Page 3 of The Laird's Wicked Game
Kylie’s offer had been bold, and her behavior had shocked even her at the time. Nonetheless, her choice had also been a practical one. Her late husband had left her destitute. Her only other option was to return to her kin in Perthshire. Andalthough her parents wouldn’t blame her for Errol’s poor choices, they’d likely pity her, which was worse. And once she was back at Meggernie Castle, she’d also sink back into her old role—the one she’d happily escaped from. Her family was better than most, but she’d always felt overlooked at home—the helpful one everyone else took for granted.
This job would give her a much-needed purpose.
She caught sight of the laird then. Rae Maclean stood at the end of the pier, a sea breeze ruffling his auburn hair. Tall and strong, with broad shoulders, the chieftain of Dounarwyse was impossible to miss.
Kylie’s belly fluttered once more—not from excitement or nerves this time though.
Catching her body’s traitorous response, she squeezed her hands into fists, throttling it. She’d not start off on the wrong foot by allowing the attraction that had sparked within her toward Maclean at Moy Castle in early summer to distract her.
Remembering her manners, she lifted a hand and waved to him. Then, she hurried after Makenna up the gangway to where Rae and a strikingly handsome man with wavy auburn hair, who bore a strong resemblance to the laird, waited next to him. She guessed that this was Jack Maclean, Captain of the Dounarwyse Guard. During her conversations with the laird at Moy Castle, she’d learned that his brother worked for him. Both men had similar build, bone-structure, and coloring, although the captain held himself with an unconscious arrogance, his mouth curved into a playful smile. In contrast, Rae’s expression was almost severe—and a deep groove had furrowed between his eyebrows and either side of his mouth.
He looked like someone with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
It made him seem older than she remembered. She still found him attractive though—distractingly so.
Makenna glanced over her shoulder, her eyes twinkling as she flashed Kylie a grin. “Ready?”
“Aye,” Kylie replied, swallowing her sudden nerves and forcing a bright smile in return.
Makenna slowed her stride, allowing Kylie to draw ahead so that she reached the chieftain first. And as she did, Kylie met Rae Maclean’s gaze. Despite his austere expression, his fern-green eyes were warm. And then his lips lifted at the corners in a smile.
Her belly went into a steep dive, and her step faltered. Cursing herself, she picked up her skirts, stepped over a coil of rope, and closed the gap between them.Daft woman, she chastised herself.Enough of this foolishness!
“Greetings, Maclean,” she said briskly, halting a few feet distant.
The laird nodded, his expression softening a little more. “Good morning, Lady Grant … it is a pleasure to see ye again.”
Ignoring the quickening of her pulse at these words, Kylie gestured to where Makenna had halted next to her. “Ye remember my sister?”
“Of course. I hope ye are well, Makenna.” Maclean nodded then to the man next to him. “May I introduce my brother, Jack?”
“Welcome back to Mull,” Captain Maclean drawled, flashing them both a grin.
“It’s good to be back,” Makenna replied with an answering smile. “Although, regretfully, I won’t be able to stay long.”
Kylie’s chest tightened at these words. It made sense that Makenna wouldn’t want to linger, yet ever since Errol’s death, her younger sister had been her rock. Despite that Makenna was busy at Meggernie Castle, she’d made regular trips to Kylie in Argyll, where she’d been preparing to leave her home of a decade—the broch that her husband’s creditors now owned. Makenna had put everything aside to help her, and her company had eased the ache of loneliness.
“Ye are welcome at Dounarwyse for as long as ye wish,” Maclean assured Kylie’s sister. His gaze then traveled behind the women, to where two burly men trudged up the pier hauling heavy leather satchels. “Have ye brought much with ye?”
“Just these bags,” Kylie replied. “My clothes and personal effects … everything else belonged to my husband.”
The chieftain nodded. “Well then, my men will carry them back to Dounarwyse for ye,” he said, his tone turning more businesslike. He then gestured to the group that waited patiently with the horses a few yards back from the end of the busy pier. “And we have ponies to carryye.”
They headed north along a well-traveled road that hugged the isle’s eastern coast. A stiff breeze whipped in from the Sound of Mull, ruffling their horses’ manes and tugging at their clothing. The sky above was blue and full of scudding white clouds, and the air was sweet with the scent of summer.
The jangling of bridles and creak of leather accompanied the steady thud of hooves as they left Craignure behind.
A short while into the journey, Kylie found herself riding alongside the laird, while Makenna had fallen back next to Jack. The rest of their escort brought up the rear.
For a spell, they traveled without speaking. However, the silence was slightly strained. The laird of Dounarwyse didn’t seem to have anything to say to her. Eventually, Kylie cleared her throat. “How have ye been, Maclean?”
“Well enough,” he replied, flashing her a shy smile. “And ye?”
“Busy … the time has flown since we last saw each other.”
“It certainly has.”
Another awkward pause followed before Kylie spoke once more. “It’s a bonnie isle, this.” She immediately clamped her mouth shut, cursing herself for uttering something so inane. Nerves, as well as an uncomfortable awareness of the man who rode beside her, were making her babble.