Page 14 of Highlander of Steel
Ailis took a hesitant step forward. “I daenae deserve yer gratitude, Paisley.Ishould be thankin’yefor nae killin’ me in me sleep. I wouldnae have blamed ye if ye had.”
“Alas, I’ve sworn an oath to keep people alive,” Paisley replied with a rasping laugh.
“Och, well, consider me grateful for that.” Ailis smiled nervously.
She wished she had done more for Fraser. Slipped him a key instead of bread and venison, perhaps.
I was too afraid of the repercussions. I’m so so sorry.
But she kept that to herself.
She folded her arms across her chest to maintain some semblance of dignity. Really, what had the maid been thinking, giving her a sheer nightdress—for the dropping temperatures, if not for unexpected late-night visits from unbelievably handsome lairds and morning intrusions from brokenhearted healers.
“If the Laird sent ye because of the bruise I complained about, I’ll be just fine,” Ailis said. “It’s just tender. I’d only be wastin’ yer time when there’s nothin’ wrong with me.”
Paisley frowned. “Nay, me Lady. He sent me to help with yer nightmares. I made a brew for ye last night, before I kent who ye are, but it wasnae meant to aid with nightmares. That requires somethin’ stronger.”
“Well, whatever ye put in the tea worked marvelously,” Ailis insisted, a prickly heat rising from her chest. “I didnae have any bad dreams once I drank it. Besides, me nightmare was nothin’.Who wouldnaehave a little nightmare after bein’ kidnapped, ye ken?”
Paisley eyed her curiously. “Still, I’d like to do me duty and make ye another brew. I cannae do it without examinin’ ye properly. While I’m at it, I can take a look at the bruise ye mentioned.”
“Honestly, there’s nay need.” Ailis rushed forward to grab the dress that the maid had laid out for her. “I’m perfectly fine. In fact, the only thing I want to do is see the Laird. Do ye think ye could take me to him?”
Paisley shrugged. “Aye, I can, but he’ll say the same thing—that ye need to be examined.”
“And I shall insist that I am perfectly fine,” Ailis replied, pulling the simple woolen dress over her head.
But her resolve faltered as she realized that the maid had picked a dress two sizes too small.
From a worn leather pouch with a drawstring opening, Paisley pulled a folded length of fabric and flashed a warmer smile. “I have a needle and thread, me Lady, and a knack for makin’ things fit. I promise, I willnae try to stitch anythin’ other than yer dress.”
“Thank ye,” Ailis gasped.
After all, for the conversation she planned to have with Killian, she couldn’t afford any distraction. And feeling like she was about to be squeezed in two by her own clothing was notconducive to concentration.
By luncheon, Laird MacNairn, ye’ll have agreed to me release. For Fraser’s sake, if nae me own.
5
“Ye’ve damned us,” one of the councilmen said with a shake of his weary head. “Me Laird, what is the purpose of havin’ a council if ye daenae heed our advice?”
Another man joined in, his voice rough. “Ainsley will retaliate, me Laird, and it’s too soon for us to fight back with any real strength. We’re nae prepared. We still daenae ken just how many were lost in the battle. If they attack us, we’ll lose.”
“Why have ye done this, me Laird?” a third man asked with sorrowful eyes.
As his father’s heir, Killian had sat through his fair share of council meetings, but he was still getting used to chairing them. In truth, when he had set out for Castle Ainsley, he hadforgotten that he was accountable to these men and that he was not supposed to act without at least prior notice.
I’m a warrior, nae a talker.
Thatwas becoming clearer every time he entered the council chamber.
“Can we nae have a moment of peace in our lands?” a fourth man added, speaking not just for himself but for the entire clan.
They were tired of war. Killianhimself was tired of war. Unfortunately, the feud between the Ainsleys and MacNairns was a two-sided fight. The war only ended when one side was defeated or surrendered, and Killian knew that Laird Ainsley would sacrifice every one of his clansmen before he would concede defeat.
“I meant to end it,” Killian said evenly. “I meant to fulfill me faither’s last wishes by savin’ me braither and killin’ Laird Ainsley in his bed. I was executin’ me faither’s orders, and I would have done it, but I couldnae find either. We wouldnae be havin’ this conversation if I’d succeeded.”
“But ye didnae,” one of the men pointed out. “Ye stole that lassie instead, and now ye’ve put us all on the gallows. It was dangerous and foolhardy, me Laird. What were ye thinkin’?”
