Chapter 8
The next afternoon, Hunter had snapped at Edine for just appearing at his door that yes, Kira could have one more supervised hour that day.
Edine hadn’t responded but merely slunk away.
He wasn’t in the mood to hear his sister rattle on and on about Kira right then, he was still tangled up in all of his confusing emotions over her.
The most forefront one, since yesterday, was irritation.
He couldn’t believe that she hadn’t said more about the necklace, nor did she thank him.
Could she even wrap her head around all the hours he had spent going over every square inch of those fields to find that bloody necklace?
She hadn’t even asked why he had still taken the care to find it.
Though, it wasn’t like he himself had an answer to that.
All those days he found himself weighed down by grief and anger, he would wander the fields to look for it, just to have something to do while his body recovered from the endless training.
Even in those moments when he was combing through patches of grass, he would ask himself why bother, why not go for a walk and give up on it?
There were even days he told himself he was only finding it so that when he did, he could toss it into the river so that it would never be found again.
And yet, he had found it. And when he had held it in his hand, all he could do was see her. Those blue eyes that held adoration and sweetness, a smile that felt only for him, it was all there when he held that necklace. She was there.
Upon receiving it after all those years, however, all she did was make a smart remark.
His lip curled at the memory. That sharp tongue of hers…
Hunter hated to admit it, but it only deepened his attraction.
She was beautiful and quickwitted too. Even her anger was delicious to him, because it was for him, only him.
A quick knock on his door came just as he poured himself a whisky.
Thankfully, it was Calum instead of Edine that time.
He poured his Captain a drink as well and motioned for him to sit.
Hunter wasn’t typically one to invite company, but he needed out of his own head right then before he marched to Kira’s room and demanded her thanks.
Shockingly, Calum picked up the glass and knocked back the amber liquid in one gulp. It signaled that whatever he had to tell Hunter, he wasn’t going to like it. Calum sat the glass down and looked at him with a grave expression.
“Word has come from one of our spies at Barclay.”
Hunter’s brow creased. Barclay? They were waiting on a response from Fairbairn—which admittedly, was taking longer than he had anticipated.
“It seems Fairbairn has chosen nae to interfere. He’s nae coming for Kira. Though he alerted Barclay of who has her. It’s Barclay that’s gathering his men for an attack.”
Hunter slammed his hands against the table and let out a curse. “That bloody monster,” he muttered.
Fairbairn was the most wretched man alive to Hunter, but he had truly never anticipated him being unwilling to come for his one and only daughter.
Come to Galbraith Keep so we can finally settle our score. If nae, Kira will pay with her blood before the next moon.
Those had been his words to Fairbairn and he had spent a long time planning that letter, word for word. It had his request, the punishment if he did not follow through with it, and a deadline.
It didn’t make sense to Hunter. Kira had seemed to be Fairbairn’s everything as they were growing up.
When she wasn’t in the room, she was all he would talk about; her beauty, how lucky he felt to have a daughter as capable as she to marry into the Galbraith clan, and that he hoped his grandchildren looked like her since she favored her mother.
When Kira was around, he clung to her like she was still a bairn.
And yet, he hadn’t come for her? Kira was meant to be the perfect bait to lure Fairbairn to him. Instead, he told Barclay. Why? To act for him? That didn’t feel right, as the Fairbairn Clan was vast and powerful. He had more than enough men to handle such an encounter.
He shook his head, clearing the thoughts away. Right now, it didn’t matter why Fairbairn wasn’t coming—what mattered was Barclay was. And he assumed he wasn’t coming to fight with Hunter one-on-one like Hunter wanted with Fairbairn but to storm the castle and take Kira back by force.
“Ye have to send her back, Hunter,” Calum said gently. “Keeping her only invites bloodshed. And our men will never rally to fight over her.”
Hunter rubbed his face and rested his elbows atop the desk. “We cannae simply release her. That will signal weakness. We cannae show that we are fearful of a clan as ridiculous as Barclay.”
“I’d rather us look weak for a passing moment than lose more than we already have over this lass,” Calum snapped.
