Page 13 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Hellion (Auctioned Highland Brides #4)

The narrow stairway seemed to go on forever. Lydia braced her hands on either side of the wall as her feet scraped against the rough stone, climbing higher and higher.

Just when she thought they might never reach the top, they emerged onto a high parapet. There were stone blocks on all sides, almost the height of her head, that obscured her view of their surroundings.

The sun was high in the sky behind them, and a brisk wind was blowing from the hills ahead.

Callum barely looked at the place, glancing into the corners to search for the girls and then leaning against the wall with a disinterested expression.

But Lydia had never been so high or had such a view laid out before her.

She was just tall enough to be able to see over the top. Lush green fields stretched as far as the eye could see into towering, imposing hills like great green giants hunched over in the distance.

“Well, nature is far more unbridled here than in London.”

“Unbridled?” Callum said as he stepped up behind her.

“The townhouses I have visited for much of my life had gardens with green grass like this. But it was cut short, with manicured trees and bushes on every side. Nothing was allowed to grow wild like this.”

“Aye, well, Scotland is as wild as they come.”

She stood on tiptoe, craning to see the lake below them and follow the line of the forest into the dark mountains ahead.

“Are ye nae afraid of heights?” Callum asked.

Lydia looked back at him. “It never occurred to me,” she said honestly. “I do not think so.”

The Laird was studying her quizzically, his head on one side, lips slightly parted. It reminded her of the moment he had crushed her against the fireplace and pinned her there with his big body.

She turned away, the wind picking up as her hair fluttered behind her, the folds of her dress beginning to stir.

“Here,” he said, offering his hand, stepping behind her as if she should step up onto the lower level. There was nothing but the wind and a sheer drop between her and the earth beneath.

Lydia hesitated.

“Dae ye nae trust me, lass?” he asked, but his eyes were glinting in the sunshine.

“ Should I trust you?” she asked softly, and Callum’s head inclined forward as he took a shallow bow.

“Nay harm will come to ye while ye are in me castle. That I swear.”

Lydia stared at the wide palm stretched before her and, after another short pause, placed her hand in his.

Callum supported her weight as she climbed up onto the step in front of her, the high sides of the castle parapet bracketing her body.

As soon as she was elevated to the same height as the Laird, his burly arms went around her waist, keeping her in place.

She stared in awe at the lands before her, the sky an endless pale gray, with the edges of shining clouds scattered along its length.

Far beneath, there was a village in the valley, the only sign of any dwelling for miles. The soft bleating of sheep was carried to her on the wind from a distant field, and she could just see their tiny white shapes far below her.

“It is beautiful,” she murmured.

“Aye, it is.” Callum’s voice was contemplative, and when Lydia glanced back at him, he wasn’t looking at the highlands, but at her. His big body felt as solid as the stone around her, his arms retaining their vice-like grip at her waist.

He will not let me fall.

She looked back at the wide expanse before her, imagining how it might feel to be a dove, leaping into the air and soaring over the land and away.

How strange that I do not dream of escaping this place. It already feels like home.

Callum shifted, his hands so large they almost circled her waist entirely, lifting her gently down from the edge.

“We should return,” he said gruffly, and preceded her to the doorway down to the staircase.

Lydia followed him, watching the tension mounting in his shoulders with every step. She wasn’t sure what had changed, but Callum seemed suddenly on edge where he had been relaxed before.

As they reached the bottom of the steps, they heard the sound of familiar giggling coming from somewhere nearby.

Callum stopped, and Lydia smiled as he put his hands on his hips in an exaggerated manner.

“Well now, I hear some wee girls about these parts,” he said, and the giggling increased.

Lydia was simply happy to see him willing to play and tapped a finger against her chin as if contemplating where they might be.

There were two pairs of little shoes poking out from a long, dark brown curtain on the right of them. Lydia found it hard to suppress a laugh as the giggling increased tenfold.

“I wonder whether they are the ghosts I saw in my room,” she muttered.

Callum turned around, eyeing the little feet suspiciously.

“Ghosts, ay? I dinnae think ghosts giggle.”

Lydia couldn’t suppress her grin any longer as there was a peal of laughter from Eilis, and the girls jumped out dramatically.

Pretending to be scared, Lydia jumped back too, unintentionally placing a hand on Callum’s arm as she did so. He stiffened, but did not pull away, and Lydia felt a little thrill of desire skitter over her skin.

“Ye didnae find us!” Eilis cried triumphantly.

“I think we did,” Lydia protested.

“Nay, you were meant to be playin’ by yerself, but ye brought Uncle Callum with ye, that is cheatin’!”

“Is that so?”

She glanced back at the Laird, laughing, but her smile quickly died at the expression on his face.

He looked detached and cold again all of a sudden, and the girls recoiled as he stepped forward, his big hand tugging at the curtain to right it.

Turning, he cleared his throat, more of a grunt than any other sound, his eyes darting along the corridor where they had come from.

“Dae ye ken yer way now?” he asked, not looking at Amy and Eilis.

Lydia’s heart clenched at the looks on the girls’ faces. It was obvious they craved his good opinion and approval, but for whatever reason, Callum was unwilling to give it.

“Yes, I know my way,” she said.

