Page 95 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
“Good. We’ll do everything we can to keep it that way, do ye understand me?”
Keira nodded, her back stiff against the door as she watched everything unfold.
Was she cursed? Was that why this was happening to her? Was she destined to always have a dead husband on her wedding night? Was Fletcher’s death even a coincidence?
“Leave,” Lesley whispered.
Keira inhaled sharply. “What?”
“Grab a clean dress and leave, Keira. I ken that multiple things are going through yer head right now, and it’s nae proper if ye keep standing there, watching me.”
Keira shook her head. “But it’s late. Where do ye want me to go?”
“Go back to yer old room or out for a ride. Just leave. Seeing him like this will only make ye panic further.”
A rough groan escaped Evander’s lips at that moment.
Keira nodded and stepped out into the corridor. She made her way back to her previous room, ignoring the searching looks from the few maids who were finishing their chores for the day.
She wouldn’t be able to sleep, but at the very least, she wouldn’t have to keep looking at Evander anymore. For now, she needed a break, and one way or another, she was going to get it, even though from all angles, she was completely doomed.
One was a coincidence. Now, it had happened twice.
She ground her teeth as she headed downstairs to her old quarters and prayed.
Please, Evander, push through this.
She didn’t have to deal with a lot of faces till she got to her room. That was where she stayed for most of the night, unable to sleep. She looked out the window at the bright moon that sat high in the starry sky, her heart pounding a million times a minute. She paced back and forth, her hands clasped together as she continued to pray to God and whoever could hear her that her husband make it alive.
She wouldn’t be able to deal with the backlash that would come from this. She did not know the exact moment she fell asleep. All she knew was that one minute she was walking back and forth, her feet digging into the hardwood floor, and the next she was sitting on the edge of the bed.
She didn’t wake up until the sun was high in the sky the next morning. The rays spilled into her room, bathing the space in a warm golden hue. She rose to her feet and walked out of the room, ignoring the maids who walked past her.
She quickened her steps as she made her way up the stairs to the Laird’s quarters, ready to receive one news or the other. Some maids walked past her, and she ignored them again. Except this time, she could hear their whispers.
Something about their tone made her freeze, and she turned to them. They weren’t fully gone. One whispered into the ear of the other while they continued to look straight at her.
“And what is that about?”
“Apologies, M’Lady,” the maids responded quickly and walked briskly down the stairs.
A mild frown creased her brow, but she didn’t think too much of it. She continued up the stairs, the Laird’s quarters already coming into view. It wasn’t until she passed two more maids that she began to realize something was going on. They either stared at her with immense disdain or with complete disregard.
She had thought she had been ignoring them this whole while… until she realized they were ignoringher,too.
She swallowed and moved to the door. She knocked gently. “Lesley?”
No response came.
She knocked again. “Lesley, are ye in there?”
More silence.
Perhaps her friend had gone back to the apothecary to get something.
She shuddered as another thought crawled into her mind.
Perhaps he wasdeadand no one wanted to tell her anything. She was about to knock again when a voice rang out from the end of the corridor.
