Page 30 of Kilty Plea
Did it matter?
Aye, it matters! Ye dinnaewantto be married to him! Ye’re only here—with him!—to find Lenny!
But…was that the truth?
“Milady?”
The call came from behind, and Flora jumped, terrified she was about to be dragged back to the crowded celebration down in the great hall.
But the lass who hurried toward them looked younger than Flora herself, and when she stopped before them, she offered a quick curtsey.
“I’m sorry to be bothering ye, milord, milady, but I tended to ye in yer bath earlier, Lady Flora.”
Payton shot her an amused glance. “Another bath?”
She elbowed him. “Ye had one, did ye no’? Yer hair is all shiny and ye smell delightful.”
“Ye noticed that?” Something in his gaze changed—heat, promise, lust—and she realized what she’d admitted.
Trying to control her blush, she turned back to the serving lass. “Aye,” Flora managed. “I remember ye. Lizzie, aye?”
“Aye, milady.” The lass bobbed again. “I heard ye asking about a laddie, one with mismatched eyes?”
Flora’s heart began to thunder in her chest, and suddenly she couldn’t force her tongue to work. Couldn’t do more than gape at the servant.
‘Twas Payton who answered. “Aye, with pale hair. His name is Lenny.” He stepped forward eagerly. “Do ye have news of such a lad?”
The girl held up one finger and turned back down the corridor. “I dinnae ken his name, milord,” she called as she reached the corner. “Because he hasnae spoken since he arrived, but this lad has been working in the stables for months now.”
With that, she tugged on a small arm, standing just out of sight, and Flora felt the sun come out.
“Lenny,” she gasped, as her brother stepped around the corner and met her eyes.
He blinked at her, and for one horrible moment, she worried he didn’t know her. What had the lass said—he hadn’t spoken? Nay, that wasn’t right. Her brother could—
“Flora?”
His whisper carried, and as the servant girl gasped and made the sign of the cross, Flora pulled away from Payton and lunged for her little brother.
In the center of the corridor, they slammed into one another, the impact wrenching a sob from her lips. Lenny buried his face against her shoulder—he’d grown in the months since she’d seen him—and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.
The questions of the last minutes, the stress of the meal, the horrors of the last months…they all melted away. Whatever challenges she’d faced, she would face again, for this moment.
Lenny was here, and he was safe.
“I thought ye were dead,” he muttered, barely heard above her pulse.
“I’m no’,” she gasped, squeezing him tighter and rocking back and forth. “I’m no’. I’ve been trying to reach ye—to find ye. For so long, Lenny. But I’m here.”
“Ye’re here,” he sniffed, and she felt his fingers digging into her back.
Through her tears, she twisted and met Payton’s eyes over her brother’s mop of blond hair. This man was the reason she’d been reunited with her brother, this wonderful man.
He was standing there, his arms crossed in front of his chest, still wearing the King’s colors, watching her hug Lenny. There was something in his expression…something she couldn’t identify.
She owed this man so much, and suddenly, the questions from earlier—why he’d made the claim to his family, why he’d allowed her to be treated as his wife—didn’t matter. She owed him her heart and her soul.
“Thank ye,” she breathed, so quietly she doubted he heard her.
