Page 66 of Highland Ruse

A vial.

Kaid nodded in thanks. Rhona spoke quietly to Kaid, who nodded again.

She turned to Delilah and sneered at the sodden mess of her gown. “I’ll have yer maid come and fetch ye to freshen ye up for supper.” Then she quit the room with steps as sharp as the edge to her smile.

Delilah regarded the vial before Kaid pocketed it. She had to tell him what she’d learned of it from Rhona. Her suspicions had been confirmed, and he needed to know what he was doing to himself. “Kaid—”

“I shouldna have kissed ye.” He set his jaw. “Especially no’ out in the open.”

She shook her head. “We thought we were alone.”

“Ye’re the last chance I have.” Something shadowed his eyes. “I canna have people thinking ye’ve been compromised.”

The last chance he had?

She frowned. “What do you mean by—”

“My lady?” Leasa stepped from the darkened hallway, concern evident in the furrow of her brow. “Rhona said you were in a bad way. Are you unwell?”

Delilah suppressed an exasperated sigh. “I’m fine. We were caught in the storm, and I need to change before supper.” She turned back toward Kaid in time to see him slip the valerian root extract into the waist of his kilt. “Kaid, I’d like to continue speaking with you.”

“We’ll speak later.” He nodded toward Leasa. “Go prepare for supper. It will be served soon, and ye dinna want the whole of the clan waiting on ye.”

But they did not speak later, not through the food or the ale as it was served, or while they ate, or even during the entertainment afterward when the music played and the whisky flowed.

Later, Delilah lay in bed, her mind as awake as her body. She stared at the shadowed underside of the great canopy bed and listened to the steady, even snores of Leasa sleeping on the pallet on the floor.

Kaid would be alone now.

Memories of his nightmare rushed into her mind. She hated the thought of him poisoning his nights with the valerian root again.

Her mind cycled back to their kiss. Their conversation. Not only what he’d thought about her, but also when he’d said she was their only hope. What did he intend for her to do? Especially when she’d already told him she would not go to MacKenzie as Elizabeth.

She could speak with him now. She knew what room was his. Leasa had mentioned his was near theirs to ensure their protection, but it set the other servants whispering with suspicion.

It wouldn’t be proper to see Kaid at such a late hour, alone. It wasn’t something Lady Elizabeth would do.

But she wasn’t Lady Elizabeth.

Delilah rose from the bed with such care, the bed ropes did not even squeak, and slid a night robe over her bed clothes. After quick confirmation that Leasa still slept, she slipped from the room and headed toward Kaid’s.

Impropriety be damned. She would deliver her warning to Kaid, and she would get her answers.

• • •

The vial called to Kaid.

The hour was late and the day had been long. So damn long.

There had been many issues requiring his assistance—disputes which had awaited his arrival, decisions to be made, advice to be given. His head ached with the burden of his responsibilities.

But, no, it wasn’t that.

It was coming home to Ardvreck and being reminded of what MacKenzie’s attack had done to his people. Though they tried to rally, their spirits were even more broken than their bodies. Many had died, and those who carried on had to work twice as hard to compensate for the loss. The deep lines in their faces bespoke how the extra labor exacted its toll.

At least home brought the relief Rhona afforded him.

He pulled the stopper from the vial. He wanted the bitterness on his tongue, to melt into his body and mind and shroud everything roiling and screaming in a blanket of silence.