Page 60

Chapter

M aisie attempted to tell Niall to go to Lina, but he would not listen. The man was as stubborn as any she’d ever met. The hall was empty but for the two of them.

“There are none here,” she said. “I willnae be long finishing here.”

“And I will wait for you,” he said, sitting at Kieran’s table. Crossing his arms and leaning back as if getting more comfortable, he shrugged.

Maisie shook her head and rushed through the remainder of her tasks. She thanked him for his vigilance as he escorted her to her bedchamber and waited until she was safely inside before leaving her.

Though she’d always been careful, the threat of MacBrannigan’s men retaliating against her for what had happened made Maisie even more so.

She locked the door behind her and prepared for bed, doing what she had each night since Kieran left.

Thinking of him. Dreaming of him. Wishing he were here with her.

His absence had convinced her beyond a doubt that Maisie did not wish to live without him.

And though she’d vowed never to marry again, vows were made to be broken.

Smiling to herself at the memory of Lina’s proclamation, she blew out the candle and was about to get into bed when something, though she could not name what precisely, made her go to the window.

As it was shuttered, she could not see through it. Opening them, Maisie gasped.

The stables were afire.

Running to her door, she began to scream, calling out the one word that terrified all.

“Fire,” she yelled over and over again as she fled from the inn. The moment she stepped outside, sounds from above telling her that her yells had been heard, a hand grasped her arm. Another went over her mouth. And for the second time in as many days, she was dragged away by a man.

Though she attempted to wrench free, his grip was simply too strong. The stench of him nearly made her gag as Maisie was taken away from the fire.

The horses.

Tears sprang to her eyes at the thought of them being harmed. With luck they would be spared. She never ceased in her attempt to get away; it was only the sound of a horse’s neigh behind her that made Maisie realize these men intended to kidnap her.

If she got on that horse, she was dead.

Redoubling her efforts, cursing that she wore only a chemise with her trusted dagger back in her bedchamber, she attempted to bite the hand that clamped her mouth shut, and could not.

“Help me get her up,” the man who held her said to a second man emerging from the shadows. She recognized him immediately as one of MacBrannigan’s men.

Kieran’s caution had been justified.

If they took her, Maisie was dead. Yet there seemed to be no escape.

“Drop her or die.”

It could not be.

Her attacker spun, dragging her with him. Where had Kieran come from?

“Dammit,” he muttered, striding toward them with a look in his eyes she’d seen just once before.

Before her attacker could say a word, Kieran ripped her from his arms and, with one thrust of his sword, the man that had held her so tightly lay on the ground.

She looked away before seeing more, but there was no doubt he was either dead or would be soon.

The second man had unsheathed his sword but was no match for an angry Kieran. Unlike with MacBrannigan, the swordfight was swift and easily ended in the man’s disarming. Then, like his clansmen, he too lay dead on the ground beneath Kieran’s feet.

He’d not hesitated, and that had been the men’s downfall.

That and the anger that seethed through Kieran even now as he looked at her.

She ran to him, and Kieran held her with just one arm, his sword arm still at the ready.

She did not know if he worried these men might rise from the dead, or that there might be others, but Maisie did not care.

Which was when the acrid smell of smoke reminded her that Maisie wasn’t the only one in danger. She tried to break away.

“The stables. Horses.”

Kieran held her tight. “Niall has them.”

Maisie pulled back just enough to see him. “Where? How?”

“I saw flames from the distance. Never rode so fast in all my life. I saw them take you around the back just as Niall tore through the front door, noticing the same. If not for my arrival, he’d be here with you now.”

“Oh, Kieran.” She wanted to kiss him, but he was looking at the men on the ground, clearly wary.

“There could be others,” he said. “Come with me.”

Holding her hand, Kieran took her around to the front of the inn, where everyone seemed to be doing something. Buckets of water were being carried back and forth from the kitchens. Horses were being led away from the stables.

“There is no saving it,” she said, watching as buckets of water were tossed onto the growing flames.

“Nay,” Kieran said, “there is not.”

He never let go of her hand as he made his way all around the inn, searching. He then found Niall, his face black with soot, close to the burning stables, which were now completely engulfed in flame.

“How many?” he asked.

Maisie held her breath waiting for the answer.

“None,” Niall replied. “They are all out safely. She”—he nodded to Maisie—“caught it quickly.”

“What happened?” Kieran asked her.

“I do not know why, as I was preparing for bed, I went to the window and opened the shutters.”

“Perhaps you smelled smoke?”

“I do not believe so,” she responded. “But ‘twas something.”

“Nevertheless,” Niall said. “The fire had just started. We were able to save them, but . . .” He looked at her. “I do not believe we can save the stables. There is simply too much kindling.”

