Chapter 10
Within the first hour of waking, Kira was greeted by a stern-faced maid who wouldn’t look her in the eye and instead stared right past her. “Come with me,” the maid ordered.
Without hesitation, Kira did so. The maid guided her down the corridor and into another bedchamber—one that was spacious with elegant decor and furnishings.
Oil paintings of meadows and the seaside, a massive hearth, more candleholders than she could count, a lush green rug with fine yellow flowers woven into the pattern, a proper seating area, a wash basin… On and on the amenities went.
“This will be yer new chamber,” the maid said curtly. “Ye are still nae to leave its walls without the Laird’s express permission.”
“My new chamber?” Kira breathed, completely shocked.
The maid didn’t respond and instead shouted toward the door.
In walked four maids, two of whom began undressing Kira immediately while the other two finished prepping the wash basin.
It was a dizzying moment for her, having gone from days in near isolation to suddenly being in such a grand room with so many maids assisting with something as simple as a bath.
Kira didn’t say anything, as their cold glares and tense silence told her that protesting wouldn’t get her anywhere.
So, she let them strip her naked and placed in the bath.
They even washed her hair and scrubbed her skin.
She wished she could have enjoyed it, considering her only other bath at the Keep thus far had been rushed and wasn’t nearly as warm as that one nor had it had the addition of perfume oils.
But she couldn’t. Not with so many hateful eyes on her and their not-so-gentle touch all over her body.
Once she was out of the tub, they dried her completely.
At some point, two maids had left and the other two remained with the older one who had fetched Kira from the other bedchamber.
They dressed her in a dark navy gown with a Galbraith tartan bodice and a pair of matching shoes.
Her hair was kept down other than four narrow braids that were draped elegantly around to the back of her head where they were pinned in place.
She almost didn’t recognize herself in the mirror she was sitting in front of as a small bit of color was applied to her cheeks.
Kira hadn’t felt at all composed or herself in quite some time, even before her arrival at Galbraith; but there, she had been reduced to something far lesser than the stranger that usually stared back at her in the reflection.
The version of herself she was looking at almost looked familiar. Like someone she knew long, long ago.
“That will do,” the older maid stated. “Ye are to join the Laird and Young Lady for breakfast in the dining hall.”
Kira’s eyes brightened and she did her best to dampen her excitement in the presence of staff that clearly hated her.
While she wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of dining with Hunter, at least Edine would be there.
And it was out of this room that she was certain she would be spending most of her time in for the coming days, weeks, years…
Getting to her feet, Kira hurried out of the room and found her own way to the dining hall, though guards walked only a few paces behind her.
As if she would just bolt toward the nearest exit.
Her sheer existence there was a thorn in Hunter’s side, she couldn’t imagine the wrath that would befall her if she was caught in another escape attempt.
Stepping into the dining hall, Kira was bombarded with flashes of the past where their families had dined together with glee. Most chairs were empty, however, and there only sat a bright-faced Edine in one of them. Kira paced over and took the seat directly across from her.
“Ye look wonderful,” Edine praised. “I do hope that ye like yer new bedchamber. I heard about it all from my handmaid.”
“Word travels as quick as ever,” Kira said dryly, smoothing her skirt under the table. “And the chamber is splendid. Much better than I deserve.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” a gruff voice sounded from the entrance.
Of course, it was Hunter. He strode inside, his eyes cold and uninterested as he passed the two women and found his place at the head of the table.
Annoyance ripped through her. “If ye dinnae wish for my bedchamber to change, why did ye have me moved?” Kira snapped.
He looked up, dangerous intrigue gleaming in his eyes before he looked away to order the meal to be served. When he glanced back to her, his face was void of any emotion.
“I cannae have my bride staying in a cramped room without servants. It is nae good for appearances.”
Kira couldn’t hold in the snort that erupted from her. “Appearances? That’s a joke.”
She didn’t have to explain it, as it really was laughable. At best, Kira could be described as a war bride—a war bride he didn’t want but was simply stuck with. One he hated. One, she was certain at that moment he would rather see dead.
“And dinnae call me yer bride. I have nae agreed to it.”
