Page 25 of Stealing a Kilted Heart

CHAPTER TWELVE

It was not a ball, but it was not a dinner either. Rather, it was an event in between, not as tedious as a ball and not as intimate as a dinner, with the entire council and the wives of those men invited for the night, along with a few more high-ranking men and their wives or sisters.

It was still a tedious affair, Knox thought.

There were more important things to do as far as he was concerned, but Magnus had been adamant that a gathering like this would be to everyone’s benefit. The council was restless, the wives concerned. There was an air of uncertainty and fear permeating the castle and that was the last thing Knox wanted. Whenever doubt crept into his ranks, he had to identify it quickly and nip it in the bud before it could spread among his men, regardless of their station.

And there truly was no better way to do this other than throw a small, yet lavish feast to reassure everyone that everything was under control.

Dressed in a finer tunic than the one he had been wearing that morning for his ride with Fia, Knox sat at the table at the very end of the hall, from where he could oversee the rest of the tables. It had taken them a while to leave Duror earlier that day, since so many of the villagers had wanted to speak with him, but on the way back, he had invited her to the feast, thinking that perhaps she would enjoy it since Effie would be there, too. Up until then, though, Fia hadn’t shown up, much to his disappointment.

He couldn’t remember a day better spent in recent memory. Knox enjoyed Fia’s presence, her company. There was an energy about her that was calming, that helped him to forget about all his troubles even if it was only for a little while. He wished he could always have that calm.

But how? It’s nae as if I could wed her.

He was well aware of that, even if his mind resisted the truth. There was no future in which he could wed a woman who was not of noble blood. As the laird of the clan, it had always been his responsibility to marry a woman who could give him a useful alliance, someone who would help him unite his clan with an ally.

And yet, his gaze still searched the crowd for her, for a glimpse of her honey blonde locks or her brilliant smile, anything that would reveal her presence and alleviate the strange ache in his chest.

It was an infatuation, perhaps, one that would pass soon enough. Lust. He was simply dazzled by Fia’s good looks and pure heart, but that didn’t mean he felt something more for her. It was easy to claim she was unlike anyone else he had met, but surely, there had to be more women out there like her. She couldn’t be the only one.

“Ach, there she is!” said Effie, her voice calling from Knox’s left, where she was sitting next to Magnus. “I thought she wouldnae come.”

Knox’s gaze immediately flew to the door, where Fia and Bane stood, both of them looking a little out of place among the rest of the guests. Knox didn’t think it was their dress which singled them out; rather, it was the way they held themselves, as though they thought they didn’t fit in at all.

He supposed it was a valid concern to have. He had never entered a room where he felt like he didn’t belong—he had never even really entered a room without feeling like he could command everyone in it, capturing their attention and their hearts. He couldn’t understand how Fia and Bane felt in that moment or what he could do to make them more comfortable.

Still, he excused himself and stood, weaving his way through the small crowd to get to them. When they spotted him, they both snapped up to attention, their backs straight, bowing to him as he approached.

“Welcome,” Knox said, gesturing to them to come further into the great hall. Their arrival had drawn some gazes, the nobles surely wondering why they were there at all. He could hear the whispers around them, low and conspiratorial, but no one yet dared to say anything to his face. It was nothing out of the ordinary, though; nobles enjoyed gossiping, that much was widely known, and they were rarely fond of outsiders. “Seats have been reserved fer ye but feel free tae walk around as ye please.”

Between them, Knox saw Fia’s and Bane’s hands tightly clasped, the two of them holding onto each other. Not for the first time, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were lying to him, after all.

Neither Fia nor Bane had ever attended such a feast before. Celebrations had been frequent, if not particularly extravagant, in Duror, with everyone gathering around bonfires and chipping in with anything they could spare—food, drink, even decorations, all the villagers coming together to enjoy the evening. There had been plenty of special occasions, as there was little else for them to do, but none of them came close to the feast that was now before her eyes.

It was a small one, Fia knew. Laird Stuart had said so himself when he had invited her, claiming that it was only for his council and a few select soldiers, and yet there was so much meat, so much fresh produce, and the wine flowed freely into the cups of the guests. In Duror, such feasts were only reserved for the holiest of holidays, like Yule. Any other time, they made do with what they could spare.

“Look at them,” Bane whispered in her ear, bending close so that she could hear him. She didn’t need to follow his gaze to know he was talking about the nobles in the room. “Such indulgence… their clothes alone must be more expensive than our houses.”

There was a hint of bitterness in Bane’s tone. Fia had never much cared for material possessions. As long as she had enough to survive, she could be content. And yet, she couldn’t blame Bane for his comments. Perhaps the clothes the nobles wore were not worth enough to build a house, but they were enough to feed several of the people in Duror who were in need.

Dae they ken? Would they care if they did?

There was one thing for certain; neither she nor Bane could blend in with that crowd. One glance at them was enough to set them apart from anyone else and Fia had half a mind to ask Bane to leave immediately, manners be damned.

Before they could flee, though, Laird Stuart appeared in front of them, welcoming them to the feast, and it was then Fia knew they would be trapped in the great hall for the better part of the evening. Reflexively, she reached for Bane’s hand, the two of them holding onto each other for dear life.

“Good evenin’,” Fia said with one of her awkward curtsies. Despite her lessons with Bane, she had yet to master the skill and her nerves only made her knees shake even more, throwing off her balance. She was not an easily frazzled woman—she had seen illness and death, blood and gore. And yet, being surrounded by these people unnerved her unlike anything else. “Thank ye fer invitin’ us, but⁠—”

“Fia!” a familiar voice called and Fia’s head snapped to the side to see Effie weaving her way through the crowd as she approached them. She was waving at her excitedly and Magnus was trailing after her, the two of them coming to a halt right next to Laird Stuart. “I feared ye wouldnae come. How lovely that ye’re both here! Come, I’ll introduce ye tae everyone.”

Fia didn’t know if that was a good idea, but she had no time to protest before Effie grabbed her hand and dragged her off. Refusing to let go of Bane, Fia ended up dragging him along, too, the three of them rushing off in a line towards whoever Effie had put in her sights. Soon, they mingled with a group of women, who were standing in a small circle, laughing and drinking the night away.

Effie introduced her and Bane to them all, but Fia didn’t manage to hold on to any of the names, no matter how much she tried to focus. There was half a dozen of them, and they were all eager to talk, it seemed, which only served to make Fia want to talk even less.

What can I say tae them?

“It truly is a shame Laird Stuart couldnae arrange a larger ball,” said one of them, a young woman with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. “It’s been a while since the last time we had one.”