at stake for them both than Evander knew. For a moment, Aaden considered revealing the whole truth to him, telling him about their mother and the danger in which Ruadh had put her. After all, she was Evander’s mother, too. Surely, he wouldn’t let his father treat her with such cruelty if he knew.

It wasn’t the right time or place, though, not with Lilith and the maid there. If he was going to reveal the truth to him, he had to do it when the two of them were alone and he had to do it gently. The news would be a shock to him.

Unless he already knows.

Could it be that he knew everything and simply didn’t care about their mother? Could it be that he was even helping Ruadh with all this?

Nay… nay, he is a fool but he isnae that cruel.

“Well?” Lilith demanded when Aaden’s silence stretched for a little too long. “What does this mean, Aaden? What is Evander sayin’?”

Aaden took a deep, steadying breath. He hated it but, for now at least, he would have to keep lying to Lilith. He would have to take his cousin’s side. For his mother’s sake.

“Naething,” he said. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at Lilith as he spoke, his gaze instead glued to the ground beneath his feet. “We should forget what we saw, Lilith. It’s the best thing we can dae.”

“The best thing?” Lilith stepped right in front of him, chasing his gaze. Her lips were curled back in a snarl and she pointed an accusatory finger at Aaden, her rage palpable, like a living thing between them. “How can it be the best thing? Dinnae ye care about Freya at all?”

“I care about her,” Aaden was quick to say, desperately trying to think of something that would placate Lilith. But what was there to say? She was right and the only reason he was trying to stop her from telling Freya the truth was so that he could save his own skin. “But Evander willnae dae this again. Trust me.”

As he spoke, he turned to pin his cousin with a stern look, one that dared him to contradict his words. Thankfully, he was smart enough to keep his lips sealed instead of running his mouth again.

“It’s already been done,” Lilith pointed out. “Yer cousin has already deceived Freya. Why dae ye refuse tae tell the truth now when ye were honest with me ‘afore?”

There was nothing Aaden could say to that. Lilith had backed him up against a corner and the only way for him to get out of it was by telling her the truth—but that was impossible.

“Unless ye werenae honest with me,” she said, a small, betrayed gasp escaping her. “Unless ye’ve been lyin’ tae me all this time an’ this is… this is simply what ye dae.”

“Lilith, please,” Aaden said, reaching for her only to have her pull out of his grasp.

What will I even say tae her? There is naething I can say.

Aaden looked at her in silence and for a few moments, so did Lilith. In the end, she only let out a short, humorless, hollow laugh and shook her head, turning away from him. As she walked away, she didn’t even bother turning around as she spat, “I hate ye. Ye’re just as cruel an’ heartless as yer cousin.”

With that, she was gone and Aaden was left to pick up the pieces.

CHAPTER TWELVE