Chapter 3

Kyven forced her face into a smile as trumpets blared on either side of Laird Shay Lamont. His riding escort parted, affording her the first full view of him. He was striking, fair haired and much paler than a lot of the men she knew, who spent so much time outdoors. However, he was not ill-looking, but rather handsome, in an unusual way.

Behind her, Helen nudged her.

"Well, maybe being hurried into a quick wedding cannae be all bad, can it?" her maid whispered with humor.

"What dae ye mean?" Kyven whispered back, scarcely moving her lips. Fortunately, her whisper was not heard by the council men nearby as the trumpets were still blaring to announce the arrival of Laird Shay Lamont. She sighed, a little put off by the grandeur of his entrance.

Is it nae vain tae arrive in such a manner?

As if in answer to her question, he swept his arms outward, a rather proud smile on his lips. When council men nearby bowed their heads to him, he didn't acknowledge their movement.

Aye, he is vain.

"I mean that when it comes tae the responsibilities of the… er… marriage bed," Helen went on in another amused whisper, "there are worse men tae be thrust intae company with."

"Helen!" Kyven hissed, glancing over her shoulder at her maid. The blonde-haired and rather short maid was now giggling behind a cupped hand. "Aaden has aroused something in ye. Ye never used tae talk of such things."

"Well, we must now talk of them, must we nae? Ye will be married soon."

Must I be?

Kyven didn't have time to challenge this thought, nor to ask how Aaden had impressed Helen so much in their affair that Helen now talked of little else. Kyven stomped down on her curiosity, fought the temptation to glance Gilchrist's way and instead set her gaze firmly on Laird Shay Lamont as he stepped down from his horse.

Attendants hurried forward. Two collected the great cloak trimmed in fur from his shoulders and another presented him with a vast box, carved in mahogany wood and bearing a lock made of gold. He held it aloft, as if it was some grand scepter and walked toward Kyven with a vast smile on his face and a man following close behind him.

Aye, he is handsome.

Kyven willed herself to see that handsomeness in the gray eyes, round and rather sweet at first glance. The lips were thin and pressed together, the cheekbones chiseled as if they had been made out of stone. Yet despite his fair looks there was no jolt in Kyven's stomach, no excitement at all, and the only nervousness she felt was knowing that everyone was staring at her as she now had to greet her soon to be husband, and the next Laird of the McDowells.

"Lady Kyven." Shay approached her, bowing deeply. The softness of his smile tempered her willingness to think ill of him. "It is me great pleasure tae come tae meet ye today. I have brought ye a gift." He stood straight and offered the box to her.

"Thank ye." Kyven raised her hands and took the box somewhat shakily. She felt the eyes of the council, the soldiers, and all the staff upon her. It seemed not a soul had remained in the castle to attend to their duties, for they had all come to ogle at her and Laird Shay together. "Erm…" She cleared her throat, doing her best to find her confidence and speak in a level tone. "Ye are very welcome. I trust yer journey was good?"

"Aye, but nae so good as this arrival is." He winked and leaned forward an inch, lowering his voice to ensure only she could hear him. "Yer appearance has quite rendered me speechless. Ye are much fairer than I was told."

"Yet yer tongue seems able tae move all the same. Perhaps speaking isnae so difficult after all," she remarked with a quirked eyebrow. He laughed, shaking his head.

"Wit too? Aye, ye are a surprise, Lady Kyven." He bowed low to her once again.

Kyven was fumbling with the carved box in her hand, trying to focus on Laird Shay and his deep bow when another came into view. Close behind Laird Shay, Captain Gilchrist had advanced. Aaden was at his shoulder, and even had a hand on Gilchrist as if he was holding him back.

What is going on?

Then Laird Shay stood straight, and the view of Gilchrist was blocked.

"Well, we must get ye settled intae the castle," Kyven said in a rush, determined to move onto business matters so she would no longer be the center of everyone's attention. She didn't doubt she and Laird Shay would be the topic of much conversation and rumor for the next few days in the castle. "I will give ye a tour of the castle."

"And show me where I shall sleep, me lady?" Laird Shay asked in a mischievous whisper. She narrowed her eyes, not appreciating him saying such things in front of her council, though they didn't seem to have heard.

"The steward will show ye tae that particular room," she added coldly. "If ye would accompany me?"

"I trust…" He spoke up before she could turn and walk into the castle. Casually, he glanced over his shoulder, straight at Captain Gilchrist and Aaden. "We will of course have an escort, aye? I would dearly like tae see ye are well guarded in yer castle, me lady, and that yer soldiers," he paused once more, his eyes flicking up and down Gilchrist, "take good care of ye."

"Of course, they dae. We have some of the finest soldiers in the Highlands. The latest defeat of the Gregors and their clan at our hands is proof enough for that," Kyven said dismissively, though she trailed off toward the end as her eyes settled on Captain Gilchrist once more.

His brow was deeply furrowed, the cheeks stiffened, his hands balled into fists at his side, and he seemed not to have noticed that Aaden had a hand on his shoulder at all. It was an expression she had never seen him wear before.

