Page 42 of The Mad Highlander
Iris laughed. She did not think she could feel so happy—her heart was lifted on a breeze brought by the Laird, and nothing could ruin her mood.
Iris got dressed and left the room to go for breakfast. If the Laird had recently left the room, there was a good chance she would find him there.
When she got there, she was disappointed to find only Robyn and Margot. She put on a polite smile as she entered, and she was happy to see them, but she yearned to see Cayden after the night he had given her.
“You look refreshed,” Robyn said. “I was not able to sleep very much.”
The attack had been wiped from her mind with what had come after, but the panic she had felt in her breast the previous day came flooding back. Iris looked at her hands, remembering dealing a blow to one of the men.
“Ye have some color to yer cheeks. That’s a good sign.” She patted the chair next to her, indicating that Iris should join them.
“What happened to the man? The one who didnae…” Iris could see his body in her mind as he was pushed from the Laird. She had not been so close to a dead body before. “Did the Laird…?”
“Dinnae worry about it now,” Margot said. “Yer safe, and the Laird has dealt with those involved. The man who attacked ye is in the dungeon as is the man behind it. Cayden is dealin’ with it all now.”
“Is that where he is?” Iris was impatient, and she took one of the buns from the plate in the center of the table to have something to do.
“He is meetin’ with the council, and I assume he will be busy with plannin’ all day.”
“I can’t stop thinkin’ about it,” Robyn said.
When Iris looked at the Laird’s sister, she realized there were other things to think about. She and Robyn had both been attacked, but she had the Laird in her room overnight to protect her. Did Robyn have anyone to do the same?
“We will be fine now that the Laird is takin’ care of it,” Iris assured. “He would ne’er let any harm come to the two of us, and I ken he will be workin’ all day to ensure it doesnae happen again.”
Robyn nodded as she ate a chunk of mutton. Margot gave a knowing smile as if she knew exactly what Iris felt toward the Laird.
Iris wanted to tell Robyn that the attack was on her and not Robyn, but they had both been attacked, and Iris did not want to diminish what Robyn had gone through.
“Ye did well out there,” Iris added. “Ye were strong, and I wouldnae have gotten through it without ye, Robyn.”
Robyn looked up and gave a tight smile.
Now that the aroma of the breakfast table had infiltrated her nose, Iris found that she was indeed hungry. She gestured toward her bowl, and one of the maids spooned some hot porridge into it. Iris added a good amount of wildflower honey to the top. Her stomach began to rumble in expectation.
“Thank ye for makin’ me feel so welcome here,” Iris told the two women before she took her first mouthful. “The Laird has made me feel safe, but the two of ye have made me feel safe, too.”
“That is nice of ye to say,” Margot replied. “I am only glad that I will finally have some grandchildren. The castle is so empty without children.”
“The castle is empty without family,” Robyn added.
Margot shot her daughter a look, and Robyn looked back down at her plate. Tension filled the room, and Iris wanted to ask more about the Laird’s family, but she didn’t dare. After the wonderful night with Cayden, she didn’t want anything to ruin it.
For now.
“I will take me food back to me room,” Iris said. “I want to rest some more.”
Margot shot another look at Robyn as if she had been the one to drive Iris away which did have a hint of truth to it.
Iris could not think about much else until she saw Cayden, and the longer it went on, the harder it was to think straight. He was supposed to be the mad laird, feared by everyone who laid eyes on him, but she longed to lay eyes on him again.
The sun passed through the sky, and around supper time, Iris asked a maid to bring some food to her room. When the sundipped below the horizon, and darkness seeped into the sky, she gave up hope of seeing him that day. She was beginning to think she might never see him again.
Until the knock came at the door.
Iris ran to the door, knowing she should not get her hopes up but unable to quench her expectations. She pulled open the door, and the giddiness from the morning returned tenfold.
She reached out a hand to touch him and make sure he was real, but she stopped. She stepped back into the room and tried her best to pout.
