Lily (The Highland Clan Book 3) (16 page)

“Lily, you must wait until our guards are in place.”

Her aunt and uncle were off to the side along with Molly and Gwyneth. Her cousins waved to her, Molly whistling loud enough for all to hear. She knew Molly’s game, she was trying to draw as much attention to Lily’s show as possible.

Lily enjoyed being held in Kyle’s arms and watched as her sire’s guards circled the perimeter of the field, unable to believe they would do all this for her. As her uncle rode closer to speak to a couple of guards, she mouthed a thank you to him.

“Do not thank me, thank Kyle. I had naught to do with this. ‘Twas his idea to make up for the trouble he caused in the market the other day.”

Once they were all set up, Kyle helped Lily down and she took off, running like the wind across the meadow, her laughter tinkling behind her as she twisted and turned, leaping with the long tail of ribbons flying over her head and behind her, a rainbow of colors lighting up the meadow.

Her heart had swelled with the realization that Kyle had to love her for sure to arrange such a thing. She needed no other evidence. She ran and leaped into the air, singing gaily in the fresh air, not caring who watched her.

She was so very much in love.

***

Kyle watched the joy that poured out of Lily’s soul as she ran. Oh, how he loved her. Thank God Logan seemed to think Quade would still be agreeable to the betrothal. The only problem was that Logan had suggested that the marriage take place within a moon, while Kyle preferred the idea of a longer wait. He wanted to make sure he had time to master his new duties before entering into married life. Much as he loved her, Lily was undoubtedly a distraction. Lily clearly didn’t want to wait, but he was certain he could convince her.

The sound of her voice carried across the meadow, and more and more people drifted over to listen to Lily, delighting in watching her lithe form as she danced and twirled in the meadow. He could still see her cousins off to the side, cheering her every move. Her humming soon became a song, and the more she sang, the more people clustered near her. Lily was the sweet nectar to a land full of bees.

A voice rang out behind him, one he knew he should recognize.

“Kyle, you are Torrian Ramsay’s second still, are you not?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Aye, I thought you knew that when we discussed this in the royal castle?”

The lad brought his horse up next to Kyle. “I had heard that Quade had made Torrian the new Ramsay chieftain, but I was not sure if you had been promoted along with him.”

Once he saw him, he recalled. “Aye, Buchan. Your sire refused a visit from Logan Ramsay. Care to tell me why?”

Cormag sat tall on his horse, brown hair falling over his shoulder. Kyle thought he’d grown a bit since his visit to Ramsay land last year. Though he did not know his age, he guessed him to be under twenty summers.

The lad said, “I left my sire because I do not believe in what he’s doing, so I cannot answer for him. I am my own man.”

“What is your sire doing that you do not support?”

“My sire speaks only of revenge. He has yet to accept my brother Dugald’s death. Sometimes I believe he’s become daft over losing his heir, but other times his mind carefully crafts ways to attack his enemies, ways so devious that the verra idea of them make my skin crawl. I try to reason with him, but he does not hear me. As you know, I came to the royal burgh to find another clan to join. I will achieve my goal.”

Something about Cormag’s tone did not ring true. “But you are his heir now,” Kyle said. “Why would you leave and risk losing your rights to your keep? ‘Twill be yours when he dies.”

“Davina bends him to her will, for one. My sire will do whatever she wishes, but something happened to Davina that she will not admit. She has been addled ever since Dugald and Ranulf died. She startles easily, and oft stares over her shoulder as if a ghost is following her.”

“It does not matter if Davina wishes your land. The only way she would have any chance at it would be in the event of your death.”

“Mayhap I do not care about our land.” He stared straight ahead, watching the show in front of him. “Mayhap I wish for something else.”

“And what would that be?” Nay, Kyle did not trust the lad at all.

“I know not, but I am in search of a new life.” Cormag sat staring straight ahead, his gaze never leaving Lily.

Kyle decided not to pursue his questioning any further, nor was he at all inclined to invite a Buchan to join the Ramsay clan, if that was the lad’s purpose. He needed to keep his focus on Lily. He didn’t like what was developing in front of him. More and more people were cramming around the field, anxious to watch the beautiful lass dance and sing as if she had not a care in the world. Oh, how he wished that were true, but it made his nerves prickle to see all those strangers around her.

Kyle understood why Gwyneth had said Lily was a boon to her soul—it was exactly how he felt about her, too. Unfortunately, protecting her was difficult, especially since he was so in love with her. He was watching her so closely that he noticed the instant her happy aura soured to fear.