There was a little mew from the curtain, and a tiny shadow appeared beneath it as the kitten walked over to Callum’s massive shoe.

He stepped away before it reached him, with a clipped nod of his head.

“Very well, I must be about me business,” he murmured and headed down the corridor at a fast pace until he disappeared from view.

“Is Uncle Callum angry?” Amy whispered, and Lydia pursed her lips, irritated by the way he had abandoned them.

“No, Amy, he is just busy. Don’t worry yourself.”

“Was he showin’ ye the castle?” Eilis asked.

Lydia dragged her eyes from Callum’s retreating form, wondering what had caused the sudden change in him.

“Yes, he was.”

“Did he kiss ye?” Amy asked, her eyes shining with a romantic look that made Lydia smile.

“No.”

Not just then, anyway.

“Did he show ye the gardens?”

“Not yet.”

“Dae ye want to see them?” Eilis asked. “I ken a secret way to reach them.”

Lydia nodded. “Certainly, but you will have to guide me. I am still learning these long passages.”

“Ye willnae get lost with us!” Eilis said confidently, and Lydia followed them in the opposite direction to where Callum had gone.

By the time she reached the gardens, Lydia was thoroughly confused about the direction they’d come from, but the girls were in high spirits.

The kitten had taken to sitting on Amy’s shoulder, and Lydia wasn’t sure how it kept its balance. For much of the journey, it had sat facing her, its bright green eyes blinking at her curiously.

“Here we are!” Eilis said. “I told ye I kenned another way. That tunnel comes out in a place where ye can hide from the guards.

“Thank you for showing me,” Lydia said, looking around her at a small walled garden that was set back from the rest of the castle.

The flowerbeds all around her had been badly neglected, and weeds were thriving on every side. Thistles protruded from the dirt, and ivy cascaded over the walls.

It was a beautiful wilderness, and she much preferred it to any garden she had ever been in.

I have seen more kinds of beauty in Scotland than I could have dreamed of in London.

“What dae ye like to dae other than hide-and-seek?” Eilis asked as they all began walking along the line of the castle wall.

Amy was beside her, holding the kitten, but Lydia noted that the second twin rarely spoke unless she was spoken to.

“What do you like to do?” Lydia asked in response.

“Amy is always running and climbing things,” Eilis said, and as if by design, the kitten wriggled out of Amy’s grip, and she had to chase it before it scurried under a bush.

“I like painting,” Eilis added as they followed Amy up the path.

“And what do you paint?” Lydia asked.

“I tried to paint Amy, but she wouldnae sit still. I am nae very good. I painted a dragon once, like the one on faither’s crest, but it looked like a snake.” Eilis turned to her, tugging at her long, dark hair. “What about ye?”

“I like to study the stars,” Lydia replied, surprising herself. She had not meant to say that.

“The stars?”

“Yes, but my father did not like it. He forbade me from using his telescope a long time ago.”

“What’s a telescope?”

That was Amy’s voice. She had reappeared again beside Lydia, with the kitten cradled in her hands. She seemed to have grown bored with holding it and handed it to Lydia without a word.

She took it, feeling the tiny warm body nestle immediately against her arm. It really was very sweet, mewing feebly as the girls walked in front of her.

“A telescope is a device that scientists use to look deep into the night sky. I could show you many things that you could not see from the ground, including the stars that fall in April.”

Eilis and Amy looked up at her, their mouths agape.

“Stars that fall? ” Amy asked. They were such attentive little girls.

“Yes. The night sky has a thousand different things to look at.”

“I think Faither might have had a telescope,” Amy said thoughtfully.

“Really?”

“I think so. But I dinnae ken much about him.”

Lydia frowned, glancing down at Amy, whose shoulders were rounded, a stick in her hand that she used to poke the soil at intervals.

“What do you mean, you didn’t know your father?” Lydia asked, wondering if the girls would be as silent as Callum on the subject.

“Faither was always locked away in his study,” Eilis muttered. “Or fighting with Mother. She never had any time for us, so Amy and I would just play together. I am glad we are twins. I wouldnae like to be in the castle all by myself. Uncle Callum was Faither’s twin, too.”

“The kitchen maids play with us,” Amy said softly, and Lydia’s heart broke at the false enthusiasm in her voice.

Had anyone ever paid these girls the attention they deserved?

“Do you like living in the castle?” Lydia asked hopefully.

“It’s all right,” Eilis said, her gaze distracted by a butterfly as it fluttered out from a bush, and she set about chasing it.

Amy remained by Lydia’s side, staring up at her with an odd expression.

“I was lookin’ forward to Uncle Callum coming to stay with us. I thought he might be happy because we had nae seen him for years. But then he came, and he’s just like all the other grown-ups.”

“What are other grown-ups like?” Lydia asked.

“Well, he never wants to play with us,” Amy said on a heavy sigh. “But ye are nae like that,” she continued, beaming.

“Ye listen to us when we speak!” Eilis added, appearing by Lydia’s other side, and her heart swelled as the little girls simultaneously reached up their hands and took hold of Lydia’s on either side.

Why would anyone not wish to play with these little girls?

She looked up at the castle and the long, low windows on the ground level.

I hope I can find his study without the girls guiding me this time. Callum has some explaining to do.