Page 33 of A Fearless Rebel

Several bumpy scars, one recent, reddened his otherwise smooth skin.

Soft breathing from his parted lips and the rising and falling of his chest took her attention for a long time. He slept rather late for a warrior, Ava considered. By light from the window, it was still early. However, at her keep, warriors had to be up and on duty by dawn.

It was rather silly, now that she considered it. Another of her father’s strange rules that made little sense as the sleepy men rarely looked fit to defend anyone.

After slipping from the bed, Ava dressed and then went to the window. She wasn’t brave enough to leave the room alone and even if she did, it was a house she was not familiar with.

Today, she’d ask Keithen to take her to the kitchen. Hopefully, if she offered to help, she could find an ally in the cook. The only people she felt comfortable with and spent time talking to back at her keep had been the kitchen maids, who’d grown used to her mingling there when having nothing else to do.

Keithen woke with a yawn and stretched. He looked around the room with a scowl, but upon seeing her, his expression relaxed.

Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Keithen called out for whoever it was to enter.

A young maid walked in with a tray and greeted them. “Lady Fraser asked that I bring warm cider for ye,” she said, looking to Ava. “Mister Keithen, yer father requests yer presence before first meal.”

“Yer mother is very kind,” Ava said as she lifted the cup to her lips.

Keithen nodded and slid from the bed. “Aye, she is. Ye will find an ally in her. Upon her marriage to my father, her clan and ours were not on the best of terms. Not as much so as with yers, but it was not a friendly union.”

“Should I come down with ye?”

As he wrapped a belt around his waist and then proceeded to pull his boots on, Keithen pondered her question.

“I will ask a servant to fetch ye for first meal. Or perhaps my mother already plans to come for ye herself.”

When he left the room, Ava paced. This was the most surreal experience of her life. What was to happen next?’

Was it possible that for the first time in her life, she was to have a somewhat normal life? “Goodness,” she said out loud, returning to the window to study what was happening in the courtyard.

Outside, people mingled and, once again, she was struck by the serenity of it. Hopefully one day, she’d be able to walk about the courtyard without being seen as an outsider.

Chapter Eleven

For four long nights, Keithen had been in the bed next to Ava and, each night, he’d fought every instinct to take her. She was his wife, after all. However, he couldn’t bring himself to see past what she represented, who she was.

A Mackenzie lay in his bed, next to him nightly now.

Her people had destroyed Catriona, a woman he’d cherished, spent time with as a child. The one person he’d shared every one of his childhood secrets with. Then, as adults, they’d remained confidantes and friends.

How could he now take the woman he craved with every inch of his being without feeling as if he betrayed the other.

The light from the lantern illuminated her façade as she stood just outside the window on the balcony. Every night, she spent long moments looking up at the sky. Every so often, she’d remark on seeing a shooting star or on certain patterns in the skies.

Her serenity brought him calm after long days. At the same time, he was aware she was suffering. His mother had kept him informed of what was happening while he was gone out on patrol.

How Ava’s offers to help in the kitchen had been refused and when she’d tried to hand out duties to the chambermaids, they’d pretended not to hear her.

As much as he wanted to step in, what happened with the servants and household was firmly his mother’s jurisdiction. Lady Fraser had told him that under no circumstances must he interfere. If Ava were to be accepted, it would have to be between Ava and the staff.

A cold breeze blew in and he picked up her shawl and walked out to the balcony. Below, there was a bonfire and musicians played a lively tune that traveled up to where they stood.

“What do they celebrate?” Ava asked, accepting the shawl. “There seems to be a lot of joviality here.”

Keithen looked down and smiled. Broden was attempting to tempt a young lass away from the group. “Travelers from the south, returning home. They asked to camp here so they would be protected.”

“Does it happen often?”

He studied her for a long moment. “At times, it seems we have lived very different lives. Does it not?”