Page 51 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
It did not take much to notice that Callum had stepped up security. There was a soldier on almost every outer door now.
Her eyes moved to the faint line of the cut on Callum’s shoulder. The bandage had been removed, and it appeared not to be paining him, but not knowing how it had happened still irked her.
Do I not deserve to know what I am being protected from?
With a final flick of his long, wet hair, Callum reached the center of the courtyard.
Snapping the fabric against his burly thigh, he pulled his léine over his torso. It caught on his damp skin, giving Lydia ample time to admire the sharp planes of his chest before he tucked it into his kilt and turned to head inside.
Then he paused, stopped walking, and turned abruptly, his gaze colliding with hers in the window, a knowing smirk on his lips.
Lydia dove out of sight with a gasp of dismay.
Blast it! He must have known I was watching him all along.
“Lady Lydia?” Hannah asked as Lydia plastered herself to the wall, her hands hugging the stone.
“I am sorry, Hannah,” she said distractedly. “There was a bee.”
By the time Lydia had taken her bath and recovered herself, another hour had passed.
It had been a leisurely morning, and she enjoyed a long soak in the hot water before heading down to breakfast.
The castle was still a maze to her, however, and although she had believed she was going in the correct direction, she suddenly noticed a tapestry on the wall that she had not seen before.
Frowning, she turned in place, wondering if there was anyone whom she could ask for directions.
Then, along the corridor and to her right, she heard the high sound of a woman laughing. She froze.
There was a rumbling vibration that accompanied it. The laugh was coquettish and playful, as if a man and a woman were enjoying one another’s company.
Lydia’s eyes narrowed, picturing that pretty blonde maid she had seen the night of the attack.
Walking toward a door on the far end of the corridor, she could tell the sounds were coming from inside.
Bursting through the door with a heavy frown on her face, she gasped in surprise as Alexander leaped away from a woman whom he had been embracing.
She was beautiful, about Lydia’s age, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes.
Alexander cleared his throat as the woman flicked him a fierce glare.
“Lady Lydia, this is me wife, Kristen,” Alexander said, adjusting his clothes awkwardly as Lydia hid a smile.
Well, at least he is not messing about with a maid behind his wife’s back.
Kristen was curvaceous, with a wide smile that lit up her whole face. Her hair was in disarray, but Lydia fancied it was always in some sort of state. She looked like a woman who thrived in chaos.
“How do you do?” Lydia said warmly.
Kristen bobbed a curtsy. “I am sorry, M’Lady, I have told him nae to come in here when I am workin’.”
Alexander didn’t look sorry in the slightest, grinning at his wife mischievously.
“It is quite all right,” Lydia said as Alexander snapped his heels together and bowed.
“I should be on me way, M’Lady. I’ll see you tonight, Kris,” and there was such promise in those words that even Lydia blushed.
Kristen scowled at her husband as he skipped out the door.
