Chapter 23
Skye was more rattled than she let on. She tried to be brave, but apparently Dougal saw right through her. He insisted on walking her back to the castle.
Even though she had insisted she was fine, she was comforted by his presence. It was good to have him by her side, despite the circumstances.
She wanted to blame herself. What if by insisting that Lily experience more of the outside world, she had caused someone to see her and report back to Angus?
There was no proof. Dougal insisted that she had nothing to do with it. He had narrowed it down to a servant and a guard, telling her that they would pay for breaking his trust and putting Lily in danger.
Skye didn’t have to ask what he meant by that. It must have been how he acted the day he had saved Lily. He had seen Elsie’s dead body and reacted on instinct.
She sat down on the edge of her bed and rubbed her shoulder where the guard had left a finger-shaped bruise. With murder in his eyes, Stephen and Dougal had left to speak about what had occurred and to make plans for the attack on Angus.
But he had insisted on walking her to her rooms first, pausing at the doorway, eyes focused on her shoulder.
He didn't leave once they arrived. He followed her inside instead, shutting the door softly behind them, and the room suddenly felt smaller than it had any right to.
"Let me see it," he said, nodding toward her shoulder.
"Dougal, it's only a bruise?—"
"Skye." Just her name, low and final, the same tone he used when he meant to be obeyed and knew he would be.
She sighed and tugged her sleeve down just enough to bare the mark, dark against her pale skin, the shape of fingers pressed too hard.
Dougal went very still. His jaw worked, and for a moment she thought he might say something cutting, something about the guard who'd left it, but instead his hand came up, hovering just above the bruise without touching it, as though he were afraid of what his own strength might do.
"I did this," he said quietly. "By nae being fast enough."
"Ye were fast enough. Ye killed him before he could do worse."
"Nae fast enough to keep this from happening in the first place." His thumb finally grazed the edge of the bruise, feather-light, and she shivered despite the warmth of the room. "I daenae like seeing marks on ye that arenae mine to answer for."
The words settled somewhere low in her chest, something dangerous and warm. "Dougal?—"
"I ken." He straightened, some of the darkness clearing from his eyes as he visibly reined himself in. "This isnae the time."
Then he stepped back, and the moment broke.
"Rest," he said, his voice rougher than before. "I must see Lily settled and speak with Stephen about what's to be done. I willnae be long."
"Ye're certain Lily doesnae ken what happened?"
"She thinks it's only a stranger who came and went. I mean to keep it that way as long as I can."
He left, and she heard his footsteps pause just outside until the click of the lock answered him, and only then did they carry on down the corridor.
Skye couldn’t even think of him leaving. She did not want to be left alone at that moment. She needed to speak to someone, but with him gone, the only person she could think of was Kenna.
She found her in the small sitting room later that evening, her needlework abandoned in her lap much the way it had been the first time she had come to her with the treasure hunt in mind.
Kenna looked up the moment she entered, setting her needlework aside. “There ye are, lass. I’ve been listening for yer footsteps this past hour.”
“Forgive me, I didnae mean to worry ye.”
She shook her head. “It is quite all right. I kent ye would find yer way to me eventually.”
“And here I am,” Skye replied weakly.
“Sit.” Kenna patted the seat beside her, and Skye obeyed, grateful for the warmth of the fire after the chill that had settled into her bones and never quite left. “Are ye truly all right? I heard what happened. All of it. News travels fast in a castle this size.”
Skye understood the woman’s concern. She was shaken up, true, but she was doing better than anyone thought she would. She was mostly concerned about Lily.
“I’m unharmed.” She pressed her hands flat against her skirts, willing the tremors to stop. “A guard grabbed me shoulder, is all. It is bruised, but nothing more. It is nothing to trouble yerself about, I promise.”
Kenna did not look convinced.
“Lass, it isnae nothing. Ye were frightened half out of yer wits—unless I’ve misjudged ye entirely, and I daenae think I have. It is all right to admit that ye were scared. I promise it will stay between us. Dougal willnae hear a word of it.”
Skye’s composure cracked slightly at the woman’s gentleness. “I guess… I just… I was frightened. Nae for meself, truly, but for Lily.” She shuddered.
Angus Lawson was not going to stop pursuing Lily.
She had seen it in his eyes before he rode away.
He believed Lily was his simply because of the blood running through her veins.
But he was a man who believed in status, law, and order.