His eyes were wild and holding too much emotion for Hunter to look at for long. He knew his actions were affecting others, but until all was settled with Kira, he couldn’t waste his time on it. Instead of barking at Calum though, he only shot him a warning glare to not say anything more.
Rory Barclay and his predecessors were known for their wealth, their feasts, and their political games.
They would fund battles and wars, change sides, and manipulate trades, but they weren’t exactly fighters.
To release Kira back to them, it would make Hunter look like an absolute joke of a Laird, and all of his work would be for naught.
“I have to marry her.”
Calum’s first response was spitting out his freshly poured whisky. His friend stared back at him, gawking at him as if he had sprouted an extra head. A long, tense silence followed until Calum finally muttered, “Ye cannae be serious.”
Hunter sighed and stared down into his own drink before polishing it off. “It’s the only way to legitimize possession of her.”
“We dinnae need to possess her,” Calum retorted.
“We do at this point. We are in too deep. We were the moment I took her from Barclay,” he said plainly.
Hunter was a fool for ever starting this plan of revenge, but he wasn’t about to let it blow up in his face without trying to mitigate it.
“It will strip Fairbairn of their most valuable asset, Kira—the lone heir who was no doubt being married into Barclay for political and monetary gain. And it will force Barclay to retreat because he will have nay more claim on her. Even if he likes Kira, he cannae do anything once she’s a married woman. ”
Calum shook his head vehemently. “Ye’re nae thinking clearly, Hunter. I fear that she clouds yer judgment.”
He wasn’t wrong. Hunter wasn’t exactly a fan of the idea himself. While through foolishness or sin, Hunter had often dreamt of marrying Kira, of possessing her completely and her being his and his alone—life wasn’t as simple.
Kira was a weakness for him; he couldn’t keep her locked away in a little cage to do with as he pleased and then tuck away until he wanted to hold her again.
She didn’t leave his mind so clearly, she was a pervasive thought that seeped into every corner of his life.
He couldn’t even handle her being in his Keep as a prisoner with rationality, let alone as a wife.
How on earth was he going to navigate being married to the woman he longed for and despised the most?
“Think about this more, Hunter. I beg of ye,” Calum pleaded. “There is more at stake than ye realize.”
“I ken what’s at stake,” Hunter bit.
A soft knock was on the door and he called for them to enter. If it was a guard with more news, he needed it then so that he and Calum could talk through their options.
Only, it wasn’t a guard.
A slender form with white-blond hair appeared, her eyes hooded and bashful as she took a couple of steps inside.
He tried not to take in the shape of her womanly form with the way the bodice hugged her torso and accentuated her narrow waist. He also tried not to notice how well the dark green and blue tartan looked on her.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Kira said, her hands clasping together at her front. “I came to see if we could take a walk together, my Laird. Perhaps we can reach an understanding together if we talked.”
The way his heart stirred unsettled him.
She was using the only hour she was given out of her room, and still wasn’t sure when she could have another, to see him.
Of course, it was for her benefit but… Still.
She could have chosen to wait for him to come see her again or send word that she wanted to speak with him.
Instead, she sought him out when she didn’t have to.
“Very well,” Hunter said, standing from his desk. He didn’t bother to look at Calum, knowing all too well the are-you-kidding-me expression that would be on his face. “We will talk later,” he murmured to his friend as he passed.
Hunter and Kira sauntered into the corridor and almost immediately, her hand was resting on the inside of his elbow as if he were about to escort her on a stroll. He gave her a hard glare and she looked away bashfully, withdrawing her hand.
“Right, sorry. How would ye prefer us to walk? I dinnae wish for this walk to cause ye any problems.”
Immediately, he placed her hand back on his arm and gave a nod to the guards that they were dismissed from tailing her. There wasn’t any good way for them to walk together without people talking about it, but since he was considering taking her as his bride, it seemed negligible.
Deciding to get away from prying eyes and ears, Hunter guided them outside to walk the paths of the garden so they could talk privately.
Warmth radiated from her and he had to consciously tell himself to pull her to his side.
She cleared her throat and looked up to him as she started talking, though he was already staring down at her.