Chapter 4
The morning air was cold and it still tingled against her skin. She had tossed and turned in her bed all night, trying to get comfortable and she did not think she had really been successful. It had gone on so until at some point, she closed her eyes and opened them to the daylight.
She had always found it challenging to sleep in beds that were not hers ever since she was child.
If ever there was a reason for her to not spend the night in her bed it would be a chore all through the night, and she would continue to wake up after every hour or so and force herself to go back to bed.
She already had that to deal with, and coupled with what she knew about the people in whose castle she had spent the night, under whose roof the strange bed had been, Kate had all but fought a battle without arms through the night.
She woke up sore but none of her sisters shared in her fate, because of course they could sleep through a storm that carried the house.
Maybe Lily could wake up to complain about the cold, but she would still go back to bed and fall right back asleep.
A part of Kate was terribly glad for that; that the sisters did not have to share her troubles with adapting to a new place to lay their heads.
If only she could be so sure that this was indeed going to be safe for them.
None of her sisters had any complaints about the beds that Grear had seen to. They had washed up and descended to the dining hall for breakfast, with their spirits lifted by the sense of a new adventure in a castle they were supposed to dread.
She was at an impasse from the moment Willow had started talking about how better designed the castle was compared to theirs and started mouthing her intentions of exploring vividly.
She wanted them to be careful because coming here had been the best of worst choices.
A deal with a devil to escape one hell. But at the same time, Kate did not want her sisters to feel trapped; she did not want them to have memories of where they had left and for any reason find it kinder than where they were now, because that would mean that she had failed.
As she floated her spoon in her Scotch broth and fed herself tiny bites because she had a hundred things in her head that she could not stop thinking about, Kate could not help but ruminate about what her late parents would think of the decision she had made.
Would they understand that it was an impossible one for her? To choose between a predator who wanted to take even more from her and her sisters and a family who probably have taken the most important thing from them.
Kate looked around the table as each of her sisters ate without haste, smiles appearing on their faces every now and then and she thought to herself that doing what she had to do to keep them away from harm would always be what her parents wanted, she just hoped that this was not the opposite of that.
That the McDonald’s castle was not the den she thought would be a haven.
“Is something wrong, dear? Do ye not like yer food?”
The voice came towards her and forced her to jerk her head to the side in the direction of Grear McDonalds who was staring at her.
“What?” Katherine asked, unsure what the question was.
“Yer food, dear – cannae help but notice ye’re not so taken by it. Do ye not fancy it?”
“Oh, no. Aye, sorry. It’s fine, the food is all right.”
“Ye daenae have to pretend to like it, there’s a lot more ye can have. Ye can have whatever it is ye want, some bun maybe? Or maybe chicken?” The older woman asked.
Katherine shook her head, “That willnae be necessary, My Lady, I am fine with the food, I am just struggling a little with my appetite is all.”
“Aye sure, because all ye have to do is name what ye feel like. I meant it when I said that ye’re welcome here, and what once ye are my guest I do nae allow ye to ask as strangers,” the woman said.
Kate nodded. “I’m sure, My Lady.”
She was not bought. She could not allow herself to fall for whatever it was she was trying to do.
It was all a ploy to get her defenses down, it would not happen so easily.
Kathrine needed to keep her mind sharp and her eyes open.
Her eyes widened and her heart seemed to skip a beat as he appeared.
She froze in place for a moment with the spoon in her hand as he approached the table before she released it and granted him a curt nod.
“Good morning, Laird McDonald.”
Her sisters all turned at once to Reuben who walked around to the head of the table and the girls got up to greet the Laird.
“Oh, please,” he waved them back down to their seats, “Do nae interrupt yer meal for my sake, good morning, ladies,” he said to her sisters. “Katherine.” He glanced at her and Kate’s jaw tensed for a moment at his choice of her name. “Mother,” Ruben ended his greeting.
“Good morning, son,” Grear said.
“Did ye all sleep well last night?” he asked.
Lily nodded, Willow and Freya answered “Aye”.
Rueben turned to Kate as his food was served, their gazes met and she broke it off without so much of a regard for him.
She continued at her food while he chatted with his mother across the table, but Kate could almost feel it every time his gaze wandered on her.
