Page 55 of A Wife for the Highland Villain
“They are the plainest, ugliest rags of the lot. And that brown frock she’s wearing—God! I swore I’d never have to look at it again.”
Finn’s lips quirked. “Does she ken this?”
“Aye, she does.”
Finn chuckled. “Then why does she wear them?”
Alasdair shot him a flat look. “To vex me, of course. To say that she willnae be ordered around by me.”
Finn laughed, shaking his head. “Well, I’ll tell ye this much. Only Lily could make a dress that dreadful look wonderful on her. She’d shame half the court in Scotland with nothing but that and a bit of ribbon.”
Alasdair growled low in his throat. “Careful, Finn.”
His friend lifted his hands. “Peace. I meant nay harm. Good Lord, man, ye’re fierce when it comes to her.”
Alasdair turned back to the courtyard, his jaw tight. Lily’s face was set in fierce determination, her hair plastered to her skin, her hands pressing down over and over.
“I wish she’d lower her guard. She enjoys being here. Any fool can see it,” he said quietly.
“She enjoys being a healer. That isnae the same as enjoying being yer wife. If ye want her to stay, ye have work to do.”
Alasdair’s grip tightened on the stone, but Finn continued anyway.
“Have ye forgotten? We left her in the middle of the night ten years ago, with nay word and nay explanation. Ye vanished on the night of yer handfasting.”
Alasdair’s throat worked. “Ye ken well why I couldnae write.”
“Aye,” Finn said, his voice softer now. “I ken. And I believe it was the most honorable thing ye’ve done. But she doesnae ken that. To her, ye left without a goodbye. If ye think she’ll forgive that easily, ye daenae ken the woman ye married.”
Alasdair didn’t answer. He only stared harder at Lily, regret crawling through his chest.
Suddenly, a violent cough pierced the air below them. Alasdair and Finn jerked forward at the same time and watched as the soldier below gasped for breath. The sickly blue had drained from his face, and a brighter color had returned.
Alasdair’s eyes widened. “Good God. He was gone. Ye saw it, did ye nae? The man was dead.”
Finn smiled faintly. “And now he’s back. Like I said, there’s a reason she’s down there, and it’s nae ye.”
Alasdair watched, mesmerized, as the man was pulled up by two other men and carried back into the hall.
Finn’s voice cut through the air. “If ye want her to stay, Alasdair, ye must tell her the story. Thefullstory.”
Alasdair ground his teeth and turned to face him. “It may be more than she can stomach.”
“Then pray she’s strong enough,” Finn said, his eyes narrowing. Then, he frowned. “What is she doing?”
Alasdair looked back down.
Lily was no longer with the wounded. Instead, she was moving along the edge of the courtyard, her eyes sharp and narrowed. It was like she was making sure no one watched her leave. In the next instant, she slipped through the gate and into the forest.
Alasdair’s heart sank.
“Christ,” he breathed, his voice raw. “She’s running. She’s running again.”
Finn’s head whipped toward him. “Alasdair?—”
But he was already gone, pushing off the wall and tearing down the tower steps, every muscle burning with urgency.
She wasn’t doing this. Not again.
