Page 115 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

She deserved better than the life he could offer.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Ailis woke feeling as though she had been emptied overnight.

Her body was stronger than it had been the evening before. The dizziness had passed, and the soreness in her feet had eased to a manageable ache. Yet a heaviness beneath her ribs remained, untouched by any amount of sleep.

She had expected Gordon to come.

Even after everything he had said, some foolish part of her had waited for the sound of his footsteps outside her chamber. Perhaps he would knock. Perhaps he would enter with that stern expression and tell her that he had been wrong.

But the night had passed, and he had not come.

Ailis pressed her lips together and refused to let the thought hurt.

It did anyway.

She dressed slowly that morning while trying not to dwell on the ache in her heart, but when she opened her chamber door, flowers lay on the floor right in front of her chamber. A small bundle of them, still fresh despite the morning chill. Their stems were tied together with a simple piece of twine.

Ailis bent and picked them up then her gaze darted across the hallway to see if she would find who placed them there.

“Lileas,” she murmured, smiling faintly.

It had to be the child. Who else would leave flowers outside her door? Besides, they were the same kind Lileas liked to pick from the garden.

She brought them inside, placed them in a little vase, and forced herself to leave. She was not going to spend another day lying in bed, feeling sorry for herself or wishing Gordon wanted to see her. She would fill her days and enjoy her time with her sister while she was here.

The drawing room proved mercifully occupied when Ailis finally got there. Sorcha sat near the window with Marion while Jane was arranging ribbons across a table. Harriet, the village seamstress, had also arrived with several pieces of cloth draped over her arm.

“There she is,” Sorcha said immediately. “Our runaway bride.”

Ailis gave her a look. “I didnae run.”

“Ye wandered away and got lost to our dismay. The Laird has ordered that ye arenae to come to me store anymore. It is safer if I come to ye.”

Ailis rolled her eyes as a small smile appeared on her lips. “I became temporarily unfamiliar with the road.”

Jane snorted. “That is a very elegant way of sayin’ ye got lost.”

Ailis dropped into the nearest chair. “I was frightened and exhausted. If I am honest, I daenae think I have wandered that far on me own before.”

Marion’s expression softened. “Ye are safe now, and each time ye go to the village, a servant will join ye to make sure ye never lose yer way again.”

Ailis smiled softly at that then turned to Harriet, who was displaying the clothing she had brought.

Harriet smiled. “Yer dress is nearly finished, Ma’am. Though I have made the sleeves slightly wider.”

Ailis brightened. “Why?”

“So ye can move yer arms and hide yer honey cakes.”

Sorcha laughed. “Harriet has discovered me sister dislikes bein’ trapped inside her clothin’.”

“I dislike bein’ trapped inside anythin’.”

The words escaped before Ailis could stop them. A brief silence followed as the ladies looked at her for a bit, as if they understood the hidden meaning behind her words. Then Marion smiled.

“Ye willnae be trapped, dear.”