Page 59 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Holly walked with Cole through the castle. The boy was practically tethered to her, and she didn’t mind that one bit. He didn’t say much, and there was a melancholy about him, which was to be expected, but there were moments when he seemed truly happy, and that had always happened when he was around her.
“What would ye like to do today?” Holly asked.
She was in a fine mood. She had been in a fine mood ever since she had been with the Laird at the loch.
“Mayhap we can go and see the huntin’ dogs again and feed them in case they need to go out on a hunt soon,” Cole said quietly.
Holly thought about it.
“Aye,” she replied.
The lad had taken a liking to the hunting dogs, and Holly wondered if it was because of how protective they were, especially of the bairns in the castle. It might also be because he was worried that she and the Laird would dump him in the middle of the woods when they got tired of him. The hunting dogs would find him if they knew his scent well enough.
“Aye, we can do that,” Holly continued. “And then we can go down to the kitchen and see if they have some freshly baked cakes. How about that?”
“Cakes?” Cole asked, his eyes widening. “Aye, that would be braw.”
“Aye, ye need to get as much strength for yer life here in the village or the castle…” Holly trailed off.
She wanted to reassure the boy, but she didn’t know what would happen to him just yet, and she had barely seen the Laird since their outing at the loch to talk to him about it.
The memory of the Laird leaping into the loch popped into her mind. When she had witnessed it from the warmth of the blanket, she had barely believed it. It wasn’t until his head broke the surface that it became real and she burst out laughing.
Mayhap the Laird they whisper about wouldnae house a young boy like Cole, but the Laird who leaped into the cold water certainly would.
Holly stopped walking and crouched down before the boy. “I want ye to ken that I’m nae goin’ to let anythin’ bad happen to ye, all right?”
Cole nodded as she held him by the shoulders. “Can I stay here with ye, Mistress?”
“I dinnae ken,” Holly admitted. “We’ll have to see about that.”
Cole nodded again.
When Holly stood back up, Eliza was walking toward her, her eyes wide, and an extra bounce in her step.
“Och, Me Lady, there ye are. I can scarcely believe it meself, but I ken it to be true. There’s a man in the castle who means to kill ye.”
Holly gritted her teeth as Cole jerked his head up to look at her. She shot Eliza a look that stopped her from blabbing.
“Ye are an awful mess, Eliza. Ye mean there’s a man here who wants to see me, aye?” Holly asked.
“Aye, that’s it,” Eliza said, her lips slightly parted in wonder.
Holly took the maid by the arm and led her away from Cole, who remained in his spot.
He’s gained wisdom beyond his young years, but at what cost?
“Eliza!” Holly hissed when they were alone. “Ye cannae be gossipin’ about things like that in front of the lad, let alone everyone. What is goin’ on?”
Holly wasn’t worried about a man coming to kill her. If that were the case, Eliza wouldn’t be so giddy about it.
“It’s exactly as I said. Laird McAllister had an entire clan hunt him down and bring him here, and he’s in the dungeons right now. I heard from a maid, who heard from a guard, who heard from another guard, who heard from the cook who takes the food down to the dungeons that they are torturin’ him somethin’ terrible. Stretchin’ him out on the rack and piercin’ him with needles.”
“I dinnae understand,” Holly said. “Who did they capture?”
“Ferdinand?” Eliza asked. “Nay. Phillip? ‘Twas a man who was goin’ to murder ye. Felix?”
