Page 61 of Kilted Hate

“I no longer believe you were the one who killed my father.”

“Why?” he asked, feeling both relief and curiosity flow through his body.

“It’s just a feeling. A feeling right here,” she said, tapping her heart. “Maybe it’s because I’ve fallen in love with you.”

Domhnall took a steep intake of breath at those words, and as a warm sensation washed through him, he bent and tenderly kissed her forehead.

“Then I also have a confession tae mak’. I have fallen in love with ye, too, Katherine. Ye have cast a spell on me, possessing me like nay other ‘afore ye could. I never imagined I would be blessed with this feeling o’ love, and yet, ye, with yer spirit, yer tenderness, and yer affection, have broken through the wall I built tae protect mysel’.”

“What were you protecting yourself from?” Katherine asked.

Domhnall shrugged. “I dinnae ken. Pain, hurt, disappointment.”

“I swear, I will bring you none of those things,” she breathed. “In fact, the love I feel for you is like this fire. Warm, ablaze, the flame destroying every barrier between us to bring our souls together.”

Domhnall smiled. “That is a perfect comparison, and in fact, I couldnae agree more. Ye cannae ken how happy it makes me tae ken that when we dae marry, it will be fer love, and nae obligation. I’m going tae mak’ it me mission tae bring ye happiness, Katherine. Happiness, and tae give ye the freedom ye have so eagerly sought fer yer whole life.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

In the cave, Katherine had been swallowed up in a bubble of hers and Domhnall’s making. They had connected so deeply, it felt as though they were one and the same soul. Out there, hidden in that cave, it was as though they were separate from the rest of the world. Like they were the only two people who had, and would, ever exist again.

Once back at the castle, however, she remembered the promise she had made him as they had lay there together. She had lied to his very face, partly because she wanted to believe it, partly because she could not bear to tell him the truth.

The guilt rushed up within her, threatening to overtake her completely, especially once she was left alone in her bedchamber to freshen up and change her clothes. She had sworn to Domhnall that she would never hurt him or cause him pain, and yet, she had already done so, even be it at her brother’s hand.

In fact, what her brother was planning to do was worse than even Domhnall could begin to imagine. While her betrothed wasworried about his heart being broken, since his arrival, Reginald was hell bent on destroying him and his entire family.

Pacing back and forth with worry, Katherine muttered to herself.

“I must speak to Reginald. I have to tell him to call the whole thing off. He needs to know that I’m in love with Domhnall, and that I actually want to marry him.”

Even as determined as she was, however, Katherine worried whether her brother would pay any attention to her words. But she had to try.

Leaving her bedchamber after changing her clothes, Katherine tucked the missive she had written into her cloak. She needed to contact Reginald, and she needed to do it before it was too late.

Hurrying down the corridor, she went in search of the messenger boy who had brought her the last two letters from her brother. She searched for some time, and only after asking a maid for his whereabouts, did she find the lad in the kitchen.

“I need you to deliver this for me,” she said, pressing the missive and a coin into the boy’s hand. “It is very important that it is delivered this very day. Do you understand?”

Seeing her intense gaze, the boy looked worried, but nodded his head quickly. “Aye, me lady. I will, me lady.”

“Good. Now hurry.”

Shoveling the rest of the biscuit he had been eating into his mouth, he nodded once more, and turning on his heels, he ran from the kitchen. For a second, Katherine could only watch him go, but upon noticing that she was being observed by the servants there, she too left the area as swiftly as she could.

It was as she was travelling through the corridors, her mind a worried mess about the meeting she had arranged with Reginald for that very night, that she met Magnus as he rounded a corner, the two practically bumping into each other.

“Forgive me,” he said, smiling kindly at her.

“The fault was mine,” Katherine replied.

Thank God I didn’t have the letter with me. Oh, wait. He can read my mind.

As fast as she could muster, Katherine tried to think about anything else but the letter she had sent to Reginald. But in her panic, she could not hold onto a single thought in her mind.

Think, Katherine, think!

Perhaps it was because it was Magnus who was standing before her, but the only thing she could muster were thoughts and recollections of their last sparring session.

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