Maisie could not find her voice but nodded instead.

Kieran’s arm wrapped around her. “Did you see them take her?” he asked.

“Aye. At Maisie’s first yell of ‘fire,’ I was up and running from my chamber. I saw both her and you at the same time.”

That seemed to please Kieran. And oddly, it pleased her too.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur.

By the time morning broke, a makeshift stable had been crafted with water bins and hay for the horses to feed on, though they needed to be tied off.

The fire, though it had consumed her stables, was not fully finished yet.

It taunted them even now, the remaining flames fewer than before but ever present.

“I need to begin the morning meal,” she said to Kieran, who had just finished helping to construct the makeshift watering bins.

“In a chemise?” He looked her up and down, grinning.

“Perhaps not,” she said.

“Come, we will change you.”

We will change you.

Stopping briefly in the kitchen, Maisie took a bucket of water, no longer needed as they’d long ago given up attempting to put out the fire, and she made her way abovestairs.

When she finished wiping down her face and arms, Kieran did the same.

“I fear that cloth is no longer for this world,” she said, the previously cream fabric having turned completely black.

“I fear you are right.”

At that, no more words were exchanged. Maisie simply walked into Kieran’s arms and never wanted to leave. He held her tight for too long. She needed to get dressed and return to the hall. But when she tried to break away from him, Kieran stopped her.

“Not yet,” was all he said.

And so they stayed that way for a bit longer.

“I love you,” Maisie whispered into his ear. “I love you so much, Kieran.”

He pulled back. “’Tis good to hear the words.”

“I’d planned to say them anyway when you returned. To tell you I was just not ready to marry but that I loved you nonetheless.”

“Was?”

“Was. I spoke to Lina. Thought hard about what I was afraid of and realized ‘twas unreasonable. You would never attempt to control me. To have me do something I dinnae wish to do.”

“Never,” he agreed. “And I am glad you know that now.”

“I do. My hesitation is gone, and with it, the fear that I’ve held on to. I would be honored to be your wife, Kieran. In fact, I demand it to happen.”

“Demand?” He laughed. “Then who am I to deny a demand from the woman I love?”

“We are to be married.”

“Indeed, we are.”

“The inn,” she blurted, realizing there was more to their union than simply being in each other’s arms. “I would not wish to relinquish it.”

“How would you feel about a partner in running it?”

Her heart skipped a beat. “Truly? But is that possible? With your responsibilities to your clan . . .”

“I’ve spoken to my father already. And aye, there are times I will be needed. I will find someone to remain here with you, to protect you, if I am away. But I would gladly remain here, running the inn, by your side.”

“Your father,” she exclaimed. “How could I have not asked before?”

“Perhaps because you were nearly kidnapped and endured your stables being burned to the ground?”

She swatted his arm. “Tell me. Hurry, I wish to know. You told him of the inn? Of me? You’ve reconciled?”

“Which question shall I answer first?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Kieran.” Laughing, she waited for him to respond.

“Aye, we reconciled. I will tell you all later. For now, let us get you dressed and back down to the hall.”

“I can dress myself,” she said, realizing Kieran was right and reluctantly pulling herself from his arms.

“Perhaps,” he said, lifting her chemise from the bottom.

Maisie held her hands high as he pulled it off.

“Mmm, give me that,” he said, looking at her body.

“I would love nothing more, but perhaps not at this moment.”

She thought he would agree with her, but instead Kieran smiled in a way that told her he did not agree.

“There is little time, for certain. But enough for this.” And without another word, he closed the distance between them and kissed her in a way that made Maisie wish there were not people waiting for her belowstairs.

When his hand moved between her legs, Maisie thought briefly to tell him she could not possibly, but when his fingers began to move, his thumb pressing as another finger slipped inside her, all such thoughts fled her mind.

His tongue and hand moved together, Kieran moaning against her lips.

That he could find pleasure from bringing hers made it all the more powerful.

Without warning, her core began to clench around his fingers, and for that one moment, all of the awful things that had happened the night before melted away.

Giving herself over to him, Maisie reveled in the release.

When they broke apart, she found him smiling as if pleased.

“So you are aware, I will be dressing and undressing you each day from this moment on.”

She laughed. “So you are aware, I fully support such an idea.”

“Tonight, I will make love to you properly. But for now . . .” He looked around the room. “If I am to dress you, it would be easier if I knew where to find your gowns.”

Maisie shook her head, smiling, already thinking ahead to the promise of that evening. Making love to Kieran, the man she loved and who loved her in return, one who would become her husband, sounded to her like the perfect end to a day.