Page 9 of The Laird’s Wicked Game (Highland Scandal #2)

“IT’S TOO BONNIE a day to stay cooped up indoors,” Kylie announced, pushing herself to her feet. “Let’s take our lessons outside today.”

Both her charges looked up from where they’d been scratching out greetings onto their boards. Surprise flickered across their young faces. In the three weeks since their father’s reprimand, they’d behaved themselves, but they weren’t the problem this morning. She was. The walls were closing in on her. She needed to get out.

“I shall collect a basket for our boards and charcoal.” Kylie went on briskly. “And we will stop by the kitchen and see if Cadha has any treats we can take with us.”

“Where are we going then?” Ailean asked, eyeing her warily.

“We can take the path south along the coast … I shall teach ye while we walk. ”

Anticipation quickened inside her at these words. A brisk stroll, while they recited French drills, would help break the morning’s monotony, and the exercise would settle her restlessness. Ever since her exchange with Makenna and Tara, after receiving Liza’s letter, she’d felt on edge. The day following Liza’s letter, she’d written a reply, congratulating the couple. Her sister wouldn’t hear of her censure—and that was best.

In truth, she was embarrassed about her outburst. She’d taken care not to bring the subject up with Makenna or Tara again. Nonetheless, releasing the pent-up bitterness and resentment inside her—which hadn’t really been about Liza’s choices at all, but her own—had felt oddly liberating.

Rising to her feet, Kylie flashed her charges a smile. She then moved away from the table and collected a basket for their things. “Come on, lads … the day waits for no one.”

Downstairs, Kylie and the lads stopped by the kitchen, where Cadha gave them some shortbread wrapped up in a soft linen cloth, to take with them. That delighted Ailean and Lyle, and by the time they passed under the portcullis and down the causeway leading out of the castle, both boys were capering.

It was a bright late August day, the kind that made one believe that summer might last forever. All the same, there was a fresh edge to the breeze that warned it wouldn’t. They should make the most of the sunshine and warmth while they had it. A full turn of the moon had passed since Kylie’s arrival at Dounarwyse, and summer was indeed waning.

They turned south then, taking the path that led above the crescent-shaped beach—where a group of men were taking turns at wrestling on the sand. A shaggy dog bounced excitedly around the wrestlers, its bark echoing across the water .

Kylie’s lips quirked. Storm was up to his usual mischief. A few feet away from the collie stood a tall, broad-shouldered man with auburn hair. Rae Maclean looked on as two warriors grappled, moving side-to-side like crabs.

“I want to play with Storm!” Lyle said, his voice rising in excitement.

“Can we go down to the beach?” Ailean asked.

“Later,” she promised. “When we return from our walk.”

The trio set off, and Kylie began to pick out objects from around them, describing what she saw in French. “La mer est azur,” she began, pointing out at the smooth blue swathe of the Sound of Mull. “Repeat after me.”

“La mer est azur,” both lads chimed in, their voices far more animated than they’d been thus far.

“Look, there’s a boat!” Lyle called, pointing to what looked like a birlinn in the distance.

“Aye,” she agreed, flashing him a smile. “Say it in French, Lyle.”

The lad scrunched his face up before replying. “Un bateau.”

“ Il y a un bateau,” his elder brother corrected him smugly.

“Well done, both of ye,” Kylie answered. “Now, Ailean … tell me what else ye see.” She was enjoying this. Why hadn’t she made a game of their lessons before now?

Because ye take everything so seriously, lass . She always had. Perhaps it was time she relaxed a little, and let things unfold as they should, instead of worrying about the future. She desperately wanted her new life at Dounarwyse to work out, but fretting over it only hindered her progress here.

Ailean glanced around before pointing back the way they’d come. “Il y a un chateau.”

There’s a castle .

“Good! Now, shall we describe it further?”

They stopped a moment, and she taught them words to describe Dounarwyse broch. Strong. Big. Made of stone. Before they knew it, both lads were managing short sentences.

Finishing their chat about the broch, they turned south once more and walked a distance. Long grass rippled around them. Green hills, carpeted with heather and dotted with wooly, black-faced sheep, stretched west. It was a lovely morning indeed, and, as she walked, Kylie felt the last of her tension melt away.

With the warm sun on her face and the smell of sweet grass filling her nostrils, life seemed easier.

Eventually, they stopped for a spell and ate their shortbread. It was delicious: buttery and fragrant with the scent of heather honey. The lads then collected pebbles, and Kylie used them for a lesson on numbers. For the first time since she’d begun instructing them, Ailean and Lyle looked as if they were enjoying themselves. They giggled their way through the lesson, turning it into a game—and by the end, Kylie was laughing with them.

High-spirited, the party made its way back to the broch.

The fortress, perched high above the Sound, was visible from many furlongs distant, and Kylie found herself admiring it as she strolled along behind her charges. Dounarwyse’s walls were lofty indeed. Meanwhile, the lads were busy collecting flowers and herbs on her instruction. They’d press them the following morning and have a lesson about the flora that surrounded their home.

It was hard not to feel lighthearted as she followed them and listened to their excited voices. They couldn’t always go outdoors for a lesson—as the weather was changeable here on Mull—but she’d made the right decision taking them out today .

For the first time, teaching them didn’t feel like a chore, and seeing them enjoy learning caused a kernel of warmth to germinate deep inside her chest. It melted the remnants of the bitterness still lodged there.

Maybe Makenna’s right , she reflected, as a warm breeze feathered across her cheeks. Errol’s dead and gone . For a while now, she’d been carrying resentment around like a yoke, but in doing so had just made life harder than it needed to be.

The world seemed brighter without it.

Following the path back to the broch, they soon reached the track leading to the shore. And as she’d promised the lads that they could see Storm, she let them scamper down to the beach. Halfway down the hill, Kylie’s step faltered. The men had finished their wrestling and had all gone into the sparkling water for a dip. Maybe coming down here hadn’t been a wise idea. It was too late though, for her charges had already reached the foot of the path.

“Storm!” Lyle shouted excitedly. “Come!”

The Highland collie was now lying near the tideline, gnawing on a piece of driftwood. However, upon spying the lads, the dog leaped to his feet, picked up his stick, and bounded toward Lyle and Ailean.

Kylie had just stepped onto the beach, her booted feet sinking into soft sand, when her gaze alighted on a man who’d just emerged from the water and was striding back into shore. His hair was slicked back, seawater running in rivulets down his strong body.

Kylie’s mouth went dry, even as her heart kicked against her ribs.

Rae Maclean was walking toward her, gloriously naked.