"Strange," Laird Shay murmured, a scowl spreading across his own features as he turned back. "I believe we have met somewhere before."

"Nay. I dinnae believe we have," Captain Gilchrist's answer came without hesitation.

Kyven attempted to catch his eye, even going so far as to stand on her tiptoes, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on Laird Shay, never once glancing away or even blinking.

"Nay? How odd." Laird Shay raised a hand in his direction as if he was waving it across Captain Gilchrist's body, the better to take on the view. "Nay, ye are right. The man I kenned before was a little different tae ye. Had more… presence."

A muscle twitched in Gilchrist's cheek.

What does that mean?

Kyven exchanged a confused glance with Helen behind her.

Aaden cleared his throat and Kyven took the helpful hint. They had done enough standing about as Laird Shay and Gilchrist looked at one another with such chilly stares.

"Now that that is settled, would ye come inside, me laird? I shall give ye the tour and later this evening, we have made arrangements for a supper tae welcome ye tae the castle," Kyven said hurriedly. Laird Shay turned toward her, but Gilchrist did not abandon his stare.

"Aye, that would be most kind, thank ye." He stepped up to her side, moving into the castle and giving Kyven the second she needed to step in front of Gilchrist and click her fingers at him.

"What is wrong with ye?" she hissed, at last earning his attention.

"Ye are nae walking about this castle alone with him."

"Alone with me betrothed, ye mean?" she reminded Gilchrist in a hiss. He looked away once again, and neither of them had a chance to discuss the matter any further as Shay was now walking across the vast entrance hall, admiring everything around him.

"What architecture! Baroque, if I am nae mistaken? Built by yer father, Lady Kyven, if I understand correctly?" He didn't wait for her answer but swept an admiring gaze across the grand staircase and the stone pillars which held the vaulted rooftop aloft. "Aye, finely made indeed. It is a pleasant home ye have here."

"Aye, it has its cozy corners," she murmured, placing the carved box into Helen's hands to look after. "If ye will follow me, I shall show ye around." She walked through the nearest door, aware that the council members were fussing over the other men in Laird Shay's entourage, all except one, a mousy-looking man with auburn hair who shuffled behind Shay, as if he was the Laird's shadow.

"Ye dinnae mind if me advisor accompanies us, dae ye? Larry, stand straight and greet the lady of the clan."

Larry did as he was told, seeming more like a boy than a man until he did so. His face stiffened and Kyven suddenly saw why he was part of a laird's entourage, given such a formidable countenance.

"Aye, of course ye may accompany us." Kyven gestured for him to follow too as they entered the feasting chamber. Laird Shay and Larry followed. Gilchrist walked around the table and came close to Kyven, so near in fact that at one point, he was in danger of stepping on the hem of her gown. "This is the oldest part of the castle, dating back two hundred years or more."

"A fine feasting room," Laird Shay complimented, wandering along the other side of the table, though he didn't seem to be looking so much at the chamber as at Kyven. "It would make a fine room fer a wedding feast, dae ye nae think, me lady?"

Kyven abruptly stopped walking and behind her, Gilchrist walked straight into her. They stumbled and he laid a hand on her waist to stop them from falling over. Such heat passed through her at his touch that she didn't imagine she was sitting at this table with Laird Shay for a wedding feast, but rather with him. Hastily, she brushed him off and stepped away from him.

"We shall see," she said coolly.

Deciding not to make eye contact with either Laird Shay or Captain Gilchrist for the rest of the tour, she walked on at a pace.

"This way. There is a lot tae see."

Time tae say goodbye.

Gilchrist watched Kyven like a falcon, his arms folded, as they stood in the garden, looking out over the training grounds at the soldiers to their left and the fine borders of the formal garden to their right. She and Laird Shay were standing close together, and though on this tour Shay had done a very good job of pretending Gilchrist did not exist, Larry was not such an adept actor.

Larry stood but a yard from Gilchrist, watching him the same way Gilchrist watched Kyven – unrelenting fixedness.

"Ye give a fine tour, me lady," Laird Shay said with cool charm.

Ye disgust me.

Gilchrist couldn't fathom what was happening. His eyes darted from the ring finger on Shay's hand which was bare and empty, to the simpering smile he kept offering Kyven. Shay should have been married. Last Gilchrist had heard, he had managed to wed Gilchrist's childhood sweetheart, Elisa. What could have happened? Why was Shay here now about to marry the other woman who had captivated Gilchrist's heart?

"Ye are a flatterer, are ye nae?" Kyven said perceptively. "I'd rather hear what ye think of the castle than me presentation. If we are tae marry as the council wish us to, and if ye are tae be laird of me people, I need tae ken ye will treat this as yer home, me laird. That it will mean as much tae ye as it does tae me."

"Rest assured." Laird Shay bowed deeply once more, though he never once took his eyes off Kyven.

He thinks he's charming her.

Gilchrist audibly scoffed in disgust. Shay gave no sign of having heard him, but Kyven certainly did, shooting a suspicious glare his way.

