Page 39 of Scot of Desire
“How can I nae be?” Ilyssa wailed and snapped her hands away from her face to see Catreena’s somber expression staring back at her. “Me braither and Bran keep saying they will find a way tae fix this, that all will be well, that I should trust them.”
“Ye dae trust them, dinnae ye?”
“Yet this is different.” Ilyssa found her feet again, standing before Catreena and raising her voice. “This is out of their hands. Me future has been bound by me grandfaither, a man long dead, and a man who only ever kenned me as a bairn.” Her voice broke off as she walked away, placing her hands to her chest.
She longed to be back with Bran now, to remove this icy feeling from her chest. If she could just find the safety of his arms, then all would be well. She could lose herself in the heat of his kiss and touch, listen to him whisper lustful things in her ear as he made love to her, rocking their bodies into an oblivion of pleasure.
“What happened with ye two?” Catreena suddenly asked.
“What?” Ilyssa asked distractedly, starting to pace around the room.
“Ye and Bran. Did ye at least talk before Tad came tae find ye?” Catreena asked, looking hopeful.
“Does it matter if we even did talk?” Ilyssa asked, her whole body taught with fear and rage.
“Something is happening between ye. I ken it, Ilyssa, even if ye dinnae want tae admit it.”
“It doesnae matter if there is something, daes it?” Ilyssa asked, tears springing to her eyes that she tried to blink away madly. “All of it could be fer nothing. We could be separated in seven days times if I am forced intae that church tae marry another man.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Ilyssa? Ilyssa?” Cillian’s voice echoed through the corridors of the castle.
Ilyssa hid in the doorway of the kitchens, darting away from the servants’ staircase and doing her best to blend into the shadows. One of the maids walked past and nearly yelped in surprise to see her hiding there. Ilyssa placed a finger to her lips, pleading with the maid silently not to make a sound.
The maid nodded, her heart on her chest. They both froze as Cillian called once again from the spiral staircase nearby.
“Ilyssa?”
Her expression turned dark at his shouting. For the last five days, Ilyssa had been doing her best to avoid Cillian, but to no avail. He had not once left her alone, bothering her all day, up until she went to sleep and hid in her chamber with Catreena.
I havenae even had the chance tae have five minutes alone with Bran.
In that time, no letter or news had arrived from Tad either. With his absence, and no sign of an imminent arrival, Ilyssa’s concern was escalating by the day. In two days, if Tad did not return, she’d find herself in a church with Cillian.
“This way,” the maid beckoned her to follow.
“Thank ye,” Ilyssa whispered as the maid led her to a back door in the castle. It opened out onto the walled kitchen garden.
“Take this door tae the main gate and ye can escape tae the grounds fer a while.”
“Thank ye,” Ilyssa said again and raced out of the door as the maid closed it behind her. Ilyssa shot across the walled garden, nearly tripping over loose soil. As she reached the gate, she fled into the grounds and darted across open land toward the very edge of the estate.
Here, great Douglas firs and oaks reached high into the sky. She raced along the edge, moving nearer and nearer to the loch. She was so desperate for an escape that she didn’t let up her pace, not until she was at the water’s edge. Halting there, she breathed deeply, inhaling her freedom.
“Free,” she whispered.
Though how long fer?
Then a hand caught hers.
Ilyssa turned around sharply, only to find it was Bran. He had a finger to his lips and was smiling at her.
“A few minutes’ escape?” he offered, glancing back toward the castle. “Before that damn man comes and finds ye again.”
She nodded. She would give anything to prolong the time alone with Bran, far away from Cillian. She threaded her fingers firmly through Bran’s and he led her along the loch shore. They hid firmly from the windows of the castle, masking their bodies behind the tall trees, where Bran led her to a very particular tree, where the inside had rotted away.
He stood within the gap, drawing her forward.
