Page 29 of A Virgin for the Icy Highlander
The child emerged, covered in dust and dirt and old leaves, plus a few insects that Grace quickly flicked away.
“What on earth were you doing under there?” she asked, dusting the girl off as best as she could. “Ailis told me that she wasspending the morning with you. We weren’t supposed to have the pleasure of your company until after luncheon.”
Ellie gave a shy shrug. “I followed ye.”
“You…followedus?” Grace gulped. “For how long?”
“A while,” Ellie replied, plucking a leaf from her hair. “Auntie Ailis had to leave. I was bored.”
Lilian came over to investigate, swiftly unfastening the loose ribbon from Ellie’s hair and tying her dark locks up again. “Why did Ailis have to leave?”
“A maid burned her hand,” Ellie answered, mustering a nervous smile as she looked from woman to woman. “I saw you all. I followed. I thought I’d be yer… leader again.”
Grace wanted to be cross with the child for sneaking around without making them aware of her presence, but she couldn’t. Ellie was too sweet, and besides… She wasn’t angry. No, she feared that she might have hurt the child if Ellie had truly heard and understood that they didn’t trust her father, didn’t consider him capable of affection or love.
And considering her upbringing, perhaps Ellie truly didn’t know any better when it came to privacy. Perhaps that had always been her only way to know what was going on around her.
“Well, of course you’re welcome to be our leader,” Grace said, taking a deep breath and putting on a warm smile. “That being said, I don’t think you should be wandering alone. What if you got hurt and no one knew where you were?”
Ellie waved a dismissive hand and promptly ducked down to retrieve something from beneath the pagoda: a living, wriggling, blue-eyed ball of white fluff that seemed outraged about having itself removed from its hiding place.
“I wasn’t alone,” the child said, smiling. “I had me protector with me.”
The kitten was tiny, no more than a couple of months old, though it had the fighting spirit of a much bigger cat. It bared its little fangs at the three women and hissed.
“Did… your protector come to the castle with you?” Grace asked, startled by the creature.
She had never much liked cats, having always longed for a dog. Then again, now that she thought about it, she had never reallymeta cat until now. This one wasn’t exactly friendly, but that was certainly what one might expect from a protector.
Ellie turned the kitten around and held it close to her chest, where the animal seemed to decide that everything was safe and let her cuddle it. “He did.”
“Was he a gift?” Lilian chimed in, sitting down on the edge of the veranda, clearly longing to hold the kitten.
Ellie stroked the creature absently, her eyes glazing over. “He found me. The kitchen cat was his ma. He came into me room one day. I’ve had him with me ever since.”
“But he wasn’t in your room the other day,” Maddie pointed out, coming to take a closer look at the animal with a scientific curiosity. “Does he like to hide, like you do?”
Ellie giggled at that. “He doesnae hide. He goes wherever he wants. He likes it best in the kitchens, but when he sees me, he wants to follow me.” Her laughter died down as her eyes flitted elsewhere. “I swear, I didnae make him come with me. Idefinitelydidnae steal him from Grandfaither’s castle.”
“What an… oddly specific explanation,” Maddie said with a smirk that she exchanged discreetly with her two friends.
Yet, Grace found she couldn’t share in the amusement, pitying the poor girl and her tiny kitten. Maybe the kitten really was Ellie’s protector, coming to her aid when she had needed company the most.
Ellie scuffed the toe of her shoe against the grass, swaying with the kitten, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “So, what’s the game?”
“Game?” Grace swallowed. “There’s no game, Ellie.”
It wasn’t a lie. Given just a few more minutes before the child’s interruption, Grace would have told her friends that she wasn’t going to proceed with the dare anymore; she was certain she would have changed her mind about it.
“But I heard ye,” Ellie replied, frowning. “If ye’re playin’ a game with me faither, I want to play too.”
Maddie chuckled. “It’s not a game you would be interested in, Ellie.”
“Please!” Ellie pressed. “Och, please let me play, too! Please! Me faither never plays with me.”
Despite herself, despite all sense and reason, Grace found herself laughing at the child’s eagerness. It was unfairly endearing, seeing her light up from within, practically vibrating with excitement, desperate to be part of whatever the trio was up to. After all, the womenhadinvited her into their confidence; it would be unjust of them to leave her out of it now.
Sighing and hoping that she wouldn’t regret this, Grace smiled at the girl. “Very well, you can help us in our… endeavor. It’s not a game, though. I must insist on telling you that.” She flashed a look at her friends to emphasize the point. “It’snotany sort of dare or trick, just a way to get to know him.”
