Chapter 25
They got back to his keep late that evening drenched from the unexpected downpour from the heavens. Her earasaid felt heavier because it was soaked, and her hair clung to her skin.
Lily didn’t feel the usual tension when there was a storm. Killian made her feel strangely safe.
In a way I have never felt with anyone before.
She loved how easy it was for her to relax with him and enjoy his presence.
His smooth tone, and the deep tremors of his words as he reads to me.
She replayed their day in her head, smiling.
Even with the shivers coursing through her, she still laughed at his joke as they ran into his keep. He slowed her down when they passed some guards. Then, he turned her around, smoothed his hands down her arms, and brought her closer to him.
Lily’s heart drummed in her chest, expanding till she drew in a deep breath. She had never spent so much time alone with a man before. Unless they were fighting.
Earlier in the day, her nerves had been all rattled and tense in anticipation of what the day would be like, but sitting with Killian at the cliff, listening to his stories and laughing with him… all of that had made her feel… alive.
“Ye should change into warmer clothes and join me for supper,” Killian said as he stared into her eyes. “I will have the cooks make us soup.”
Lily nodded, then hurried away from him to get to her chamber. A servant came in with hot water for her bath after some time, and she took her time to soak in it, enjoying the warmth that seeped into her skin to ease the chill in her bones.
When she finally met him at the dining hall for supper, he had changed into fresher, warmer clothes. He held out a chair for her, and she sat before smiling at him.
“Ye look bonnie,” Killian complimented again.
Lily’s heart thumped harder each time he complimented her. Her feelings doubled with each passing day, and she did not know how to handle that.
“Thank you,” she breathed when he kept staring at her. She burst into a light chuckle, and her neck flushed even more.
They ate in silence, but Lily did not miss Killian watching her. She had to admit that she liked his presence, and his eyes on her.
Lily was about to take another bite of her mutton when Fletcher walked into the dining hall and bowed his head. “M’laird… I need to speak with ye.”
“What is it Fletcher?” Killian asked, dropping his cutlery and steepling his fingers in front of him.
Lily noticed Fletcher hesitate, and he cleared his throat. “I need to speak with ye alone, m’laird. It is about Richard Easton.”
“Ye can speak freely in front of the lady, Fletcher,” Killian answered as he glanced from Fletcher to Lily. “She is on our side.”
Lily noticed Fletcher’s gaze harden as he looked at her. The man probably had an issue with her declaring Laird McLennan’s innocence, and he also did not trust her.
“Richard Easton arrived in Scotland some days ago, and he will be in the Highlands in two days. He intends to visit Clan Dune on the Scottish highway channels. If we are to speak with him and learn what he knows about yer brother, then we must either journey there or send word for him to come visit.”
“I would rather send word,” Killian answered. “These are dangerous times. We dinnae ken who our enemy is, so we must act with the utmost discretion. If we were to travel to meet with Richard Easton, then we risk informin’ our enemies of our plan.”
“I shall send word, m’laird.”
Fletcher gave Lily one last look before he marched out of the dining hall and left them to their supper again.
Lily sighed, looked at Killian, and said, “I do not think Fletcher likes me very much.”
“He doesnae like many people. Fletcher is hard, and he has spent his entire life workin’ for my family. He is loyal. He will come around once he gets used to havin’ ye around.”
“Well… he wouldn’t have to get used to me being here once I return to McLennan Castle. It’s not like I’ll be here forever.”
Lily felt a deep pang of sadness as she said the words. When she had first arrived here, all she had thought of was returning to McLennan Castle, but saying the words out loud now made her feel a sense of grief.
Like I’m about to lose something.
“That is true,” Killian whispered after a pause. He looked away from her as he said the words, and she released a deep sigh.
Their silence stretched out as if each of them had burdensome thoughts. Lily spoke first after a while, lightening the mood with her next question. “So, we shall await Richard Easton’s arrival, then?”
Killian only nodded. He smiled and placed a hand over hers. “In the meantime, I want to show ye some of the paintings I’ve collected over the years. I am sure ye will love them.”
He got up, took her hand, then led her into his study. Lily watched as he pushed a door aside to reveal a hidden room, and he picked up the lamp in his study so he could show her the paintings hanging on the walls.
“These are lovely,” she whispered, then walked around to take them in one by one. “I love all of them.”
When she turned back around to face at him, he stood with a tiny pendant in his hands. The shiny silver pendant he held glistened in the dim light of the lamp, and she gasped as he held it out to her.
“I got this durin’ one of my travels to France. It belonged to some distant royal. I want ye to have it.”
“Oh…”
Lily hadn’t felt anything like the rush of heat that raced through her right then. She licked her lower lip, suddenly nervous, as he slowly spun her around and shifted her hair to one shoulder.
Lily held her breath as he put the pendant around her neck, then pressed a kiss to her nape.
“I love it,” she whispered when she turned to him again. “Thank you, Killian.”
Their eyes locked, and Killian held her gaze for a long time before he pressed another kiss to her cheek. “Come, let me show ye another paintin’. I got this one in Rome.”
They spent the rest of the night going through most of his collection. It was like an opening into his soul.
Lily enjoyed listening to him talk and show her the things that helped her understand his sense of adventure, and realize that they shared that one thing in common.
She let herself enjoy the moment, even though she knew it would not last.