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The bruises on her body were almost, gone but she had not recovered fully yet and certainly could not go home this way. She needed to heal first and gain strength which was only possible if she stayed here, despite the looming risk in the near future. Since Christian was mostly staying away from her, she wasn’t entirely scared of him, but her feelings of distrust were still rampant, and she did not think she could help them.
“But the members of the clan and the council must come and go all time,” Keira observed, knowing that the laird’s castle was never empty. Her own castle had always been filled with people from the clan and members of the council who came to consult matters with her father.
“They do keep coming, yes, me lady,” Harriet replied.
“Laird MacPherson must be close to Josh,” Keira added, wanting to find out more about Christian. She did not know what it was about him, but he was intriguing, and Keira was definitely interested in finding out more.
“I do nae think there is anyone in the whole world closer to the laird than his brother. The rumors are that the two of them have protected one another countless times from harm and have grown closer over the years,” she replied.
“They must be closer than blood brothers.”
“They are, me lady,” Harriet agreed, “Do ye nae have brothers nor sisters? Everyone here has heard about ye and yer sister and everything that happened with yer brother and how he was found. Yer family is quite well known even in these parts.”
“Truly?” Keira was surprised. “What do ye ken about Astrid and me?”
“Yer tales of beauty have been heard everywhere, me lady. And now that I have seen ye myself I must admit that none of them were wrong. Ye truly are a sight to behold,” Harriet complimented, and Keira could not help but turn crimson. She did not remember the last time she had been complimented in such a way. Harriet was the first person who had treated her this well in such a long time, and Keira was grateful to her for that.
“Ye flatter me, Harriet,” Keira blushed, “if ye think I am the beautiful one, ye truly must meet Astrid instead. Laird MacKie fell in love with her the moment he saw her.”
“Anyone would fall in love with ye with just one look too, me lady,” Harriet complimented again, and Keira laughed. She knew she hadn’t laughed this openly in days. Her days at Gilmor castle had been nothing but bleak, dark, and filled with terror, and now, here, she finally felt like herself again. It would take her a considerable amount of time to truly feel entirely like herself and for her heart to heal, but she was getting there. That was only if Christian did not have some terrible intentions toward her.
The two of them remained there talking for a long time, and Keira asked question after question about Christian. A part of her knew she would have to face him sooner or later, or perhaps once she was better, she could simply ask him to send her home, and he would do so. Once she was back with her family, she could figure out what was to be done about her betrothal to Eric.
They needed to know what had happened, and she needed to be the one to tell them. She did not realize when morning had turned to evening and it was almost time for dinner. Just then, there was a knock at the door of her bedchamber and Harriet immediately got up to check.
“Who is it?” Harriet asked, opening the door and Keira tried to see who it was. Her eyes widened as she saw Christian walk inside the bedchamber, his tall frame filling the doorway. The bedchamber was huge, yet once he was inside, she suddenly felt as if the large space had grown smaller. There was something about him that made him appear larger than life.
“Keira, can I come inside?” he asked, although there was no such thing as pleading in his tone. Even his questions were commandeering; the man was not used to asking. He always got everything he wished for.
“Ye already are inside, me laird,” she replied, raising an eyebrow at him. He raised his eyebrow in reply, a smug half-smile on his face, and Keira realized she needed to be careful. She could not give him reason to be angry with her.
“Come have dinner with me,” he said, and Keira wondered if he had truly lost his mind. She was not going to sit and have dinner with a man who had kidnapped her in one way or the other even, if he had been rescuing her in the process.
“I do nae wish to,” she replied hesitantly, not knowing how he would take the denial. Fear must be evident in her eyes since she truly was afraid of his reaction, but he only shook his head as if her reply had merely amused him. Keira did not fail to notice that he still hadn’t taken a single step further inside the bedchamber and still stood by the door as if he knew that his walking inside would scare her.
“Keira, please come have dinner with me. Ye can nae remain locked up inside yer bedchamber forever,” he asked again, this time adding a certain hint of pleading in his voice as if he knew she would not be compliant with his orders.
“I can have my dinner right here, Laird MacPherson. I do nae need to step out for it,” she replied again, trying to make sure she sounded slightly stern with her words this time.
“If that is what ye wish,” he said at last. Keira stared at him with confusion, wondering if this was the extent of his pleading and if he was truly going to leave her once again. Although, she knew it was not going to be this easy. She was still deathly afraid of him, but it did not seem as if he were going to harm her, at least not right now.
“Are ye leaving?” she asked when he did not move an inch.
“No,” he said nonchalantly before turning towards Harriet. “Harriet, come here.”
Keira watched as Harriet walked closer to him, and he softly whispered something in her ear in a way that Keira could not listen. She strained her ear to try to catch the slightest hints of their conversation, but all was lost to her. Once he was done speaking, Harriet looked at him with a smile before nodding.
“At once, me laird.” She immediately walked out, confusing Keira even further, but questioning Christian would be fruitless. He was not going to answer her. Instead, he began walking ahead in the room, and fear once again rose in Keira’s chest. She quickly backed away towards the wall by the bed, trying to put as much distance between her and Christian as she possibly could. He must have noticed her reaction as sadness flared up on his face for a moment before it was gone again, and he held his hands in front of Keira as if telling her to remain calm.
“Keira, I am just going to sit there,” he said, pointing towards the sofa by the fireplace. It was the exact place he had been seated on when she had woken up here after the battle and had found him staring at her.
Keira did not say anything, and he took quick steps before finally sitting down and assuming a relaxed position. She finally breathed in deeply, realizing he had done exactly what he had said, her heartbeat calming down slightly. Christian continued staring at her as she crawled back on the bed, still maintaining the distance between them.
What do ye want from me?She wanted to ask, but it wouldn’t be sensible of her to do so.
It was his castle, and he could go anywhere he wanted. Hence, she knew she had no right to ask him to leave. Determined to ignore him, she picked up the book she had been reading earlier, which Harriet had fetched for her from the library, and began to read again. Harriet had told Keira that the castle had a huge library since Laird MacPherson had always been fond of reading.
“I hear ye have a library here,” Keira commented, unable to sit still under his gaze.
