Page 24 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Hellion (Auctioned Highland Brides #4)

“Check the perimeter and lock the doors, Alex. Search the castle, I dinnae want anythin’ left to chance.”

Lydia stared after the man-at-arms as he sprinted away up the stairs, accompanied by two guards.

She glanced at Callum. He still held Eilis in his arms, but as the housekeeper approached him, he lowered the little girl to the floor, and she clutched at Lydia’s skirts.

Callum had removed his jacket in the carriage, and his customary léine was all that covered his torso. The sweat from his fight still clung to him, the fabric puckering against his wet skin.

Lydia swallowed, uncertain what was expected of her under the circumstances. Should I take the girls to bed? If I stay, will he answer my questions?

She still did not understand what had taken place, but the girls were terrified.

“Why was the church attacked?”

Her mother’s voice cut through the rising fear that had been building in her heart.

“I do not know,” she whispered.

“He has not told you of his enemies? For they must be many in number.”

Lydia glanced down at the girls, stroking their heads. “He has told me that he will keep us safe.”

Her mother scoffed. “That is all very well, but how can you know what is safe when you do not know what to fear?”

Lydia bit her lip as Callum turned back toward them.

“Wait in the dining hall until we ken it is safe,” he barked, and stalked away, drawing his sword to search the lower levels. Three guards peeled off behind him and marched into the darkness.

The man shows no fear of anything.

As they shuffled through into the adjoining room, Lydia was grateful for the fire.

Three guards attended them, coming to stand at the edges of the room, swords drawn and ever watchful.

The wedding should have necessitated a great feast for the guests, but after the attack, Callum had sent everyone home.

Now, the table was laden with food that no one would eat.

Lydia smiled fondly at her brother as his eyes grew round as saucers staring at the cold meats, cakes, and preserves that were scattered over the table.

An enormous pig had been roasted and placed in the center, with an apple in its mouth.

“Mama, may I?” Tommy let the question hang in the air, and when her mother nodded, he went to the table.

Tommy lifted a plate of sweet meats toward Eilis and Amy, who looked too terrified to eat anything. Then there was a faint mewing from beneath the table, and Raven jumped onto a chair at the end.

Amy went to stroke him, and Lydia smiled as her brother offered her some ham to give to the cat. The girls set about feeding the kitten, distracting them from the horrors of the day.

For Lydia’s part, she could not eat. She wanted Callum beside her again. Whenever he was close, it felt as if no one could harm her.

“I do not like this,” her mother muttered. “Are you not safe with him? He is your husband now. Have you married into war?”

Lydia’s gut clenched. Husband.

With everything that had happened, she had barely been able to process that their marriage vows had finally been spoken.

He is my husband, and yet he treats me like a fool. Do I not deserve to know what we are up against?

“I will find out, Mother. He cannot keep it from me forever.”

She anxiously twisted her fingers even as she spoke the words. If their marriage was as Callum intended, what opportunity would she have to learn anything?

Am I simply to lie in my bed every night, waiting for a swordsman to slice through my door and kill me?

She looked around, feeling numb. The room was bright and colorful; the crest of the Murray clan emblazoned on the banners on every wall. It should have been a happy place, filled with merriment and laughter.

Instead, there were only the sounds of the children eating, not speaking to one another, the girls timid and hunched in on themselves. Her mother paced before the fire; her brow furrowed with concern.

Lydia lowered herself into a chair, the folds of her dress shimmering in the candlelight.

Some wedding day this has turned out to be.

“How many men should I station in the corridors?” Alexander asked.

“Four along the passage where the girls sleep, and one outside their room. One outside Tommy’s, too, and the Duchess’ just to be safe.”

“Aye, M’Laird. And yers?”

“I’ll take care of me wife,” he growled, noting Alexander’s smirk as the man-at-arms nodded and headed down the corridor to see to the men.

Callum watched him shout to the guards to pay attention as he sent them to their posts, the long dark corridor looking all the more sinister now that the threat was upon them.

I knew there was somethin’ brewin’. I just didnae think McCarthy would be so bold.

Grimacing, he headed back toward the dining hall to collect the girls, listening intently to every footstep, watching for shadows.

He squared his shoulders, an anger like nothing he had ever known running through his veins.

Let them come. I’ll kill them all and more besides.

He burst through the door to the dining hall as Lydia sprang to her feet, the guards on either side of him pointing their swords at Callum’s chest. The fire crackled quietly in the room. Lydia’s mother glared at him with a venomous expression on her face.