What would he do to a child born out of wedlock? A child born to a former guard of his?
Skye feared he would rather kill her than allow her to live.
Lily was Dougal’s and no one else’s. He had raised the girl from when she was a babe.
Didn’t that count for something?
“Ye confronted Angus.” It wasn’t a question. “Dougal told me as much, though he wouldnae admit how much it shook him to see it.”
Skye did not need to be told as much. It was obvious from the way he had hovered around her that he had been shaken by the way the guard had grabbed her. His protective instinct had kicked in.
It was not the first time she had seen it directed towards her. She liked it far more than she cared to admit, for it made her feel safe and cared for in a way she had not experienced before.
“I couldnae let Angus reach her, nae without kenning what he intended to do,” she whispered. “Ye should have seen the way he spoke about her. Nae like she was a person, but a possession. It scared me, Lady Kenna. I daenae think I’ve ever seen something so frightening.”
Kenna’s grip on her hand tightened, something fierce and grateful passing over her weathered features. “Ye defended me granddaughter today, Skye. I willnae forget that, whatever else happens between now and the end of yer stay here.”
Skye heard the unspoken “I’d be glad if ye choose to stay.” She had never doubted that Kenna would embrace her if she chose to stay, but it was Dougal she wanted to ask her to remain.
He hadn’t expressed as much. As far as she was concerned, she was still set to leave at the end of the month, and nothing was going to change that.
“Anyone would have done the same.”
“Nay,” Kenna said firmly. “Anyone wouldnae. Plenty would have frozen, fled, or thought only of their own safety. Ye didnae hesitate. That tells me a great deal about ye, lass, more than any story ye’ve written ever could.”
Skye looked down at their hands, unable to meet the older woman’s eyes for a moment. “I only did what felt right.”
“That’s exactly me point.” Kenna released her hand, though her expression remained soft.
“How is yer arm, truly? Shall I have someone bring some ointment for the bruising? I can make it meself. Raising a son meant there were quite a few bruises, bumps, and cuts to tend to. Though Lily gets up to almost as much trouble as Dougal used to.”
“It isnae so bad as that. It’ll fade on its own soon enough. I wish ye wouldnae make so much of it. It doesnae even hurt that much.”
“Mm.” Kenna didn’t look entirely satisfied, but she let the matter lie. “And Lily? Has anyone told her what happened today?”
“Nae yet. Dougal thought it best she believe it was only a stranger passing through, nothing more. But I feel that we havenae seen the last of Angus Lawson.”
Kenna fell quiet, which was answer enough. She believed that Angus was going to come back, and sooner than any of them wanted.
“Best for now, perhaps.” She sighed, gazing into the fire. “Though secrets have a way of coming out, do they nae? We’ve learned that well enough today.”
Skye nodded. “We can only do our best to protect Lily.”
“Aye, we will all do our best. Dougal and I will see to that.”
“And me,” she gently reminded her.
Kenna smiled. “Thank ye, Skye. I truly am pleased to have ye here. Ye’re a breath of fresh air, and the castle has never felt more alive.”
Skye blushed. “Lady Kenna, ye flatter me too much. Ye and Lily keep the castle alive plenty.”
“Aye, but there’s more life here than there ever was. I want ye to remember that, Skye.”
She did not think she would be able to forget.
Before he went to see Skye, Dougal had to see Lily.
He found her curled up on the window seat with her knees drawn up, watching the yard below. She looked up when he entered, her small face still troubled.
“Why did ye send me inside, Da? I wasnae finished playing.”
He sat beside her. The window seat was too small for him, so he had to perch on the edge. “Sometimes, wee one, we must do what keeps us safe, even when we daenae wish to. Even when it means leaving something we love unfinished.”
“But I like the gardens.” She pushed out her bottom lip. “I was going to show Skye the flowers I planted.”
“And ye will. Tomorrow, or the day after, I promise ye that.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It wasnae about the gardens, Lily. A man that I daenae trust came here today, and until he was gone, I wanted ye where I kent ye were safe.”
Lily considered this with the grave seriousness only a child could manage. “Did he come because of me?”
“Aye,” he said gently. “But ye neednae fret over it. That’s me worry to carry, nae yers.”
She leaned into his side, seemingly satisfied, and he held her there a moment longer than he needed to.
“Da?”
“Aye?”
“Is he a bad man? Truly bad, or only bad the way Cook is bad when I steal sweets before supper?”