Lucas yawned, the evening was winding down, and he was eager to take Ella back to her room. He didn’t want to press her for an answer to his proposal, but the times he spent alone with Ella were the times he was most able to be himself, and right now he yearned for that. Most of the clan had made their way out of the main room and gone to their homes for the night. Milly had taken their mother back up to her room. He worried for her. She felt his father’s death more acutely than anyone else. He couldn’t imagine the horror of losing the love of her life, and not being able to be by his side at the end. Then to have her two sons missing for all this time. The long meal had worn on her. Lucas felt her sadness keenly. She had been so pleased to see him alive and well. He had to fight back his own tears when he held her tight. She had aged much since he’d last seen her. There was new grey in her hair and more lines around her eyes.

If only he had been able to stop his father’s death and spare his mother so many months of pain. His thoughts turned back to Ella. Were his role and his mother’s reversed, and he were to lose Ella, he didn’t think he would have nearly the same strength she had shown in the face of her grief.

“Have ye seen Ella?” Lucas asked as Kelly started to clean up the plates and trenchers left on the tables.

“Is she nae back yet?”

“Back? Back from where?”

“She left not yet an hour or so ago, to find Edina in the kitchens. The twit was upset about something or other and ran off. Ella said she wanted tae try and make amends. I thought she’d be back by now.”

“It shouldnae take an’ hour or more?” Magnus said coming up behind his wife and nipping at her neck. Lucas smiled at their affection but agreed with Magnus. Something wasn’t right.

“Magnus, will ye come with me tae look for the lass in the kitchens?” Lucas asked.

“Aye.”

“Dinnae think yer leavin’ me behind, the two of ye,” Kelly said picking up her skirts. Lucas hoped the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach was only indigestion, but he feared the worst. Edina had been acting off since his return to the keep. It ‘twas no secret she thought to be the next Lady MacGille, but he had never given the girl the impression that was the case. If she turned her ire toward Ella, that would make sense. And Ella, wanting only to see the good in the girl may have gotten herself into something she wasn’t able to get out of.

The corridor leading to the kitchen was unusually quiet. “Where is everyone”? Lucas asked out loud and to no one in particular.

“’Twas a large feast. Mrs. Thomas let everyone go home, saying the clean-up would be in the mornin’,” Kelly said. “Everyone was allowed tae partake without worry about work.”

“Do ye think Edina kent that and set Ella up?” Magnus asked.

“Two days ago, I would’ve said nay, but now I’m nae sae sure,” Kelly replied.

An alarming scream cut through the corridor. The hair on Lucas’s arms raised. His heart jumped into his throat, he had heard her make that scream only once before, in the forest when she was being attacked by Evans’s men. She was in danger.

“ELLA!” Lucas broke into a run with Magnus and Kelly quick at his heels.

He burst through the kitchen door. Upon seeing Edina poised above Ella, kitchen knife in hand and all rational thought left him. He raced toward the women, slamming Edina to the ground, as the knife clattered sliding under a heavy oak table. She looked up at him in shock and tried to slide out of his grasp.

“Are ye hurt lass?” Lucas asked, his voice at a frantic pitch watching Kelly help Ella to her feet as he wrestled with Edina.

“The English whore is fine,” Edina spat, as Lucas took a firm hold of her arm. Using his free hand he slapped her hard, she winced, as his hand left a red mark on her face. Adrenaline still raced through him, and the thought of Edina moments ago poised to hurt, and possibly kill, Ella was too fresh and too strong for him to ignore her comment.

“I’m fine Lucas.” Her voice was too calm. Was she in shock? She had not had a day’s peace since they left the barn. Like hell she was fine.

“Yer not fine. Yer bleedin’?” Lucas said, handing Edina to Magnus. He rushed to Ella’s side and looked at her shoulder.

“It’s only a scratch,” Ella replied. “I only meant to try and heal our relationship. Thank God you got here before the girl could do worse.”

“Thank gGod indeed,” Kelly added. “Laird, what will ye dae with her?”

“Magnus, take her tae the dungeon. We’ll convene in the mornin’ to discuss what should be done.”

“NO!” Edina screamed. “Lucas, please Laird, not th’ dungeon!”

“What would ye hae me do with ye then, lass?” Lucas snarled. “Ye cannae go around th’ keep tryin’ tae kill Ella at every opportunity.”

Edina broke down into sobs again, she tried to fall to the ground but Magnus propped her up easily with one arm. Kelly scoffed.

“Laird, I was misguided. When I saw Ella in the Lady MacGille’s embrace, I became sick with rage. But her kindness hath healed me. I’ll nae hurt the lass, I swear it!” He couldn’t take any more of the girl’s pleading.

“Lucas, I’m fine. Surely the girl needs help more than she needs a dungeon. Why not banish her to a far room in the castle and put under guard until other arrangements can be made. I don’t think she will hurt me again tonight.” He looked into Ella’s midnight gray eyes, searching for any trace of misgiving, and finding none, he gave her a slight nod.