She swirled around as if lost, screaming his name. Then she dropped her ribbons in the middle of the meadow and started racing as fast as she could, looking so unsettled it plunged him into an instant panic.

Kyle spurred his horse forward, aiming directly for her.

“Kyle, help me!” was all he heard.

Chapter Fifteen

Lily had sensed the nearness of someone or something with an aura so dark it had frightened her. She knew not what it was, but she was desperate to get as far away as possible from it. Racing back toward the castle, she scanned the crowd for any sign of Kyle, her uncle and aunt and her cousins. Why had she not paid closer attention to where she was going?

She screamed in the hope the sound of her voice would reach Kyle. Breathing a sigh of relief, she noticed three horses heading straight toward her. How far down the meadow had she traveled? Two of the horses were headed straight for her, and the one approached from the side. The horses in front of her would reach her first.

Why two? Kyle was on one, she could sense it, but who was on the other? Uncle Logan? As soon as they came close enough, she recognized Kyle.

“Lily, what is it?” Kyle had come for her as fast as he could. She could sense the tension in his body, see him panting from exertion. Thank goodness he’d heard her.

“Help me, Kyle. Please!” She held her arms out to him as she raced forward. Just as he slowed his horse to reach for her, another horse crossed in front of him, its rider reaching down to grab her. She jerked out of the way at the last moment because she could not tell who reached for her.

Overwhelmed with fear, she ran screaming from the unknown rider. The two horses danced around her, causing her to lose all sense of direction, and she stretched her arms upward as she searched for her love.

“Kyle! Kyle!”

“Lily! Hold still and I’ll get you.”

The unknown horseman came toward her again, and she shrieked, wrapping her arms around herself and closing her eyes. She heard a sword being unsheathed just as Kyle shouted, “Get back, Buchan. You’ll not touch her.”

“I was only trying to assist you.”

A whistle echoed through the air, followed by a stampede of horses, the pounding of their hooves vibrating the ground underneath her feet. She covered her head and did her best to stay away from the two forces parrying near her as the rest of the Ramsay guards headed in their direction.

She heard the whinny of a horse next to her and opened her eyes just in time to see the horse up on its hind legs. Afraid she was about to be trampled, she ran in the opposite direction, but there were too many horses around, and she knew not what to do. Spinning in a circle, a voice broke through the chaos.

Kyle, her savior. “Lily, hold still. Open your eyes, Lily. Can you hear me?”

She froze in the middle of the chaos, doing as Kyle asked, praying he would rescue her from this madness. An arm reached down for her and tossed her into the air as if she were no more than a butterfly—Kyle’s, she knew it—before catching her and settling her down on the saddle in front of him. She glanced over her shoulder to smile at him, though she wished to cling to him and never let go.

“Hang on, love. I’ve got you.”

Lily turned on her side and tucked herself up against Kyle’s powerful chest, closing her eyes against all the dust flying through the air. Uncle Logan appeared next to them, shouting, “She hale?”

Kyle glanced down at her, and she squeezed his hand, nodding.

“To the stables,” Logan bellowed, riding off after Gwyneth and his daughters.

Lily was petrified, unable to move. She had no idea where the evil aura had come from, but
he
was here, she was sure of it. The man who had tried to kidnap her on two occasions was in the crowd somewhere. She buried her face in Kyle’s chest, bouncing against him, wanting so desperately for him to take her away from here—for him to take her home.

As soon as they reached the stables, Logan led their guards off to the side, leaving Gwyneth and the girls with Lily and Kyle.

“Lily, are you all right?” Gwyneth asked.

She pulled her tear-stained face away from Kyle long enough to nod to her aunt, though she could not bear to untwine her arms from his waist. When he stopped his horse, he ran his hand down her back and settled his chin on top of her head, holding her close the way she loved most.

Molly shouted, “Lily, who were those others around you?”

Sorcha added, “I’ve never seen such a melee on horseback. I was so afraid you’d be trampled. That man, the one whose horse reared, I could not tell who he was. I thought he’d hurt you for sure.”

“What happened, Lily?” Logan asked when he returned to them.

“
He
was there.”

“Who was there?”

She pushed away from the comfort of Kyle’s chest long enough to say, “The lad who tried to kidnap me.”

“Which one was he? There was no one in the meadow besides you. Did he yell at you from one of the sides?”

She shook her head, burying herself in Kyle’s chest again.

“Lily?” Kyle whispered. “Help us find him, sweeting.”

