Page 48 of A Wife for the Highland Wolf
“Lydia?”
Startled out of her melancholy thoughts, she looked up to see that Wilma had joined Nora. Both of their faces wore matching expressions of concern.
Nora crouched to look her in the eye. “Are ye feelin’ better? I’m worried about ye.”
“Aye.” Wilma joined them on the grass. “Ye’ve been so distressed as of late. I ken some of the reasons why, but…”
“I ken. I ken. I just…” Words failed her. She couldn’t seem to find the strength to explain how she felt. In fact, even thinking about it made her eyes sting with renewed tears.
“Och, lass, everything will come out all right.” Nora’s voice was soft, comforting, like the hand she ran gently through Lydia’shair before pulling her into a hug. “I ken it doesnae seem possible just now, but ye’ll nae feel so hurt forever.”
“I ken…but it…but I…”
There was a faint sound of jingling from the courtyard. Hector’s ears perked up; nose lifted as he sniffed the air. Before Lydia could react, the big dog surged to his feet and bounded toward the courtyard with an excited bark.
Curious, the three of them stood and followed the dog.
There were two horses in the courtyard and a rider dismounting from one. The figure was wrapped in a traveling cloak, but there was something familiar about his build. He bent to scratch behind Hector’s ears. “Good lad. Is yer mistress nearby, I wonder?”
Lydia’s heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice. She stumbled to a stop, unable to move or even draw a proper breath. It was Wilma who surged forward with a startled exclamation. “Murdoch! What are ye doin’ here?”
Murdoch raised his head. “I was lookin’ for Lydia.”
“And what would ye be seeking me sister for?” Nora stepped forward, her expression one of cool disdain. “Ye were quick enough to send her away without a word of explanation. I daenae see why I should let ye say one word to her.”
Murdoch grimaced. “I ken ye’ve nay reason to welcome me, but as for permission to speak to Lydia, is that nae a decision for the lady herself to make?”
Nora turned to her. “Lydia?”
A part of her wanted to ask him to leave immediately. Another part of her wanted to turn around and walk inside without uttering a single word to him. In the end though, curiosity and courtesy won out. “I’ll speak with him, at least for a moment.”
Nora studied her face, measuring Lydia’s temperament in the same way she’d learned how to gauge a patient’s health and whether or not they were lying to her about how much something hurt. She then nodded. “As ye will. However, me Laird Lochlann, if I return to find ye’ve reduced me sister to tears again or distressed her in any way, then I’m nae above making sure ye’reveryuncomfortable for the next fortnight or so. And if ye ken anythin’ of me from Lydia, then ye ken I’m a healer, and I ken ways of making ye miserable that ye will never see coming.”
Murdoch nodded, hands upheld in surrender. “I ken what a healer is capable of doin’. Wilma’s nae fully trained, but she’s left me regrettin' me folly a time or two when I upset her.”
“Then ken that I can do worse and keep it in mind when ye’re speakin' to me sister.” Nora tipped her head at Wilma and the two of them withdrew. Hector stayed, but he moved to lean against Lydia’s leg, providing a comforting support for her.
Lydia waited, but Murdoch didn’t seem inclined to speak first. “Well?”
“Well…I’m sorry I sent ye away. I shouldnae have, at least, nae without an explanation. But…” Murdoch ran a hand through his hair, his expression weary. “I was afraid.”
“Afraid of what? That I’d learn yer secrets? That someone might get through that iron guard of yers? Afraid to let someone come to ken and care for ye? Was the idea of me carin’ for yethatrepugnant?”
“Nay. It was nae any of that.” Murdoch heaved out a breath that seemed too strained and deep to be a sigh. “I’d solved who was behind the attack in the village. I’d kent then that they might have been involved in the attack that killed me first wife. I dinnae want ye where ye could be harmed until I’d proven whether I was right or nae.”
“Ye…how?” But that wasn’t the most important question. “Who?”
“Me uncle, Arthur Nairn. He was behind both attacks. I never suspected before that day, but when we returned to Lochlann Castle after the attack, he asked if we’d been injured.”
She remembered that. She hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, especially since he’d said some villagers had informed him about what had happened. She frowned. “I thought it was because the villagers came to warn him of the attack. Was that nae correct?”
Murdoch shook his head. “Nay one from the village ever came to Lochlann Castle that evenin’. Nay one left the square before we did. Gordon’s men had them constrained.”
“But that…och…I see.” Lydia swallowed hard as the pieces fell into place. “He’d kent the attack was going to happen.”
“Aye. After ye left, I confronted him and learned his truth - that he’d arranged that attack and the one before to either kill me or leave me without wife and heir, to convince the Elders that I was unsuitable as a laird.”
Murdoch’s eyes were full of grief, haunted by a deep regret that he wasn’t bothering to hide behind his usual mask. Lydia’s heart went out to him.
