Chapter 29
Planning a feast was not something Skye was accustomed to. She had attended plenty, but planning one was something else.
Kenna was helping, of course. It was her idea after all, and she was taking the lead, but she relied on her more than Freya or Emily ever had.
Freya and Emily used to ask for her opinion now and then or put her in charge of something simple, but she had never been given this much responsibility.
“Yer first time planning something?” Kenna asked.
Skye shook her head, but Kenna could probably tell she was lying from the way her face turned bright red. Mercifully, she only laughed, deciding not to mention it and save her the embarrassment.
“We’ll do fine,” she assured her, patting her arm. “Just follow me lead.”
Skye smiled weakly. “I think I can do that. Thank ye for the advice, me Lady.”
“No need to thank me, dear. I offer advice to anyone willing to listen.”
For some reason, Skye had the feeling that Dougal didn’t listen to his mother’s advice as much as she’d have liked.
Lily was ‘helping’ in her own way. Kenna had given her something simple to do, keeping her busy. Which was just as well, because they needed to focus on the preparations.
Then Freya decided to show up unexpectedly.
Skye was in the middle of demonstrating a rather clumsy reel, Lily giggling helplessly at her missteps, when a familiar voice cut through the music the maids had been humming for practice.
She thought she was hearing things at first. Freya had said she wanted to visit, but surely she wasn’t visiting so soon without prior notice?
“Well, this isnae what I expected to find upon arriving.”
Skye spun around to find Freya standing in the doorway, with her arms crossed and an eyebrow arched in amusement.
“Freya!” She abandoned the dance entirely, crossing the room to pull her sister into an embrace. “Ye came.”
She was embarrassed that Freya had caught her trying to teach Lily to dance, for she had never been skilled at dancing. Much as Freya tried to teach her, she could never seem to get the steps right. She had spent more time stepping on Freya and Kaden’s feet than managing to perform any dance moves.
“Of course I came. Did ye think I’d miss the chance to see ye making a fool of yerself dancing with a seven-year-old?” Freya’s eyes crinkled with warmth despite the teasing. “Though I’ll admit, ye looked rather more graceful in yer letters than ye did just now.”
Skye blushed. “I never claimed to be graceful. Ye ken very well I am far from graceful. Isnae that what ye have always said?”
Freya would sometimes call her Graceless Skye when she was younger. It was never a name Skye took to heart. But that did not mean she did not have her own nicknames for her sister.
“Nay, ye certainly didnae.” Freya glanced past her, taking in Lily with open curiosity. “And this must be the famous Lily I’ve heard so much about.”
Lily beamed, dropping into a wobbly curtsy. “Ye’re Skye’s sister! She talks about ye all the time. She says ye have a temper, but it’s all right.”
“Does she now?” Freya shot Skye a look, fighting a smile. “I suppose that’s fair enough. Skye is right. I do have a bit of a temper, but she is usually the cause of it.”
Skye balked. “I am nae, Freya!”
“All right, ye are only the cause of Kaden’s temper half the time,” Freya teased lightly.
Lily burst into a fit of giggles. “Ye two are silly!”
Freya smiled.
“Where are Kaden and Emily?” Skye asked. “I hoped they would come as well.”
She tried not to look around for her brother and sister-in-law. They had not come. Had they arrived with Freya, they would have all greeted her at the same time. She tried not to show her disappointment, but it was difficult.
“Emily wished to come, truly, but the roads have been rough this time of year, and ye ken how poorly she fares on the road even on the smoothest of days. Kaden thought it was best for her to rest at home rather than risk making herself ill on the way.” Freya’s expression softened.
“She sends her love, and she made me promise to describe everything in detail when I return. I told her I wouldnae spare a detail.”
Skye wasn’t sure she liked the sound of it, but she decided it was better to say nothing, lest her sister start teasing her again in front of Lily.
“I’m glad she’s being careful.”
“As am I.” Freya turned her attention back to the main hall, taking in the ribbons and half-finished decorations scattered about. “Now, will someone tell me what all this fuss is about, or must I guess?”
Skye blushed.
“A cèilidh,” Lily supplied. “For me! Because I was sick, but I’m nae sick anymore, so we’re celebrating. That’s why Skye was teaching me to dance! I daenae think we were doing well, though.”
Freya covered her mouth. “Is that so?” Her gaze flicked to Skye, something knowing in it. “Well, it sounds like a fine reason for celebration, indeed. Though if ye want some proper dance lessons, it’s best to come to me, Lily. I can teach ye to dance.”
Lily jumped up and down. “Really?”
“Aye, I’ll teach ye before the cèilidh.”
Skye smiled. “And when yer da comes home, ye’ll surprise him with yer new dancing skills.”
“Is Freya really that good?”
She nodded. “I promise ye, Lily, she will make a dancer out of ye yet.”
