Page 22 of Highlander of Steel
After Killian’s visit last night, she didn’t know why she was surprised that he was invading her privacy again. Still, uncertain of how much time she had before he arrived, she quickly pulled on the dress she had discarded. It still didn’t fit—Paisley had done her best, but one couldn’t create more fabric where there wasn’t any—but at least it didn’t look so ridiculous.
She had just finished tying a ribbon around her waist, though she wasn’t sure why she was bothering, when Killian entered the room.
Tall and silent and intimidating and unrelentingly handsome, he went directly to the table. Oddly, he moved one of the chairs so that it was facing away from the window before lowering himself into the chair opposite.
But the sun will be in his eyes…
Ailis couldn’t understand why he had gone to the trouble of moving the chair if he wasn’t going to sit in it.
“Join me,” he commanded.
With a hand on her stomach to suppress the nausea, Ailis approached the window. She focused her attention on the array of food instead of the sea as she lowered herself into the chair.
The moment she had her back to that wretched spread of glinting water, it was like the first breath after danger hadpassed. Her body relaxed immediately, though unease lingered in her stomach as she glanced at Killian.
“Eat,” he said by way of greeting, then began to serve himself.
Ailis politely picked at some sharp white cheese and a handful of blackberries, while he sawed through a glistening chunk of venison and crispy roasted potatoes. He ate quietly, no look of pleasure or enjoyment on his face, as if he were merely eating for sustenance instead of the flavor.
“Is there a reason for this meetin’?”she wanted to ask, for his demeanor was stiffer and more distant than it had been earlier. As if he had something on his mind that was taking up all of his concentration.
“Why did ye move me chair?” she asked, choosing what she deemed to be safer territory.
Killian looked up from his plate. “So ye wouldnae be in the sun.”
“Do ye usually have luncheon in the bedchambers of yer… guests?” she added, her courage growing.
He popped a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Nay, nae usually.”
“So why have ye decided to do so with me?”
“To make sure ye’re eatin’ properly,” he replied.
A white lie. She was almost certain of it. That might have been part of the reason, but there was something else.
“I cannae have ye starvin’. As I told ye, I willnae be accused of bein’ like yer family.”
Her face reddened at the memory of saying he was worse than them, a little ashamed of the cutting remark. If her father had suddenly decided to spoil a prisoner with a feast and insisted on joining them, there would have been poison in every dish—a grim spectacle for him to watch and delight in.
Reaching for the ceramic jug, she was about to pour the unknown liquid when Killian leaned across the table and took it from her. He poured the bright red beverage into her cup without spilling a drop.
“Thank ye,” she mumbled shyly as she brought the cup to her nose and sniffed.
The drink smelled fruity and lightly spiced. Blackberry wine, if her nose wasn’t mistaken.
She sipped to wet her dry throat. “Howdidye end up in me bedchamber on the night ye came to Castle Ainsley?” She paused to sip again. “Ye seemed to ken yer way out, as if ye’d committed the route to memory. But if ye were lookin’ for yer braither, ye were in the wrong place.”
The question had been niggling at her since she had been taken from her family home. Namely, because Killian had been only a few doors away from Skye’s bedchamber, and the thought of him kidnapping the child instead of her made her blood run cold.
I’m glad he reached me door first.
“I’d been in the castle for hours before I came to yer room,” he replied. “When I couldnae find hide nor hair of me braither, I turned me attention to killin’ yer faither instead.”
Ailis nodded. “He sleeps in the north tower. The entrance is hard to find; ye have to ken where it is, or else ye’ll get lost.”
“Interesting,” Killian said, his blue eyes flashing with intrigue.
Ailis shook her head, wondering if there was a truth serum in the wine to make her say so much.
