Page 10 of Highlander’s Beautiful Liar

So Alec Sinclair wanted her? Cora wasn’t above using that to her advantage if it meant finally getting out of Scotland.

.

3

True to Alec’s word, after a few days had passed and Cora could walk around without wincing, Alec ordered the guards to move her to the servants’ quarters. Her new room was much smaller than the guest chambers he’d had her staying in. It consisted only of a small bed, a table, and two chairs, but it didn’t bother her any. She would have been happy sharing a stall with a horse so long as it meant that she was no longer in the prison or guest chambers.

Despite telling Alec that she was fine, Cora was anything but. A few hours after breaking the morning fast, her entire body screamed for rest. After being trapped for six months, her body wasn’t used to moving at a fast pace, and it protested, but Cora wasn’t about to admit that anything was wrong. Although it was vastly better than the prison, her new position in the castle wasn’t all roses.

Despite her humble beginnings, Cora had never worked a day in her life. The Thistles were wealthy enough to employ a few servants, and Cora didn’t even begin to know how to cook, and the servants of the MacKay keep knew it. They scowled as they watched her attempt to peel potatoes and muttered behind her back.

“Lassie!” Louise, one of the cooks, yelled. “Yer butchering the potato. There’ll be nothing left to eat by the time yer finished with them. What are ye doing here anyway?”

Cora sighed and put the knife down. Louise wasn’t wrong. She was chopping off just as much potato as she was peeling. “Just following Mr. Sinclair’s orders.”

“Mr. Sinclair,” Lousie cackled. Her whole portly body shook as the woman bent over, clearly tickled pink by Cora’s statement. “Didya hear that, lassie? Ms.Claire is so verra polite.”

Mary, the young woman who was stirring the pot of boiling water, smirked. “Shouldn’t we be calling him Laird Sinclair? Or is it still Laird MacKay?”

“We’ll be calling him nothing of the sort,” Louise snapped. “He’s an imposter and the sooner he goes on about his business, the better.”

Cora narrowed her eyes. “Seth MacKay was an evil bastard, and I would think that you would be pleased to be rid of him.”

“Aye, that he was. A disgusting pig of a man, but that doonae mean that we need any help from the Sinclairs. Uppity bunch. Man thinks he’s a gift from God. That’s no better than Seth, if ye ask me,” Louise snorted.

“No one was asking ye, Louise,” Mary said calmly. “And I think the new laird might actually be able to help us. He’s quite handsome.”

Cora immediately bristled. Mary was a pretty girl. Unlike Cora, she wasn’t pale and gaunt. Curves in all the right places. Lucious shine in her hair. Full lips. She was probably just what Alec Sinclair would like in his bed.

Immediately, she banished the thought. Alec made it quite clear the night before that he was dangerous. She shouldn’t care who wanted to be in his bed.

“Where’s yer loyalty, Mary? Yer just as bad as Claire.”

“I’m not a MacKay,” Cora said immediately. “And I’m loyal to no one here. I’m simply happy to no longer be in the dungeon anymore.”

“Of course yer not a MacKay. Our Laird MacKay, Duncan, God rest his soul, would never have messed around with an English woman. What I doonae understand is what ye were doing in the prisons to begin with,” Louise said as she put her hands on her hips. When Cora didn’t answer right away, Louise tossed her cleaning rag over her shoulder and marched toward Cora. Picking up the knife, she brandished it threateningly. “Answer the question, lassie.”

Cora stood up calmly. Louise wouldn’t kill her. She wouldn’t dare. “You didn’t ask a question,” she pointed out. “But I’m sure the rumors have reached you. I was incarcerated for stealing, but I maintain my innocence. The new laird will not release me until he’s sure.”

“Maybe, but I doonae know what a dainty English thing like yerself is doing in the Highlands unless ye were up to no good,” Louise retorted as she put the knife down. “Ye can’t stay in the kitchen. Ye have no idea what yer doing. I suggest that ye go clean out the chamber pots,” she said with a wicked smile. “Ye can return at dinnertime and help serve the men. Mebbe there’ll be something left for ye to eat when yer done.”

“How kind of you,” Cora said bitterly. It was clear to her that Louise was going to punish her for a number of crimes, the first being English. It didn’t even begin to touch on the cruelty of Seth and Innes, so she simply nodded her head and went to complete her duties.

At her slow pace, it took her until dinner to complete the job. Finally, aching and weary, she joined Mary in the kitchen. Thankfully, Louise was nowhere to be found.

“There ye are,” Mary hissed. “Where have ye been?”

“I have been chained up for six months. I do not move as quickly as I used to,” Cora said shortly. “But I am here now. What do you require of me?”

Mary’s eyes immediately widened. “Six months?” she whispered. “What did ye do?”

“I have already answered that question. Nothing. I really prefer not to discuss it.”

She could see the sympathy in Mary’s eyes, and she hated it. She didn’t want the girl’s sympathy. She just wanted to finish her duties so she could eat and go to bed.

“I’ve already brought the food out for the laird and his men. Ye can help me with the rest, and then ye just need to make sure that everyone’s cup of ale stays full,” Mary instructed. She grabbed a few plates and headed out.

Cora carefully balanced a plate on her forearm and grasped two other plates before following the girl out. She didn’t know what to expect from the main hall, but when she walked in on the dozens of Scottish men, she felt her blood run cold.