Chapter 8
Leona found Rufus in the room they’d been given, a comfortable space with two beds, a washbasin, and a window overlooking the training yard.
He was sitting on one of the beds with Nyx curled in his lap, his expression troubled. The cat’s purring filled the quiet space, a soothing rumble that did nothing to calm the chaos in Leona’s mind.
“So?” Rufus asked the moment she entered, his young face creased with worry. “What happened? One minute, we’re leavin'; the next, guards are telling me to unpack because we’re stayin'.”
Leona sank onto the other bed, exhaustion seeping into her bones. The mattress was softer than anything she’d slept on in weeks. “Skye told the councilmen we’re getting married. Me and the Laird.”
Rufus’s eyes went wide as saucers. “What? Why would she do that?”
“Because she’s lonely and wanted to keep the cat, apparently.” Leona laughed, but it sounded slightly hysterical even to her own ears. The absurdity of it all was almost too much. “And now we’re trapped in this fabrication because if we deny it, it’ll create more problems than it solves.”
“But ye daenae even like him,” Rufus protested, his voice rising. Nyx’s ears flicked at the noise, but she didn’t move from her comfortable position. “He was goin' to throw us out yesterday!”
“I ken that.” The memory of standing so close to Murdock in the garden, of the way her body had responded to his proximity, made her cheeks burn.
Leona pressed her hands to her face, trying to cool the heat.
“But he’s right that we need each other.
He needs a wife to secure his position, and I need protection from Ragnall. And we have nowhere else to go, Rufus.”
She lifted her head, meeting her brother’s worried gaze. His red hair stuck up at odd angles, and he looked so young, so much like the boy who used to follow her around, asking endless questions about everything.
“If we leave here, where do we go? To Maither? She’s barely managin' with Aunt Beitris as it is. Back to Kerr?” Her voice caught. “That’s certain death. At least here, we have time to figure somethin' out.”
Rufus was quiet for a long moment, stroking Nyx’s black fur thoughtfully. The rhythmic motion seemed to calm him, his shoulders gradually relaxing. “Do ye trust him?”
It was a good question.
Did she trust Murdock? The man who’d killed Keith without hesitation to protect her, but who’d been ready to send her away just yesterday?
Who looked at his daughter with barely concealed adoration, but who spoke of marriage as nothing more than a business arrangement?
Who made her pulse race and her thoughts scatter with just a look?
“I daenae ken,” Leona admitted, the honesty feeling like a weight lifting off her chest. “But I think… I think he’ll keep his word. Whatever he promises, he’ll do. Even if it costs him.”
“Then make sure he promises the right things,” Rufus said with a wisdom that seemed far beyond his fourteen years.
Before Leona could respond, before she could tell her brother that she wasn’t sure what the right things even were anymore, a knock sounded at the door.
She opened it to find Skye standing there, hands clasped behind her back, her expression more uncertain than Leona had seen it all day. The confident, calculating child from the garden was gone, replaced by a little girl who looked like she expected to be sent away.
“May I come in?” Skye asked shyly, her voice small. “I wanted to… I thought maybe I could play with Nyx again? If that’s all right?”
Leona’s heart softened. She stepped aside, gesturing for the girl to enter. “Of course, come in.”
Skye walked in slowly, her eyes immediately finding Nyx. The cat had lifted her head at the sound of a new voice, yellow eyes gleaming in the lamplight. Skye approached carefully, extending one hand toward the cat.
Nyx’s paw shot out, swatting at Skye’s hand. The claws were sheathed, just a warning, but Skye jerked back quickly, her face falling.
“I thought she liked me,” she said, disappointment thick in her voice.
“She’s just being cautious,” Leona said gently, moving to kneel beside the girl. “Nyx doesnae trust easily, especially when me brother is around. She’s very protective, you see. Try sitting down, give her a moment to decide for herself.”
Skye lowered herself to the floor, sitting cross-legged. She didn’t reach for the cat again, just folded her hands in her lap and waited. Nyx watched her with those unsettling eyes, her tail twitching back and forth like a pendulum.
The room fell silent except for the sounds of soft breathing and the distant noises from the castle. Leona held her breath, watching.
Then, as if she’d made some feline decision known only to herself, Nyx hopped down from Rufus’s lap. She padded over to Skye, circled her once with her tail held high, then settled directly into the girl’s lap with a purr that filled the quiet room.
“She does like me!” Skye breathed, wonder filling her voice like magic. Her hands hovered over Nyx’s back, uncertain, afraid to break the spell. “She really likes me!”
