Page 22 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
“I have asked Hudson, yer brother?—
“Ye mean yer man-at-arms?”
Keira laughed. She knew how much Lesley hated it when she referred to Hudson as her brother. Yet she enjoyed seeing the look on her face whenever she did it.
“He is yer brother, is he nae?” She asked.
Lesley narrowed her eyes. “He’s yer man-at-arms first. Ye think the servants refer to ye as my best friend when they are talking to me about ye?”
Keira shook her head. “I suppose nae?”
“Aye. He may be my brother, but ye dinnae have to point that out every single time.”
Keira nodded.
“Anyway, Hudson and some of me men to look into it. Someone will have to pay, but until then, I want to get rid ofhim.”
“Who?” Lesley asked, the curiosity in her voice quite evident.
Keira turned to her, a smug expression on her face. “The new Laird,” she said, mimicking her friend’s tone and cadence.
Lesley rolled her eyes, catching the hint. “And how do ye plan to do that?”
“I am nae certain yet. But I will be damned if I let him take the castle from me, Lesley. I have had enough of men telling me what they want me to do or nae do.”
Lesley nodded.
“I cannae lose me home to another man. Nae after everything I’ve been through.”
“I agree with ye,” Lesley offered, after a brief pause.
Keira’s eyebrows rose. “Ye do?”
“Aye. Charming as he may be?—”
“He isnae charming,” Keira muttered.
And yet the image of his taut body haunted her mind, as if telling her that she was lying and she knew it.
“The point is that this is yer home, and nay laird, nay matter the agreement, can chase ye out of it if ye dinnae want to leave.”
Keira smiled. “I kenned I can always count on ye, Lesley.”
“Of course. We arenae best friends just for the fun of it now, are we?”
Another moment of silence passed between them. Keira watched her friend look up at the sun, which hung high in the sky.
“I must leave soon. I promised old Roberta that I would prepare some herbs and have them sent over to her this evening.”
Keira frowned. “Roberta?”
“Aye. Ye didnae hear about her?”
“Nay. What happened?”
“Ye ken her husband, Samuel.”
“Aye, the one with the beard?”