“I will nae repeat it again, Kira,” he said lowly. “There’s nothing for ye to agree to. Ye’ve never had a choice since yer first breath.”
Irritation prickled under her skin as the meal was served. He had a point; arguing with him over their betrothal would be talking themselves in circles. If Hunter said they were still betrothed, then it was so. But that didn’t mean she was simply going to submit to him.
“Be that as it may,” she mused. “Ye still expect me to play the part, do ye nae? Or would ye like me to go kicking and screaming down the aisle to the altar?”
“Matters nae to me,” he huffed.
“Hunter,” Edine chastised. “While nae a soul would expect fondness from ye for Kira, I do believe that it would be in the best interest of this entire ordeal if she was nae resisting the marriage at the actual wedding. Could Fairbairn’s people nae see that as a call for action?”
Hunter glared at his sister and then back at Kira. “Very well. What is it exactly ye’re wanting to behave yerself?” He pointed a speared piece of meat in her direction as his eyes narrowed. “And let it be within reason. For I dinnae care that much about the impression we make on our wedding day.”
How romantic, she mused internally.
“A horse,” she spat out without thought.
“Excuse me?” Hunter said, his voice edged with warning. “Did ye nae just hear me say it needs to be within reason?”
“How is it nae?” Kira countered. “Ye act as if ye’d give me the fastest horse in the stable, and I’m certain that one of the guards ye have following me at all times is skilled enough in horseback riding to capture me if I were so bold as to try tae escape.”
The air in the room shifted as though rain were about to come as their eyes locked in battle.
For a moment, it didn’t look as though he wanted to defeat her—but instead, devour.
It made her feel a strange tightness in her belly, a sensation that seemed to belong to Hunter and Hunter alone.
Kira’s heart pattered and she bit the inside of her cheek as her mind clouded with indecent thoughts; like Hunter at the training grounds, shirtless and sweat shimmering on his sun-kissed skin.
“Very well,” he said, breaking her from her reverie. “We shall go after breakfast to select ye a horse.”
We? Kira wasn’t exactly aiming for more time with him. And as excited as she was to finally have something her way, she wasn’t ready to rejoice in light of that news.
“I want Campion.”
“No.”
The quickness of his answer irritated her. “Why? He’s an old horse and one that I already have a bond with.”
Hunter flashed her a wicked smirk. “It’s simple. The answer is nay, merely because I say so.” He took a bite of food and waved a hand as if dismissing her. “We will go after breakfast, as I said. Eat yer food. I will nae be seen with a corpse as a wife.”
Kira’s insides twisted into knots from having to hold back the urge to scream.
He wasn’t doing anything more than making a show of his power.
That because he said no, it meant no, and there was nothing more to it.
Her stubbornness that only really existed around Hunter flared, wanting to skip the meal just to spite him, but when her gaze met Edine, she softened.
Edine was nodding encouragingly and had something about her eyes that was screaming this is good progress, don’t mess it up.
So Kira ate her meal in silence, refusing to look back in Hunter’s direction to witness what she was certain had to be a smug expression on his face.
And when the meal was cleared, Edine excused herself in a hurry, making Kira feel a little abandoned.
Without her, there was no buffer between her and Hunter, and they needed all the help they could get not to be at one another’s throats.
The two walked out of the Keep and to the stables in complete silence with enough space between them that even if she took a misstep, her arm wouldn’t so much as brush against his.
It might be childish, but anger was never all that logical.
On paper, he was doing what was best, but it didn’t mean she had to be happy about it.
Not when she was reduced to a sacrificial pawn yet again.
To avoid bloodshed, she had to submit to being his wife, even if he hated her and even if there would never be anything more for her in life beyond loneliness and self-pity.
Even if she was the true martyr that everyone was expecting her to be, she would still have the right to be angry.
Kira was a ball of stress, resentment, and anguish by the time they reached the stables.
But as soon as she passed through its doors and approached the first horse, it started to melt away.
She petted its snout and offered it a weak smile as she admired its jet-black coat and white diamond mark between its eyes.
It looked to be a young stallion, not long since fully grown.
“Nae that one,” Hunter snapped behind her.