Page 21 of Claimed By the Heartless Highlander
“Well now, ye’re nae a ghost or a wee faerie beastie, are ye?”
The child shook her head.
“Then ye’d best come out of there, for that’s nae place for a bairn.”
“’Tis a good place to hide.” The little girl giggled again.
Ailis studied her.
She was small, dark-haired and blue-eyed, with a cherubic, round-cheeked face. She was wearing a skirt and shirt, but also leggings and small, light boots, and she was dressed in Muir tartan.
The little girl clambered out of her hiding space, then turned to regard Ailis appraisingly. She smiled shyly, gap-toothed where she’d begun to trade her baby teeth for adult ones. “Ye’re bonny.”
“Thank ye for the compliment. Though if we’re to be frank with one another, little miss, I’d far rather be havin’ me honey cake.” Ailis raised an eyebrow. “And yer name.”
The child blushed and looked down, scrubbing futilely at her face with a well-worn sleeve. “I’m sorry. Faither never lets me have more than one dessert at supper, nae unless it’s feastin’ days. And I like sweets.” She looked up shyly. “I’m Lily.”
Despite her irritation at losing her dessert and the fright she’d been given, Ailis’s heart went out to the tiny child. “Well, Lily, I’m Ailis. And I’m wonderin’ if ye can answer a few questions for me.”
“Maybe? Faither says I cannae talk too much to strangers.” Lily flushed. “But ye gave me yer name, and strangers never get rooms in this part of the castle.”
Ailis had to wonder how many strangers the child had seen, given how clear it was that Duncan didn’t encourage visitors any more than he himself went traveling. “I dinnae think I’m a stranger. I’m a guest of Duncan—Laird Muir.”
To her surprise, the child’s face brightened with relief and delight. “Tha’s all right, then! He’s me faither!” She giggled again and scooted closer. “Why are ye visitin’ me faither? Are ye his friend? Do ye have siblings?”
“I’ve reasons for visitin’, but I suppose I am his friend.” Ailis blinked at her and tried to remain calm as she realized what the youngster had said.
She wanted to say more, but she wasn’t sure how much she was supposed to know about her new betrothed. He’d never mentioned a daughter, but perhaps he’d intended to introduce them and simply not managed it before the girl snuck away.
She decided to leave the matter for later and focus on the child in front of her. “And why do ye ask about siblings?”
“Because Sarah down in the kitchens has three, but I’ve never met them. I want a siblin’. ‘Tis kind of lonely around here, because almost nay one has time to play with me.” Lily looked up at her. “Would ye have time to play with me?”
“I suppose so. But what about yer maither?” Ailis knew Duncan was looking for a bride, but she couldn’t deny she was curious.
Was Duncan married before? What had happened to the mother of his child?
Lily’s small face crumpled. “I dinnae have one. Faither said she died when I was a wee babe. And he willnae tell me anythin’ else.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I asked and asked. Everyone else has a maither.”
“Och, ye poor bairn.” Ailis reached out and gently pulled the girl closer. “’Tis a hard thing to nae have a maither. I ken very well how hard, for me own maither passed when I was yer age.”
“Ye dinnae have a maither?”
“Nae for years and years.” Ailis rubbed Lily’s back as she guided her to sit on the bed with her. “Ye asked if I had siblings. I have two younger sisters, but me faither didnae ken what to do with raisin’ a daughter, much less three, so I had to care for them, and the servants had to raise me.”
Lily nodded. “’Tis like here. Faither raises me, and me uncle and the scullery maids, they try. Martha in the kitchen has been teachin’ me numbers, and Jenny in the laundry has been teachin’ me a bit of sewin’, and the steward tries to teach me how to read, but I like Faither’s lessons better. And me uncle’s.”
“And what do yer faither and yer uncle teach ye?”
The child grinned again, her moods changing in that mercurial way characteristic of children. “Faither makes me practice me readin’, but he also teaches me how to use a knife and a sling. And me uncle takes me ridin’. And last year, he made me a bow me own size!”
Of course, they would. Ailis barely suppressed the urge to laugh. Warriors all, and which one of them would think of addressing the things a young lass needed to know? It was fortunate that the maids had taken over some of her education, but Ailis was fairly certain they’d made very little progress if the child was averse to the lessons.
After all, she’d seen what Grace could get away with when she was feeling defiant or stubborn, and that was with her own interference to countermand the inevitable “Well, I’m the Laird’s daughter, so there.”
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Ailis called out, and Jack entered the room.
“Beg yer pardon for disturbin’ ye, Lady Ailis, but….” He paused at the sight of Lily seated beside her and leaning on her elbow. All the tension drained from his shoulders. “Och, there ye are, ye wee sprite. The maids were goin’ nearly frantic lookin’ for ye.”