Kenna whisked Lily off to the kitchens with a promise to sample the honey cakes before anyone else got the chance, leaving Freya and Skye alone for the first time since Skye had left Castle Muir. Lily was almost always at her side now. If not Lily, then it was Kenna or Dougal.
“Now,” Freya said, the moment they were alone, steering her toward a quiet corner. “Tell me everything. And daenae ye dare leave anything out, Skye MacLeod. I ken that look in yer eyes, so ye must tell me everything, otherwise I will be forced to take measures ye cannae even begin to imagine.”
She sighed. Best to pretend that she had no idea what Freya was talking about. It was safer that way, and if she got lucky, her sister would drop it.
“What look?” she asked innocently.
Freya gave her a look, and her resolve crumbled instantly.
Why did she think she could fool her sister at all? She had gotten ahead of herself.
“That look. The one that says ye’ve things ye’re nae saying.” Freya studied her closely. “Where is he, this Lion of yers? I expected to be glared at by a masked brute the moment I arrived. Instead, I found ye teaching a child how to dance.”
Skye was grateful her sister hadn’t asked about Lily’s existence. She trusted her sister more than anything. Freya would never be a threat to Lily or tell anyone the truth, but Dougal wanted to keep Lily’s origins a secret. The fewer people who knew, the safer she was.
It was already tragic that Angus knew. Dougal was still trying to figure out how he had learned of Lily’s existence.
“He’s away. Business, he said.” Skye’s voice caught slightly on the words. “He’s been gone nearly a week now, but he will be back in time for the cèilidh. He wouldnae miss it for the world.”
“And ye miss him.” It was a statement, not a question.
The fact that Freya said it so brazenly and openly made Skye’s cheeks heat up. She turned round, but Freya was quick to turn her back. Skye almost expected to see a smug expression on her face, but the emotion flashing in her eyes was hard to read.
She sighed in resignation. “I didnae expect to. But aye, I do miss him. Far more than I ought to, considering everything.”
Freya’s teasing expression gentled into something more serious. “Oh, Skye. What has that man done to ye?”
“He has done nothing to me!” Skye snapped, her cheeks flaming.
“Strange how ye are the one who is getting flustered, which makes me wonder what ye have done.”
Skye dropped her face in her hands. “Freya, we shouldnae speak of such things!”
“The child is away with her grandmaither. Give me one reason why we shouldnae think of such things?”
“It’s improper,” Skye whispered.
Freya smiled. “Aye, but when has that ever stopped a lass before?”
Skye found she didn’t have an argument against that.
Why did she ever think she could keep something from her sister? It was pointless to contemplate not telling her everything, when the first chance she had, she sat down and told her everything that had happened over the past weeks.
Freyea listened, intrigued and horrified at some parts. Skye left out the intimate details. Some things were best left private.
“He killed a man in the courtyard in front of ye?”
Skye winced. “Aye, but he was protecting me, Freya. The man had grabbed me arm, and Dougal was afraid he would hurt me.”
Freya shook her head, pressing her fingers to her temples. “Skye, do ye hear yerself? Ye speak as if a man running another through with a blade right before yer eyes is the most natural thing in the world.”
“It wasnae natural at all, Freya. I found it terrifying.” Skye twisted her hands in her lap. “But he didnae do it without good cause. Dougal wasnae sure what would happen after the guard grabbed hold of me.”
“And poor Lily was poisoned?”
Skye nodded sadly.
“I didnae ken ye had to deal with all of this, but ye daenae sound frightened at all.”
She hesitated. “The truth is, I am very frightened, but I need to be brave for Lily. Her faither is away from the castle, and she’s never needed me more.”
“It almost sounds as if ye daenae want to come back home,” Freya accused gently.
“I never said anything of the sort, Freya.” But Skye had thought about it multiple times over the past few days.
Freya sighed. “All right, I suppose I can drop it for now. But daenae ye think ye will get away with nae telling me. Remember, I am asking as yer sister and nae as yer keeper, Skye. I’ve seen how ye blush like a summer rose whenever the man’s name is mentioned. Ye are taken with him.”
The words hit Skye hard. Her breath caught in her throat. She had a response prepared, but after what Freya had said, she didn’t think she was capable of saying anything.
“Freya, let us speak of other things,” she suggested weakly. “Will ye stay for the cèilidh?”
Freya nodded. “Aye, I will. Do ye think I would rush off so soon after seeing me little sister again after so long?”
“It’s only been a few weeks,” Skye reminded her.
Freya frowned. “So? Ye havenae been away from home for so long since ye were born. It’s been an adjustment. Kaden agrees with me.”
Skye wished her brother and Emily could be here, but she knew she would see them soon. The month would end before she knew it, and she’d go back home, where she belonged.
But the voice in her head told her that she belonged here with Dougal, Lily, and Kenna. And it was proving hard to ignore.