Page 54 of Scot of Deception
“I dinnae think she daes,” Laird Stewart said with a small shrug. “I ken Kathleen well an’ trust me, ye’d ken if she despised ye. We all would.”
“Forgive me, but that is nae comfort, me laird,” Blaine said, just as Mrs. Moggach spread a particularly pungent ointment on his cheek, making him hiss in sudden pain. The woman patted his back comfortingly, as if he were a child, and Blaine couldn’t help but wonder at this show of kindness, too.
It’s only because she daesnae ken what I’ve done.
But the laird did; he knew and he still wanted to hear his side of the story.
“Isnae it? Would ye rather she hated ye?”
“I think she should.”
“Would that make ye feel better?”
Blaine looked up at Laird Stewart, considering the question. The more he considered it, though, the more he realized he couldn’t provide an answer.
In some ways, it would. In others, it would devastate him.
“Dae ye think it would make her feel better?” the laird then asked, when Blaine said nothing.
That was the question that gave him pause. Blaine stared at the other man through Mrs. Moggach’s movements, his chest tightening at the thought. Hatred was a bitter thing, poison. He doubted it would make Kathleen feel any better if she hated him, but it certainly didn’t do her any favors if she still loved him.
Either way, she would be unhappy.
For a while, all three of them were silent as Mrs. Moggach worked on his injuries. By the time she was done, the blood was wiped off Blaine’s face and his wounds, though still painful, were all clean and dressed. As the old woman retreated to the back of the room, Blaine gathered all the courage left in him, drawing in a deep breath.
“I love her,” he said. It was the truth, plain and simple. “An’ I want her tae ken that. I want her tae ken I didnae dae this out o’… o’ lust. I did it out o’ love an’ if I could, I’d take it back out o’ love.”
“Have ye told her this?” Mrs. Moggach asked him, glancing at him over her shoulder. “I’m sure whoever she is, she would wish tae hear it.”
Blaine shook his head, his hand coming up to brush his hair off his face. “Nay. And even if I try now, I dinnae think she would wish tae see me. Furthermore, it daesnae matter anyway. Even if she wishes tae see me, even if she wishes tae hear what I have tae tell her, her faither would never allow me tae approach her. He would have me head afore he did.”
“He certainly will, willnae he?” said Laird Stewart with a thoughtful hum, scratching idly at his chin.
“Is there anythin’ ye think I can dae?” Blaine asked the laird, willing to give anything in return. If only he could get a few moments with Kathleen, if only he could get the chance to fight for her, then maybe he could change everything.
Laird Stewart frowned as if in deep thought. “Well, maybe there is.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Idinnae think this is a good idea,” said Blaine as he and Laird Stewart walked through the castle corridors.
Laird Stewart walked with his head high and his back straight, greeting every guard they passed, and Blaine followed him, glancing over his shoulder every now and then for any sign of Bran. No matter how many times he looked, though, there was no one behind them.
The latter would be a complication, as far as Laird Stewart’s plan was concerned. Blaine was not convinced about it anyway, and the fact that he could easily come face to face with a furious Bran Mackintosh only served to grow his apprehension.
“It is an excellent idea,” Laird Stewart insisted proudly. “An’ it is yer only option if ye wish tae see her, so I suggest ye follow me.”
Blaine still couldn’t believe there was a secret passage in Kathleen’s rooms that he had missed. Unlikely as it sounded, Laird Stewart was adamant that he could make his way inside through a secret passage, and if there was anyone in the keep who knew the layout of the castle, it had to be Laird Stewart himself.
“Me laird!”
The call startled Blaine for a moment, and as Laird Stewart stopped short, Blaine had to brace himself against the wall to avoid falling right into him.
“Me laird, we scouted the land an’ found camps,” said the man who had stopped them—a young soldier with an eager look in his blue eyes. “We are confident there are more enemies in our lands.”
Blaine was not surprised to hear that. He had expected it, as the attack on Kathleen and himself could not have been an isolated event. Now that her parents were there too, it made them all targets.
With a weary sigh, Laird Stewart nodded somberly. “I see. Arrange a meeting. I shall meet everyone in me study in an hour.”