She felt it lurking, but she did not afford him the courtesy of reciprocating it, she would not.
He would not expect to get that from her, even if it is his house.
It was not hard for her to imagine what he thought and probably expected of her and her sisters, given that they were at the mercy of his sanctuary.
She was not going to let him rest with the idea that his armless facade was going to be enough.
He asked what the plan was for the day, and her sisters all looked at her.
Kate felt her shoulders slump as she knew she had to fight the battle with one arm tied behind her back when she had to let her sisters free into the whatever idea of pastime they could find around.
Grear mentioned the peacocks and Willow’s face lit up. Kate was helpless.
She heard as each of them showed excitement at something the woman mentioned was available for them to explore and when Grear turned to her, Kate was forced to give a flimsy response about seeing the garden some time.
“I would like to be excused,” she said as she got up from the chair. She eyed her sisters none of whom looked to be ready to depart the new company, and she curtseyed at the Laird and his mother before stepping away from the tables. Kate made sure not to meet Reuben’s gaze before she turned away.
She heard the sound of the chair shifting at the table and the heavy steps that followed.
She had a fairly good idea of who those footsteps belonged to, and they were not of any lady at the table.
She stepped out of the dining hall briskly into a large drawing room where she heard her name echo, she did not turn until she felt the hand take her arm.
Before she could get too upset about the touch, it grew gentle before he let her go.
“Laird McDonald.”
“Ye must have heard me calling yer name,” he said.
“I must have.”
“Look, I can see clearly that ye are upset,” he said, inching closer towards her and closing the distance between them. “I understand that yesterday I could have handled things better. I could have been more gentle and shown ye that I am not really that kind of a person but –”
“But ye are. There is no need to hide it,” she said.
“I am nae!” He sucked in his breath, quieted as Kate’s reaction showed he was only proving her point.
“I am sorry, I should not have raised my voice. I am nae that kind of person. We got off on a wrong foot, but ye are here, and so are yer sisters. And I am glad that ye still are. I want ye to know that ye all are welcome to stay for however long ye wish ye to, just like mother has said. Feel free to have a taste of the castle and explore,” he said.
Kate chuckled, “Do ye really think that we are that little? I know just yer type, Laird McDonald, but I will not be rude because after all ye have sheltered my sisters and me for the night. We will not be getting a taste of yer castle for long, so ye can rest assured that ye will have it all to yerself again in no time. We will be gone soon, so do not bother trying to prove some kindness that is clearly not ye,” she said, staring right at his eyes as she spoke.
He was silent at her words, staring at her with his brows pinching as though he was searching for something in her gaze, she wondered what.
“Ye do not have to be so cruel,” he said.
Kate chuckled, and broke the stare before she looked back up again, “Cruel, ye say? How am I being cruel if I am only speaking the truth?” she asked. “Ye daenae have to pretend.”
“So ye have assumed the very worst of me from one encounter?” he asked.
He was still playing chase with her gaze and his eyes, and Kate was not letting him have his way.
She was not going to let him wear her down with whatever it is he thought that he had.
“Before my sisters and I made our way here we’d heard stories, all ye did was lean me even more towards believing that we heard was true.
If there is worse than what ye have right now, I do not believe my sisters and I will be here long enough to find out,” Kate said.
“Really? And there is nothing I can do or say to make ye change yer mind?”
“Because ye wish to trap us in yer castle?” she asked.
“Of course not. But given yer current situation, I would like ye know that the McDonald’s castle is always open to ye. So please, will ye forget and forgive my previous display and let me and my family host ye and yer sisters, right?” he said.
It was her turn to fall silent as she stared at him. The two of them remained on the spot for a moment and Kate almost found herself falling for the words, but it would not be. She told herself it would not be.
“Thank ye, but I and my sisters will be looking to move on from yer castle,” she answered she turned around and walked away, leaving him standing alone in the room.
He could not explain what it was or how it was that he wanted to run right after her again and grab her arm and have her turn around to look at him again, even if was to have the same conversation from the beginning to the end, so he would end up losing.
He did not care. He would not care. He watched the woman walk away and Reuben found himself swallowing to catch his breath. He inhaled deeply and his senses almost ran amok as he took in the scent. Lavender.
There was no way this was over.