Page 28 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
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The next morning, Emily had barely slept.
She had returned to her room as instructed, but the dawn’s light was already penetrating the sky.
Lying in bed, she considered the course her life had taken. Instead of being happy and content in her own bed, she was now in a foreign castle under the care of a giant who had kidnapped her.
Why do I feel so calm?
The letter to Ceana lay on the desk in the far corner of her room. Would she be allowed to send it? Adam was resolute in not allowing her to write to her father. Perhaps he would forbid her to have any correspondence at all under the excuse of keeping her safe.
Sighing heavily, she pushed the covers back as there was a knock on the door and Olivia came into the room with a beaming smile.
“Laird MacNiall has asked me to see to ye this mornin’, M’Lady,” she said with a curtsy.
“Thank ye, Olivia,” Emily replied. “I am afraid me dress is sodden from last night’s rain. Is there anything else I can wear?”
“Aye, M’Lady. I have brought ye another gown that was worn by the Laird’s cousin. She was much sm—” Olivia cleared her throat awkwardly. “It should fit ye better.”
Emily hid a smile. “And where is the Laird this mornin’?”
“He will go down to breakfast shortly. Did ye sleep?”
“I slept very well,” she lied.
Olivia retrieved the gown and a basin of steaming water for Emily to wash. The cloth Olivia gave her was embroidered with the clan’s crest. Everything in the castle screamed opulence.
Emily traced the fine stitching with her thumb, finding that she was enjoying the little luxuries around her. Still, she was anxious to leave her room and discover what new fate awaited her. Perhaps Adam would throw her in the dungeons for breaking into his study in the middle of the night.
“How long have ye served the MacNialls?” she asked Olivia.
“Three years, M’Lady.”
“And are they good people?”
The maid looked startled by the question. Her eyes darted to the door and back.
“I ask because I was brought here against me will. I wish to ken what kind of people I am here with.”
“Against yer will, M’Lady?”
“Thank ye, Olivia. Ye may go.”
Emily straightened up as Lady MacNiall pushed the door open, as though she had been lurking outside, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Olivia stiffened in the presence of her mistress, and she shot Emily a warning glance before hurrying out of the room.
“Turning our own servants against us, I see,” Lady MacNiall said. The forced politeness from the day before had evaporated, and she looked at Emily skeptically.
“I didnae tell her anythin’ that wasnae true,” Emily replied.
“From what me son has told me, he saved ye.”
“Yesterday, ye told me I had stolen yer daughter’s groom. Today, ye tell me yer sonsavedme. Which is it, M’Lady?” She was careful to keep her tone polite, but she refused to be spoken down to by Adam’s mother. She had done nothing wrong.
Lady MacNiall’s eyes narrowed. “I am nae discussin’ that with ye. All I want is for me daughter to be returned to me.”
“Well, I didnae have anythin’ to do with her disappearance. He tricked me and used me for what he wanted, just as he did with her.”
