Chapter 9
Lily had barely slept the night before, and she had no appetite.
The laird’s sister, Niamh, kept talking with excitement. Lily kept her eyes shut most of the time and tried not to listen while she thought of her family back home.
“It is a lovely day, and we can take a walk around the keep. My maither had a garden, and it feels like ye ken a lot about flowers.”
“How would you know that? I have not told you anything about myself, and we only just met,” Lily said, focusing her attention on Niamh again.
Niamh and Killian had very similar features. They had the same eyes and shade of hair. Niamh wore her hair in two long braids, and freckles peppered her pale skin.
“I can tell from yer hands,” Niamh answered as she took Lily’s hands and stared at them.
“Ye have delicate hands, but I can tell that they have held a sword.” She stared at Lily’s palms as she spoke, then traced the lines there with a finger.
“There’s a certain hardness there, even though it is delicate. And they’re a bit green!”
Lily snatched her hands away from Niamh’s and then cleared her throat. She needed to do something, as sitting idle would drive her insane. She had never been one to sit idle.
He cannot keep me locked in this chamber.
Back in McLennan Castle, she had either been helping Amelia with her children or her herbs, or practicing her swordsmanship with Duncan’s men so that she could protect her. All her life, she had served her friend, and she had loved it.
Lily felt empty now. The chamber where she was locked up was huge. She had never slept in such a large chamber with beddings covered in the softest of silk and drapes with perfect embroidery.
“I do know a lot about flowers,” she told Niamh, who was still smiling at her. “I learned from my friend ever since I was little.”
“We are goin’ to be such great friends too,” Niamh gushed, her tone nearly sounding like a squeal. “And after the weddin’, I am sure that—”
Lily’s ears perked up when she heard wedding. “What wedding?”
“My brother hasnae proposed to ye? Is that nae why he brought ye here? I thought he had finally decided to marry and start a family.”
Confused, Lily eyed the girl for a little bit. She realized then that Killian probably had not told his sister about kidnapping her from her home and risking her life to bring her here.
Will she still adore her brother if she finds out the kind of man he truly is? A man that would kidnap someone and force them away from their home?
Lily was still contemplating her thoughts when Niamh began to ask questions.
“But ye two are in love, right? I mean… his council has mentioned he should take a bride, and then he… He has never mentioned marryin’. Killian has always been the quiet one. He loves to explore and—”
“There shall be no wedding,” Lily cut in because she did not want to hear any more talk about love and weddings.
She needed to make sure Niamh did not nurse any silly thoughts about her and Killian. She could barely even stand the man, and she hated his guts.
“But not his kisses,” the voice in her head reminded her, making her blush furiously when an image of them kissing in that tiny inn’s chamber flashed in her mind.
His lips had been so soft, so warm. Her entire body had craved more of the sensations that had swam through her because of his touch.
What would it feel like to do more than just kiss him?
Lily began to imagine his kisses trailing down her neck and her hands exploring the hard muscles of his chest—
She jerked to her feet and began pacing up and down her chamber. “I need to speak with the laird,” she said. “I need to speak to him right now.”
Niamh looked shocked as she rose to her feet. “Shall I send for him, or… Let us go to his study. I understand ye two must discuss the weddin’ plans and the—”
Lily smiled, realizing Niamh could help her get what she wanted if she pretended that she was, indeed, going to marry Killian. “Take me to him, please. We, indeed, have a lot to discuss.”
“Aye… Come with me.” Niamh seemed excited as she took Lily’s hand. She opened the door, and Lily saw three guards stationed in the hallway, next to her chamber.
“Milady,” one of them greeted and immediately came forward. “She isnae allowed to leave the chamber.”
“She isnae a prisoner, Jacob,” Niamh said in a gentle voice and smiled as the guard bowed his head to her again. “I shall take her to my brother. They have to discuss their engagement and the weddin’.”
Niamh stepped forward, but the guard blocked her path, and the two others circled them. Lily knew she could take the guards down with ease, but that would only scare Niamh, and she didn’t want the girl to be afraid of her.
What do I do?
