Page 45 of Claimed By the Heartless Highlander
The driver had said they were close to their destination, and though he’d been lying when he tried to convince her they were close to Castle MacDean, that didn’t mean they were far from wherever he was really taking her. Which meant that unless it was a camp, it was likely the castle of a laird who shared borders with Clan Muir.
Ailis bit her lip in frustration. She wasn’t sure who shared Duncan’s borders, aside from Clan MacDean. And she’d no idea who his enemies might be.
The driver had also said that his Laird wanted to have her as a bargainin’ chip but didn’t need her. She hoped that didn’t mean what she feared it did—that the enemy either had other hostages or overwhelming forces.
The carriage left the woods, and Ailis looked up to see a dark stone keep, nestled against the low crags a short distance away. The whole structure was older looking and unfamiliar to her, the path rough and in need of being cleared. Still, the walls looked thick, and there were several guards visible.
Ailis grimaced. She’d entertained a faint hope that their destination would be one she could easily escape, but a well-guarded, sturdy fort that she was unfamiliar with gave her very little hope.
Her captor drove through the gates—held by two guards at the portal, and two more on the wall above it—and brought the carriage to a stop in front of the main doors to the keep. He tossed the reins to a servant and then pulled Ailis out of her seat roughly.
“Where’s the Laird?”
“Busy. Ye’re to take her to the room we prepared for the little lass.”
Her captor growled in annoyance but nodded and dragged her inside, then down a hall that looked like it might house the servants’ quarters or the dungeons.
At last, he reached a door that was being guarded by two more men. “The Laird says that this one’s to be waitin’ here.”
One of the guards stepped aside. The other drew out a ring of keys, chose one, and unlocked the heavy-looking door. Once unlocked, he pushed it open, and Ailis winced at the loud, groaning sound it made.
The door was clearly very heavy, and not well maintained. It would be impossible to force it open quietly, even if she could somehow manage to unlatch it.
Her captor scowled at her. “Ye’re to wait here until the Laird is ready to come see ye. Dinnae do aught foolish, or ye’ll sorely regret it.”
With that, he shoved her inside.
Ailis stumbled a little as she crossed the threshold. She was barely upright again, however, before a small, fast-moving figure slammed into her with a cry.
“Ailis!”
“Lily?”
The door slammed shut. Ailis blinked and took a moment to catch her breath as she surveyed her surroundings. The room was a small one, with a modest bed and a tiny fireplace for warmth, but little else in the way of comfort. No chairs, no table. No water or food. Just herself and her young companion.
The child clinging to her was indeed Lily.
Ailis sighed. “Lily-love, let go of me for a moment.”
Lily did, and Ailis lifted her arms. “All right. Ye can hug me now, and I can lower me arms with the ropes like this so I can hug ye properly.” The child latched onto her again, and Ailis sighed. “But, Lily, what are ye doin’ here? Ye’re supposed to be safe at home with yer faither.”
Lily sniffled, and Ailis caught the guilty expression on her face before the child hid her face in her blouse again. “I wanted to go with ye. And I ken ye and Faither said nay, but the soldier said he’d take me to ye, and I wanted to go on another adventure so much…” She sniffled again.
“Och, lass, ye ken yer faither has rules for a reason. And did ye never think what he’d say to either of us if ye had snuck out and joined me, and I’d let ye? ‘Twas a foolish thing ye did, me wee bairn. And why did ye go with a man ye didnae ken?”
“He had the same tartan as Faither and Uncle Jack. He said he was me new guard, since Faither sent a lot of the others to the borders.”
Ailis had just been thinking how easily she and Jack and even Duncan had been fooled by the man’s borrowed plaid. She could hardly fault Lily for being tricked as well.
As for the child’s rash behavior… well, she was a child. And hadn’t Ailis herself encouraged such mischief and sneakiness that first day by the kennels, when she’d cajoled the guard into taking them both down to the sea? It was as much her fault as anyone else’s that they were in this predicament.
She sighed and guided Lily to the small bed. “Foolish, wee bairn… Well, it isnae yer fault, I suppose.” She ruffled the little girl’s hair. “And I suppose ye got yer wish.”
Lily blinked up at her. “But…”
“Ye wanted to come on an adventure with me, and here we are. It isnae the circumstances either of us would have liked, but we’re still together.” Ailis held the child close. “’Tis like wishin’ on a Fairie Mound. Ye get what ye ask for, but never as ye’d prefer.”
“Did ye wish on a Fairie Mound?”
