Page 17 of Saved By the Highland Beast
Dean was standing to the side of the front doors with a folded garment in his hands. “I went to the study, but ye were nae there,” he said in the way of a greeting.
Sophia was used to his gruff ways by now and didn’t think anything of it. “I just went to find Cillian. I’m still struggling to keep him engaged in the lessons,” she explained. All of their interactions to date had been about Cillian and her duties.
“I saw him goin’ back up into the study nae too long ago.” He coughed again.
They hadn’t really spoken to each other since the morning of their disagreement. She knew he could see that his way wasn’t working, but he still stuck to his decree that she was to do things as he said.
“I’ll speak to Cillian and tell him again he needs to attend the morning lessons.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she said happily. “I have a plan to draw him in. I’m pretty sure it’s going to work.” She didn’t mention that she’d still be using a sword, albeit a wooden one that Cillian wouldn’t be touching, but that was another problem that she’d tackle when the time came.
He suddenly remembered the garment in his hand. “This is for ye.” He held it out to her. “The weather is getting colder, and I thought ye might need this. It belonged to me maither.”
Sophia searched the depths of his dark eyes before reaching out and taking the pile of soft fabric. “Thank you, my laird.” She was touched by his sudden spate of kindness.
Unfolding the cloth, she let the square of velvety grey material with tassels at the ends fall open in her arms as she held it up.
“It’s a shawl, it will keep ye warm in the months to come. Winters in Scotland can be treacherous even for the most experienced Scotsmen.”
Sophia smiled warmly at him before draping the shawl over her shoulders in one fluid motion. The thin fabric was surprisingly warm and light as it engulfed her in a sense of comfort, immediately blocking the chilly wind from reaching her skin.
The laird rubbed the back of his neck as he said, “I didnae realize until this morning that we never replaced yer clothes that were on the horse. Yer English dresses would have been far too thin for a Scottish winter in any case.”
She decided to ignore the slight insult in light of his recent change of heart.
“The dressmaker will be coming up from the village this afternoon to fit ye with a few dresses of yer own. Ye will have more than enough to see ye through the winter. We only use the thickest of wools to make our winter clothes in the highlands.”
“Thank you,” she said more quietly. “I appreciate your concern.” She was seeing a kinder side of him that he hadn’t shown her before now.
“Ye’ve stayed on longer than half of the tutors in the past. I ken that Cillian has nae changed his ways yet, but yer efforts are appreciated.”
She was deeply touched by the sentiment and was about to say as much when the dynamic duo, who was Hamish and Anthony, came walking up the stairs, chattering away as if they were the best of friends. It was only when she was around that they seemed to be in competition with one another.
“Do the two of ye have naethin’ better to do with yer time?” Dean suddenly barked at them, making Sophia jump. His moods could change in the blink of an eye whenever the other men were present. He seemed slightly more controlled when it was just the two of them.
“We were just on our way to take a wee dram,” Hamish said in their defense. “We’ve been working hard all mornin’. Anthony has trained most of the lads, an’ I have done more than half of me duties for the day.”
Anthony remained silent as he looked at Dean and then at the long grey shawl that hung over Sophia’s shoulders.
“See that ye get on with yer duties,” Dean said grumpily before walking back into the castle and leaving them on the stairs.
Hamish frowned as Anthony shot him a knowing look.
“Do ye see what I meant?”
“Aye,” Hamish answered him with a nod of agreement. “It’s a possibility, I’ll grant ye that. He never used to act like that ‘afore. I dinnae think ye are right, but it’s a possibility all right.”
“What is?” Sophia asked with a puzzled frown of her own.
“We think that…” Hamish raised a chubby finger as he began to speak, but stopped when Anthony dug him in the ribs. “We think that the laird may be coming down with a cold,” he added quickly.
Sophia was left confused by the whole exchange but decided to leave it be for now. The laird was a strange man. He was difficult to understand at the best of times. But she had other things to occupy her mind at present, like winning the approval and attention of Cillian.
CHAPTER7
The letters flutteredto the ground as Sophia gasped in shock. She brought her hands up to stifle her scream. She turned slowly to see if her mother had noticed the letters, but the room was dark. She squinted and struggled to adjust her eyes to the light for a while before a lamp suddenly flickered on, revealing the outline of her mother sitting on the sofa.
“Mama,” she called, her heartbeat returning to normal. “I’m so glad you are here. I was frightened. Why is it so dark in here?” she asked when her mother didn’t respond.