This cannae happen. She cannae marry him of all people.

"Yer people would be me own, and I would fight fer them with every ounce of strength I have in me body." He reached for her hand. "I would fight fer ye, me lady."

He cannae touch her.

His fingers were lifting Kyven's palm from her side. Would he kiss her hand then? Would his lips brush her skin?

"Me lady," Gilchrist's deep voice pierced the air.

Kyven leapt back as if she had been struck by lightning and whirled around, her eyes fierce upon him. The hand Shay had lifted he now let drop.

"Ye're needed."

"Needed? By whom?" she said questioningly.

"The council wish fer a word with ye." He stepped aside, gesturing back to the door."

"Then come, me Laird," Kyven continued, glancing back at Shay. "Before I go tae meet the council, I shall introduce ye tae the steward who will show ye tae yer chamber."

She walked past him coldly, looking at him as if they had not spent numerous hours together in that library, as if they were not friends, but he was in fact just a soldier to her. His eyes traveled down her as he walked past her, and he glimpsed the sight of her hands fidgeting again.

She is nervous. I ken that sign too well.

Then the three of them were gone, leaving Gilchrist quite alone in the garden, though he did not stay there long. There was much to be discussed, and there was one person he had to talk to – Laird Shay.

Gilchrist hovered in the alcove nearest to the east wing and the guest chambers. Shay had been in his room for some time, but even a man so proud of his appearance as Shay could surely not spend another hour bathing. Sometime soon, he would have to emerge.

Gilchrist peered out from the shadows once more. This alcove hidden at the top of the stairs in the east wing, was guarded by a statue, a stone effigy of Kyven's father, the last Laird of the McDowell clan, offering him the perfect hiding place.

Footsteps sounded down the corridor and Gilchrist braced himself. He caught the handle of the dirk at his belt, latching his fingers tightly around the handle, then waited, holding his breath.

Someone stepped into view. Tall in figure with shocking blond hair, it was unmistakably Laird Shay.

Gilchrist leapt out from behind the statue as Laird Shay walked past. He gripped the laird's shoulder with one hand and the other, he used to place the dirk at the laird's throat. Shay spluttered, veering back his head, clearly fearful of having his throat cut.

"Nae a word," Gilchrist warned in his ear, his voice deathly in warning.

"Ye…?" Shay murmured in wonder.

There were more footsteps down the corridor. Gilchrist elbowed Shay sharply in the back, shifting his hold in order to march the man into the nearest vacant chamber. He kicked the door shut behind the two of them then released Shay, thrusting him deeper into the room.

For a minute, Shay said nothing. He brushed himself down after their tussle like a preening budgerigar and then shifted to face Gilchrist. They remained in silence, waiting for the footsteps in the corridor behind them to fade away as they stared at one another.

"Ye," Shay said again once the footsteps had gone. "Never did I think I'd find ye hiding here. Thought the Gregors and the McDowells were sworn enemies. Bet that the fair young Lady of the McDowells doesnae ken yer real name, does she?"

"Ye're nae tae say a word of who I am, ye understand?" Gilchrist warned darkly.

"Ah, looks like me guess is right." Shay did not look afraid of the dirk Gilchrist still held in his grasp. He rubbed his hands together, as if he had just been gifted many wonderous presents indeed. "Ye want me tae agree, Michael? Shall we make a deal?"

Gilchrist shivered when he heard his real name for the first time in years. "I dinnae make bargains with the devil. I'd sooner have the kelpies drown me intae the water and drown me."

"Ye want yer secret tae stay secret, then ye'll have tae dae as I say." Shay smiled, wickedly. "Ye'll dae as I ask of ye in these walls. Ye'll be me… man."

"Ye already have Larry fer that." Gilchrist jerked his head to the door behind them. "Yer rat of a man that follows at yer heels." He stepped forward and Shay took a tiny step back.

Ah, so he is a little afraid of me.

"I willnae dae yer bidding, but yer lips will stay locked tight about who I am. Ye understand, Shay?" He shifted the dirk in his grasp, making it clear through his movements why Shay should stay quiet.

"Then ye'll say nothing of our past at all," Shay appeared tae relent. "Aye? It all stays secret."

What is he hiding? What is he hiding from Kyven?

Gilchrist adjusted his stance, moving his weight between his feet before he stood still. A surge of protectiveness swelled in his chest. He thought of Kyven's fidgeting hands, the nervousness in her eyes that night they had discussed how she had to marry so the clan had a laird.

"What of Elisa?" Gilchrist asked. "I thought ye and she… ye married… how can ye marry Lady Kyven then?"

"Me first wife, ye mean? Ah, aye." Shay put on an appearance of a heavy sigh, but Gilchrist was not fooled. "It was very sad. Death in childbirth. Nay easy thing tae suffer." His eyes flicked upward, meeting Gilchrist's. He was relishing in delivering such bad news.

Sick to his gut, Gilchrist took a step back.

Elisa is dead.