She looked at each of them in turn. “You’ll not believe me.”

Uncle Logan said, “Lily, you must tell us what you know. We cannot help if you do not tell us.”

She sniffled and closed her eyes, tears flooding her cheeks. “I never saw him, but I could feel him. He was there. He has an evil presence.” She opened her eyes to see if her uncle believed her, but she could tell he did not. “Uncle Logan, I knew you would not believe me.”

Logan pulled his horse closer. “Lily, ‘tis not that I do not believe you, but that I do not understand.”

But how could she explain a feeling? There had been no tangible evidence of the man’s presence, and yet she
knew
it had been him. Lily decided it was too difficult to put into words. “Please take me home. I hate it here. I want to see Papa again.”

***

It hadn’t taken long for them to gather their belongings and leave. Molly, bless her soul, had even ridden back to the meadow to retrieve Lily’s ribbons with her sire trailing her.

They settled in a clearing that night. The guards were busy roasting rabbits, and Lily sat on a log next to Kyle. She reached for his hand and asked, “Who was the man on the other horse? I know you told me, but I could not focus on aught this morn.”

Logan and Gwyneth were sitting on a log across from them, and Molly and Sorcha had just returned from the woods with a sack full of nuts and berries they were busy sorting.

“Nay, you could not focus on me at all,” Kyle said with a small smile. “You must have been exhausted from what happened in the meadow. I’ve not seen you sleep that hard. You slept in front of me for the entire journey.”

“You kept me up the other night or do you not recall?” she whispered. “I needed to catch up.”

Molly gave her a quick glance, making Lily wonder as if she’d heard them, but at least Aunt Gwyneth and Uncle Logan seemed too distracted by their own conversation to pay any mind to them.

Through a mouthful of berries, Sorcha asked, “Aye, who was the daft man who tried to lift Lily onto his horse?”

“Cormag Buchan,” Kyle replied. “The lad who says he wants to join a different clan. I’m not sure I trust him, but who could blame him for wanting to leave the Buchans?”

“But why was he chasing Lily?” Molly asked.

“He claimed he was trying to help. We were talking on one side of the meadow when Lily started to run. I really do not think he had any ill intention.”

“I do not like him,” Lily said.

“Well, I can’t say I approve of what he did, but it tends to get people excited when a lass starts screaming like that in the middle of a bunch of horses. We had no idea what had happened to you.”

Sorcha giggled as she tossed a berry to Lily. “I thought ‘twas a bee the way you turned daft and dropped your ribbons.”

“My thanks for retrieving them, Molly. I could not bear to lose them.” She cast a sheepish glance at Kyle, but he did not respond.

Truth was, she could not explain what had come over her in that meadow. She just had
known
something was wrong. It was as if a dark curtain had fallen over her happiness in an instant.

She stood up, whispering to Kyle, “I must relieve myself.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Nay, can I not go by myself? ‘Tis verra embarrassing to have you nearby listening to me.” She gave his side a light poke.

Molly jumped up. “I have to go, too. We can go together. Will that suit you, Kyle?”

Kyle frowned, but Lily tugged on his hand, “Please? If we are not back in a moment or two, you can follow us.”

“I’ll follow you whether you like it or not, but if Molly is with you, I’ll stay back a bit more,” he said with a growl.

Uncle Logan’s gruff laughter filled the clearing. That time he
had
been listening.

Molly took Lily’s hand and led her to a spot off behind a group of bushes. “If we continue to talk, Kyle will not be able to hear aught else.”

Lily chuckled. “What a great idea. What kind of berries did you find in the woods?”

Their conversation continued until she was finished. As soon as Lily had herself together, she stood and stretched. Molly was nearby, but she heard rustling in the bushes in the opposite direction.

“Kyle?”

He didn’t answer.

“Kyle?”

Molly joined her, and the two huddled together in the bushes. “Kyle, where in hell did you go?”

They heard more rustling, so Molly grabbed her hand and said, “Come, we must get back. He must be playing a trick on us.”

Lily took her hand and followed her. But as soon as they turned back toward camp, two men appeared out of the bushes and lunged toward them—dirty, frightening strangers. Lily dropped Molly’s hand in a fit of terror and shrieked as she fled in the opposite direction.

She ran right into another man’s arms, and he whispered, “Do not worry, I told you I love you. I’ll love you forever.”

Lily stared into the man’s face in shock. She opened her mouth to scream, but blinding pain shot through her head, and her world went black.