“We should get the girls to bed,” he said.

“But, Uncle Callum, it is supper time!” Eilis protested. “Look at all the food to eat.”

“Ye will dae as I say,” he snapped. Eilis froze in place, and there was a sniff from beside her as Amy’s eyes filled with tears.

Sighing heavily, Callum walked into the room, crouching beside them.

“Ye can take two sweets with ye to bed, but that is all, all right? Ye need yer rest. We have all had a hard day.”

He turned to Amy. “How’s me horse rider?”

Amy giggled, the tears forgotten. “It doesnae hurt so much anymore.”

“Good girl.”

A scent wafted over him, as familiar as a Scottish hillside, and Callum turned as Lydia approached them. She bent down to pick up Amy, who was holding two bannocks in her hand like a lifeline.

“Tommy,” Lydia said softly. “Come with me. Mama, we can escort you to your room.”

Callum rose, Eilis pawing at him to be carried, and he lifted her into his arms. Glancing behind him, he caught the eye of the Duchess, who was watching him with an expression that was hard to read.

She sniffed primly, raising her chin and following her daughter out of the room. Callum shifted Eilis onto his hip, frowning as little crumbs scattered all over his shoulder from the pie she was eating.

The six of them made their way up the dark stairs, the girls visibly uncomfortable with every noise that echoed through the castle.

Callum frowned, anger rising anew that they should be fearful in their own beds.

Lydia bid her mother goodnight, a silent exchange passing between mother and daughter that Callum couldn’t decipher.

She hugged Tommy tightly to her and bid him goodnight before carrying the girls to their room.

“Where is Raven?” Amy asked sleepily.

“He is in his bed. Look,” Lydia said, lowering Amy to the floor.

The little girl went to pick up the kitten from a chair at the edge of the room. Cradling him to her chest, she came back to stand beside her bed as Lydia helped her out of her dress, and Amy crawled beneath the covers.

“I dinnae want to sleep by meself,” Eilis protested as Callum tried to lower her down.

Callum released her, and she wriggled away from him, climbing into Amy’s bed, the kitten settling on the pillow between them.

He felt like a giant towering over them as they stared up at him.

Now, looking at the two little dark heads, their blue eyes filled with trust, his chest tightened at the thought that they might have been taken from him.

Callum turned to Lydia, who was standing looking down at the girls, too, her teeth worrying at her lip.

“We should get some sleep,” he said shortly, and she nodded, following him out of the room.

As he stepped out into the corridor, he found Alexander outside their door.

Callum’s lips quirked. “Ye are guardin’ them yerself are ye?” he asked.

“No one is gettin’ in this door tonight, M’Laird,” Alexander said firmly, and Callum put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently before he went back to his bed chamber.

As he reached the door, he paused, a hand on the latch, uncertain what to do.

If this were a real marriage, we would be goin’ to bed together.

Lydia was a shadow behind him, standing at her own door, watching. Her long hair was in disarray from her run over the hill, a streak of mud on her cheek that his fingers itched to rub away.

“Are ye all right, lass?” he asked, keeping his gaze somewhere just to the right of her shoulder.

If I look at her too much, I’m gonna drag her into me bed again.

“Are we safe?” she asked, her neck convulsing on a nervous swallow.

“Aye, there are guards stationed throughout the castle. Nae one is goin’ to get close to the girls or ye again, that’s a solemn promise.”

“Were you hurt today?” the worry in her eyes made his pulse quicken.

“Nay. Takes quite a bit to take me down.”

She took a step toward him, her hair shimmering in the torchlight from the wall. Her tongue wet her lips as she glanced at the door, and Callum clenched his fists to keep from reaching for her.

“Get some rest. I’ll leave the adjoinin’ door to our rooms unlocked. Call me if ye need anythin’, but ye need nay be afraid. Nothin’ is goin’ to harm ye while I’m here.”

Her eyes flicked to the door beside him, shoulders slumping a little in defeat, but she gave a quick nod as she stepped back from him again.

Lord, give me strength to keep away from this woman.

Gripping the handle hard enough to wrench the thing out completely, he entered his room, closing it silently behind him.

Resting his forehead against the wood, he fought with his inner desires, every part of him clamoring to go out and drag her inside with him.

He pushed off the door, stripped off his léine, and went to bed.