She had to speak with Killian. One more second doing nothing in that chamber or listening to Niamh talk about flowers and weddings would make her lose her mind.
If I am his prisoner, then he better keep me locked up and treat me like an actual prisoner.
“Jacob,” Niamh protested when the guard would not budge.
Lily put her hand on Niamh’s shoulder. “Let me handle this,” she whispered, then made her step aside. “Sir, if you would just let us through. I need to speak with the Laird.”
When she took a step towards the man, he raised a hand to keep her from getting closer. “Stay back,” he ordered.
Lily’s lips curved into a mischievous smile before she said, “I do not take orders, especially from men like you.”
Without a second thought, she grabbed his wrist, twisted it around till he yelped in pain, and then kicked him in the back so he crumbled to the floor.
She heard Niamh’s loud gasp, and as the other two men came towards her, she grabbed Niamh, put her right arm around her neck, and pressed hard as if she was trying to suffocate her.
“Take one more step, and I will snap her neck,” Lily threatened, making both men freeze in their tracks.
Niamh broke into a sob, and Lily’s heart clenched with regret for what she was doing, but she was desperate.
“I am sorry I have to do this. I would never really hurt you,” she whispered in Niamh’s ear. “But I need to speak with your brother, and these men will not let us through. I have no other choice.”
Niamh whimpered again and muffled a sob as Lily looked at the guards again. “I want to speak to the laird, and I suggest your two go get him.”
One of the guards hurried away while the other one stayed, his sword drawn and his stance ready to pounce. Killian returned with the guard in a few seconds, and once Lily saw him, she released Niamh and let her scramble away.
“What is this chaos about?” Killian queried in a thunderous voice that spiked her pulse a little. His eyes were red, and the hard set of his jaw showed his anger. “Ye dinnae hurt my sister, ever!”
He strode to Niamh and hugged her tight as she sobbed, consoling her till she calmed down.
Lily watched silently as he dismissed his sister and his guards, then he faced her.
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked once they were standing in the hallway alone. “If I am your prisoner, then treat me like one. I will not have you lock me up in a bedchamber instead of a dungeon and yet allow me no freedom.”
“Ye want to be treated like a prisoner?”
This time as Killian stormed towards her, she did not back away. She was ready to defend herself against him, but when he got to her and grabbed her arm, he was not as rough as she had expected.
“I am treatin’ ye with honor. I promised nae to hurt ye, and I dinnae want to, but if ye ever touch my sister again, I will go back on my word. I swear I will—”
“I am not scared of you, Laird MacColl. I do not fear what you will do to me.”
“Ye should be,” Killian warned. “I could hurt ye…”
His gaze dropped to her lips. Tension snapped in the air around them, making Lily’s muscles stiffen as the heat took a speedy dive and rattled against her ribcage.
She should be afraid. Killian’s words should scare her till she backed down, but somehow, his eyes did not reflect the same threat on his lips, and her body did not feel threatened by him.
Lily did not know a person could breathe this hard, but each time he was near, her entire body responded in unusual ways.
“I cannot stay locked up,” she told him, sounding calmer than she intended. “I am not one to stay idle. Besides, someone tried to kill us… Shouldn’t we work together to find out who it was?”
“My gut tells me it was Laird McLennan,” Killian answered with a sneer as his eyes roamed over her one more time and then settled on her lips.
“Killian…”
“My sister kens nothin’ about this, and I would like to keep it that way. She has lost too much, already. I dinnae want to hurt her. I dinnae want ye to hurt her either. Ye stay away from her.”
He released her abruptly, and she nearly staggered back. “Ye will stay locked in yer chamber. I dinnae trust that ye willnae hurt someone or try to escape if I let ye out. My servants will serve ye breakfast and supper, and ye will do nothin’ unless I say otherwise. That is an order.”
“Have I not told you? I do not follow orders. Especially not from you!”
“Well, today ye will follow my orders, or I shall lock ye up and make certain ye never go home. I dinnae joke with my sister or my family. Do ye understand me? I protect my own!”
Lily had never seen him this livid, and his words pierced right through her, creating a tiny tremble that doused her fight a little. She had a feeling that he meant every word he said.