Page 53 of At the Highlander's Mercy
Yet he would not admit it or explain the whole of how the chasm had opened between them and their fathers. Oh, Rob knew more than he was saying and he was leaving something unspoken, but she did not know how to pry it from him. She almost had the feeling he was protecting her somehow, or thought he was.
Well, she thought as she pushed away all the questions and thought about the coming night, she would take the hours she had left with him. And she would treasure every last moment.
Chapter Twenty-One
Dougal argued with him, just as he expected, but he gave in and accompanied Rob to his chambers where Lilidh waited. Did she have any idea of the complete catastrophe he’d barely managed to avoid in the hall? Now, his friend trudged up the stairs and along the corridor with him, silent except for an occasional curse aimed at him.
Daft, imbecile, stupidandbedamnedseemed to be among the ones he favoured for now. It would have been funny, except for the gravity of the whole situation.
Once more Symon had stepped in and caused trouble. This time, keeping Lady MacLerie from leaving nearly resulted in several deaths. Symon’s own was only prevented by his unconscious condition—and the chains that bound him in a small room near the kitchens. Rob could take no more chances by leaving him free. Now Lilidh’s mother resided with her maid, under guard, until Rob could speak to Duncan in the morning and clear this up. Hopefully, he would find a way to solve the matter of Lilidh MacLerie.
Now he stood before his bedchamber door, not knowing what to expect inside. Had she seen the dagger in her mother’s side? Did she hear Symon’s threats? Or had Ranald already removed her from it? Dougal whispered something about changing his mind, so Rob lifted the latch and entered alone.
She stood by the window, barely visible in the shadows, staring out into the forest. He walked to her side and watched the flickering lights of the campfires glowing in the night’s darkness. He reached up and put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her against him and inhaling the scent of her...while he could.
‘What happened, Rob?’ she asked. He felt her inhale and hold a breath while waiting for him to answer. He let out the one he’d been holding.
‘Symon took your mother prisoner at knifepoint.’ There really was no way of saying it gently. ‘She is well and I’ve sent word that she will be returned to your cousins on the morrow,’ he added.
‘May I see her?’ she asked.
‘Not now. Things have only just settled down. Fear not, she is comfortable and has not been hurt.’
She turned to him and searched his face. ‘But you have been hurt.’ Lilidh reached up and touched the edge of his jaw where Symon had managed to get a punch in before being subdued.
‘I need to speak to you about something important, Lilidh,’ he began. ‘This becomes more dangerous with each day and...I worry about what will happen to you if this ends badly for me.’
‘Rob, you will get us through this, you promised,’ shesaid, stroking his arm now. He smiled at her determination and her faith, especially when his was failing him.
‘Dougal is waiting outside. He will be our witness.’
The frown lay across her brow and forehead at his words. He was mucking this up. ‘We have had relations. There might be a consequence.’
She shook her head at his words. Then she realised of what he spoke. ‘Why do we need a witness?’
‘I would handfast with you in the old ways so that you have the protection of my name if anything happens to me. Dougal has sworn to keep this a secret between us, unless you need to use it.’
‘You think you are going to die.’
There were many possibilities, but with the way that he was being undermined, opposed and ignored, most of them were not good outcomes. If she was with child, handfasting would give her some legal protections. If not, they could simply choose to ignore it. He would not hold her to the ‘year and a day’ tenet and keep her from moving on with her life.
‘Things have escalated. If whoever is trying to kill me within the clan does not succeed, there is every possibility that your father will once he hears about our violation in the truce and hospitality we offered.’ Rob could still not believe Symon’s actions. Once again, his cousin’s actions were indefensible.
‘But you did not—’ she began. He touched his finger to her lips.
‘It matters not, Lilidh. I am laird. I am responsible.’
The sound of shuffling feet and a man not trying tobe discreet interrupted them. Dougal would leave soon if he did not open the door.
‘Will you, Lilidh? Will you accept the protection I offer and handfast with me?’
He wanted nothing more than to tell her of the love in his heart for her, but that would make this something more serious, more permanent, and he could not offer her that.
Tears filled her beautiful green eyes then and they trickled down her cheeks when she nodded. He pulled a length of plaid from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders and then opened the door to let Dougal in.
‘My lady,’ Dougal said, bowing to her. ‘A strange business in the middle of the night.’
Rob put his arm around Lilidh’s shoulders and took her left hand in his. Clearing his throat, he tried to say the right words so that they were bound but not so tightly that she could not escape this as soon as she was safe.