“Aye, she does,” Leona agreed, smiling despite everything weighing on her. “Go on, ye can pet her. Gently, though. She’s particular about how she’s touched.”
Skye began stroking Nyx’s fur with reverent care, each movement slow and deliberate. The cat’s purring grew louder, and Skye’s face lit up with pure joy.
For several minutes, they sat in comfortable silence, watching the girl and the cat together.
“Ever since Aunt Ailis married and left the house,” Skye said suddenly, her voice soft and wistful, still focused on Nyx, “it’s been pretty lonely. She used to play with me, tell me stories, teach me things Da didnae have time for. Now, there’s nay one.”
Leona’s heart clenched painfully. She moved to sit on the floor beside Skye, close enough to offer comfort but not so close as to intrude. “Is that why ye lied to the councilmen?”
Skye’s cheeks flushed pink, her hands stilling on Nyx’s fur.
But she nodded, not meeting Leona’s eyes.
“Aye. I thought… I thought if I could make ye stay, maybe things would be different. Maybe Da would smile more. Maybe I’d have someone to talk to who wasnae always busy or worried about clan business. ”
She finally looked up, her brown eyes wide and anxious. “Are ye mad?”
“Nay.” Leona reached out, tucking a strand of dark hair behind Skye’s ear with gentle fingers. “Ye actually helped. Truly. Just next time ye make such a decision, maybe tell yer da first? Give him a chance to be part of the plan.”
Skye’s face transformed, her smile so bright it could have lit the darkening room. “All right, I will. I promise.”
A knock interrupted the moment.
A maid appeared in the doorway, her expression apologetic. “Pardon, me Lady, but it’s time for the young mistress’s bath.”
“Already?” Skye pouted, but she carefully lifted Nyx and set her down before standing. The cat immediately jumped back onto Rufus’s lap, settling in as if she’d never moved. “Will I see ye at dinner?”
“I’m nae sure,” Leona said honestly. “That’s up to yer faither.”
“I’ll ask him,” Skye declared with the confidence of a child who didn’t yet understand the complications adults created. “He’ll say aye if I ask.”
She practically skipped out of the room, and Leona felt something warm and complicated settle in her chest. At least she’d made one person happy today.
“She’s sweet,” Rufus observed once they were alone again. “Lonely, but sweet.”
“Aye.” Leona stood, brushing off her skirts. “And she deserves better than what she’s getting.”
“So do ye,” her brother pointed out, his voice taking on an edge. “A fake marriage to a man who says he’ll never love ye? That’s nae what ye dreamed of, Leona.”
Before she could respond, another knock sounded. This time it was a different maid, younger, with kind eyes.
“Pardon, me Lady, but the Laird requests yer presence at dinner. Both ye and yer brother. The meal will be served in the smaller dining hall in half an hour.”
“We’ll be there,” Leona said, her stomach knotting with nerves. “Thank ye.”
As the maid left, Rufus looked at her with concern. “Are ye ready for this?”
Was she? Ready to sit at Murdock’s table, to play the part of his betrothed in front of his people? Ready to pretend her heart didn’t race every time he looked at her?
“I have to be,” she said simply.
Murdock stood near the head of the table in the smaller dining hall, listening to Hamish drone on about grain stores and winter preparations, but his mind was elsewhere.
The council had wasted no time spreading word of his betrothal, and now he’d have to endure an evening of congratulations and speculation.
He should never have let Skye’s lie stand. Should have corrected it immediately, the consequences be damned.
But then he remembered Leona’s face when she’d realized what his daughter had done. The flash of panic, yes, but also something else. Hope, perhaps. Or relief that she wouldn’t be sent away after all.
“Are ye even listenin' to me?” Hamish asked, amusement in his voice.
“Nay,” Murdock admitted. “What were ye sayin'?”
“I was saying that the clan is already plannin' the festival. Apparently, they’re quite excited about their Laird finally taking a wife.”
“They’re fools, then.”
“Or perhaps they just want to see ye happy for once,” Hamish said quietly. “That would be novel.”
Before Murdock could respond, before he could tell Hamish exactly what he thought of that sentiment, the door opened. And Leona walked in.
Murdock’s breath caught in his chest.
She’d changed out of her traveling clothes into a simple dress, a deep green that brought out the color of her eyes.
Her black hair was pulled back from her face, revealing the elegant line of her neck and the delicate curve of her jaw.
She moved with unconscious grace, her brother trailing behind her, looking uncomfortable in his borrowed formal tunic.