Page 34 of Highlander of Steel
“Aye, good,” he said, weaving her arm through his. “Now, come with me, lass.”
Ailis eyed him warily. “Where are we goin’?”
“Away from this room,” he replied, and began leading her toward the door.
As they walked out of the gallery and down the hallway, Killian felt her relax at his side. Her shoulders dropped, her grip on his arm loosened slightly, her breathing slowed, and that wild look faded from her eyes.
Aye, well, that’s nae goin’ to last.
But he mentioned nothing of his idea as they continued on, figuring it would be easier to explain when they were closer than giving her the opportunity to let her fear build up again. Anticipation only had merit when it was of the good kind.
Even when they stepped out into the brisk autumn air, honeyed late-morning light bathing the courtyard in gold, Ailis didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. Then again, she had enough stares to contend with to wonder where Killian was taking her.
“Ignore them,” he said quietly.
News must have spread by now about the possibility of a wedding, for once the maids knew something,everyoneknew that something. Killian was prepared to bear the weight of his clan’s disapproval and sense of betrayal, but he wouldn’t let them punish Ailis for it.
She swallowed loudly. “I wish I could. They must hate me.”
“They hate yer faither,” he corrected. “They hate this war.”
She peered up at him. “Ye still believe a marriage can bring an end to it?”
“I do.”
“And… did ye mean what Paisley told me?” She hesitated. “About savin’ Skye from that awful place?”
Killian was pleased that the healer had passed on the message. He had assumed as much when he had seen her and Ailis in the gallery. But considering the state Ailis had been in just minutes ago, he hadn’t thought it appropriate to launch into a barrage of, “So, is this an agreement to the marriage?”
“I daenae say things I daenae mean,” he replied. “Me man-at-arms will take his finest men on our weddin’ day, and while everyone is distracted, they’ll rescue her and bring her to the castle. She’ll be waitin’ for ye when ye return as me wife.”
Ailis pulled back slightly. “Return? From where?”
Killian mentioned the chapel on the MacNairn side of the river and explained how the day was supposedto unfold while he kept her walking. If she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, then she might not realize that they were heading toward the thing she feared the most. More than her father, probably.
“Me faither and braither are goin’ tobethere?” She blanched, her grip on his arm tightening again, her breath quickening as though she had just glimpsed another painting of the sea.
“Both. One or the other. We’ll have to wait and see, but I’ve instructed both to be there,” he answered. “Either way, Skye will be retrieved.”
She shook her head. “What if they expect an attack? What if yer man-at-arms gets there and finds the castle heavily guarded?”
Killian wasn’t at all surprised by her sharp mind, spotting the pitfalls before anyone tripped into them. Although he was alittleinsulted that she hadn’t considered that he had already thought of all that.
“I need ye to draw me a map,” he said. “Ways of gettin’ in that might nae be common knowledge. But I ken somethin’ of yer faither’s tactics. He’s more likely to march his army to his side of the riverbank than order it to protect a castle. We’re prepared for every possibility; I assure ye of that.”
Chewing her lip in consternation, Ailis wasn’t at all focused on where they were going. She followed blindly, lost in her thoughts, as they came to the steep steps that were cut into the hill where the castle perched. Even then, she descended as if she were in a trance, moving carefully but unconsciously downward.
“Does this mean ye agree to be me bride?” Killian finally asked, once they had reached the bottom.
Ahead, beautiful ancient woodland in all its colorful autumn plumage didn’t yet offer a glimpse of the glittering sea. Like a veil between worlds, it hid that stretch of mercurial water, but it would soon appear. Killian could already hear its comforting music.
A sudden tug on his arm made him react, locking his muscles to keep Ailis upright. She had stumbled over a stone, her green eyes fixed on him, not looking where she was going.
Is that yer way of sayin’ aye?
Or had she seen the sea and realized where they were headed?
“I… agree,” she replied, her voice as unsteady as her feet. “For Skye, for… the hope that all of this comes to an end, I agree.”
