Page 88 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
Lydia looked at the deep purple gown about her shoulders. Kristen had cut it so that it was just touching her collarbone, and it was a beautiful shape. Her sapphire necklace sparkled at her neck.
She nodded.
“Yes, I think so. It was Mama’s, and I shall have to bid her farewell today.”
“She is leaving with young Tommy, already?” Hannah asked.
“Callum does not think it is safe for them to remain here.”
Hannah nodded. Lydia had given her a small amount of detail on what had occurred at the wedding. Her poor maid had been beside herself at the time, believing they would all be murdered by a marauding mob.
The whole house felt as if it were on tenterhooks. The servants were unusually silent as they moved through the halls, and there was a sense of anticipation in the air.
Lydia would have given anything for her mother and brother to stay by her side, but there was a part of her that was relieved they were leaving.
I do not want them to be in danger.
She rose from her seat, heading downstairs. As she reached the bottom, she heard a quiet laugh behind her and turned to find Tommy, playing with the kitten beneath an arched doorway.
He had a piece of fabric in his hand. It looked like the ones Kristen had gifted her. Trailing it along the floor, Raven leaped after it excitedly, his little claws coming out to grab at it.
Tommy looked up, and a bright smile spread over his face as he saw her.
“Mama says we can get a kitten when we are back in London.”
“I said nothing of the kind,” her mother said, approaching from a side door as she frowned down at Tommy. “I said I would ask your father.”
Tommy’s smile faltered, but he picked up the kitten and hugged him to him fondly.
“Where are Eilis and Amy?” Lydia asked, and Tommy pointed to the dining hall. They all made their way through to find the girls sitting with Alexander, eating their breakfast.
Amy looked tired, as if she had not slept well. Alexander, too, had dark circles beneath his eyes from keeping watch all night.
“Tommy, give Raven back to Amy, now,” Lydia said. “I am sure she will let you play with him again when you next visit.”
Amy beamed at her as Tommy handed over the little black bundle of fur.
“Are you leaving?” Amy asked Tommy, who nodded solemnly.
“But I will come back,” he insisted.
“He says it is to see me, but I think it will simply be to see the kitten,” Lydia whispered to the girls as they giggled together.
She turned to her mother, and she embraced her fiercely.
“Be careful, my love,” the Duchess murmured. “Look after yourself and those girls.”
“I will.”
Tommy waved goodbye to Eilis and Amy, who followed them out to the front of the castle.
Her mother’s carriage was already waiting by the gates, a bright blue sky behind it, banishing the rain that had dogged them since their arrival.
“Write to me when you return to London,” Lydia said, looking behind her as Callum’s huge form appeared at the entryway.
At least he has come down to bid them farewell. I wondered if I would see him at all today.
Callum approached, looming above them all. He always looked larger on the outside of the castle among ordinary folk.
