Page 46 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
“There is every chance Moira willnae attack. Her faither may be tellin’ the truth, and all of this is now dead and buried since Angus’s death.”
“I dinnae believe that woman kens how to give up on somethin’ she wants. How she could abandon her own children and disappear to her faither’s castle baffles me.”
Alexander shrugged a shoulder. “I think the Laird’s passin’ was a shock for her.”
Callum’s fingers clenched at his sides as he drew in a long breath, glancing up at Alexander’s stoic face.
“Was it quick?” he asked.
I shouldnae care; he banished me from this place.
“Aye, he was writin’ a letter. I found him with ink on his fingers, the inkwell shattered on the floor. I believe his last thoughts were of ye.”
Callum swallowed, stepping back from the table.
“Angus wanted to see ye, M’Laird,” Alexander insisted. “When he found Moira’s letters, he was devastated. I dinnae think it ever sat well with him, banishin’ ye like he did.”
“Woman had her talons in his heart,” Callum grumbled, but his thoughts scattered as there was a high, piercing scream from outside.
Spinning around, his hand moved to the handle of his knife. He saw Amy and Eilis sprinting through a stone archway on one side of the gardens at full speed, looking behind them fearfully.
“Call the guar—” Callum began, thinking that perhaps someone was chasing them. But instead, a crimson vision appeared behind them.
Lydia’s hair had fallen loose, and she was running with a broad smile on her face, the bright red skirts billowing behind her as she sprinted after the girls.
Amy and Eilis scattered, shrieking with delight as she chased them, attempting to grab one and then the other.
Amy had the kitten clutched against her chest, and the grin on her face was wide and happy. Callum had never seen the girls look so delighted, realizing now how morose and quiet they were in his presence.
Lydia’s eyes were bright, beautiful, and alert, her high laugh breaking free and reaching him even through the thick windows of the study.
She is stunnin’ both inside and out. Why did her father have to auction her off? Surely any man would have begged to marry her.
“She certainly has a way with the wee ones,” Alexander said, following his gaze. “Ye have chosen a good companion for yerself.”
Companion?
Callum unhooked the curtain and pulled it across the window, the same awkwardness rising inside him.
For years, he had been accustomed to misery and loneliness. They were his old friends, like familiar blankets wrapped around his shoulders, keeping him warm.
The idea that they could be replaced by joy, with Lydia and the girls bringing happiness back into his days, left him feeling off balance and uncertain.
“Go and secure the castle,” he barked, “and report back to me when all the guards are in place.”
“That is what I have been tellin’ ye, man. Theyarein place, and the castleissecure.”
“Well, go and check again!” he thundered.
Alexander didn’t flinch, simply scooping up the plans on the desk, nodding once and leaving the room.
Callum collapsed back in his chair, scowling at the door as it closed behind him.
Lydia isnae me ‘companion’. She cannae be. She is here to be with the wee girls, and I dinnae need to spend any more time with her than I have already.
He certainly didn’t need to touch her again—at all if he could help it. Every time he did, his mind switched off, and he was ruled by his body.
I cannae afford to start carin’ for me bride. I would be twice the fool if I did.