His father had taught him that decisions made with rage were easy, but sometimes rage needed to be put aside and cooler heads allowed to prevail. Ella was asking him to consider the other side of his rage and fear, the kinder side of the decision that lay before him. It wasn’t easy. If Edina had succeeded Ella would have been taken from him, like his father, like Gavin. It was something he could bear. He would move mountains to keep her safe, and if that meant sending Edina to spend the rest of her days to rot in the keep’s dungeon, he wouldn’t think twice about it. In his anger he would see the girl hang for her attempted crimes. But he was also Laird, he had to make a call that the whole of the clan would accept.

“Ye cannae believe a word coming out of her mouth, dae ye my Laird?” Lucas broke his gaze with Ella to look at Magnus, who was holding firm to Edina. Lucas didn’t believe Edina’s words any more than he believed his dead father would come walking through the keep’s gate that very moment to reclaim his title.

“Nay, I dinnae. But Ella is right, she disnae need a cold pit in the ground, as much as I would love tae see her rot. The lass needs help. We will send her tae a farm outside of th’ keep, let all th’ men ken Edina is nae longer welcome inside these walls. Have Peter and Thomas stay watch over her. In th’ morning I will send word tae our neighboring clans and see if any may have need of a reliable kitchen maid.” Then turning to Edina, he added coldly, “Yer no longer welcome in clan MacGille, that is yer punishment. I hope ye accept it with more grace and honor then ye’d shown here tonight.”

Edina’s sobs came harder now, and she managed to break free from Magnus’s grip. The large man let out a slow curse. She rushed to Lucas’s feet, and he resisted an urge to kick her away. “Thank ye my Laird, thank ye!” she said, grabbing his legs and holding tightly.

“Magnus, get her out of my sight.” He broke free of the girls embrace and lead Ella from the kitchens. He would see her safely back to her bedchamber. There had been enough excitement for one evening.

The short walk back to Ella’s bedchamber was silent. Ella held a kitchen cloth tight against her wounded shoulder, and Lucas fought desperately to control his rage. It was not directed only at Edina, but also the very status of his clan and keep that allowed a hate like hers to grow unchecked. How could he be a leader of his people if he couldn’t even protect one lass. He knew the best answer for Ella’s safety lay in marriage, but he couldn’t force her. He could only wait on her answer.

Maybe if he spoke with her, rationally, made her see that she would not be attacked as easily were she the wife of the Laird. Mayhap the woman would see reason.

Entering the space where he and Ella had shared a few sweet stolen moments earlier in the day helped Lucas control some of the emotion he was feeling. He sat Ella down on the cushioned stool by the fire.

“Can ye pull down yer dress lass, let me check that wound.”

“I told you Lucas, it’s fine really. The knife barely grazed my shoulder. It was more a fright than anything else.” He would believe her if he could see the wound himself. As it was, she was shaking like a leaf.

She pulled the dress away from her shoulder, and he saw the wound was indeed just a scratch. The blood that had dried around it, as well as the kitchen cloth, looked much worse than the wound. He allowed his breath to even out. “Och, it’s a mess. Let me clean it for ye.”

He walked over to the bed and grabbed a woolen plaid, returning to drape it across her lap hoping to soothe her shaking body before heading to the water basin. There was a roll of muslin sitting next to the pitcher, most likely left from Ella’s bag from when she first arrived. So many nights they had spent in front of the fire at the barn, while Ella dressed his wounds. It was only fitting that he dressed hers now.

“Lass, are ye truly fine? Not yer wound, but you?” he asked, kneeling before her and searching her face for any signs of distress. Moisture began to pool in her eyes and he pulled her into his arms. Lifting her up, he walked her from the stool to a more comfortable cushioned chair, settling her in his lap.

“I don’t understand. Before all this I led such a quiet life. Why is all of this happening? When will I feel safe?” She sobbed, and her words came out in a choking rush. He rocked her gently back and forth wishing he was able to soothe her broken heart.

“Och, lass, I dinnae ken. I wish I could take all th’ pain away. I do. It willnae be perfect, but hae ye thought any more on my proposal? If ye have my name and my title, it could go a ong way tae protect ye even more than being under lock and key.”

“Being under your protection didn’t help me tonight. It was my own foolish attempt to heal my relationship with Edina that caused this. Clearly she was mad with anger and jealousy. How could being your bride help with that?”

“Aye, it wouldnae hae helped with Edina, but it will help with any other fool in the keep who thinks tae take advantage of ye. When I saw her over you with that knife, a pain shot through me that I cannae describe.”

“That’s what I felt in the forest, at the pond, when Peters had you on your back,” she said placing her hand on his cheek. “I thought I would lose you, and I was filled with rage.”

“Aye, rage is an apt word tae describe it,” he replied. “But by bein’ my wife, and with Edina’s banishment, any other member of this clan who harbors unknown ill will, will think twice before actin’ on it. I ken ‘tis not the ideal way tae propose marriage, but I promise, I’ll take care of ye, protect ye, and stand be ye the rest of our days. While I take breath, no harm will come tae ye under this roof.”

He’d never felt nervousness like he did in this moment. Even before going into a major battle he was calm and ready for whatever came his way, but waiting for Ella to tell him whether or not she would agree to be his bride had his stomach twisting in knots. He had laid himself bare for her, and if she rejected him now, he had no hope of keeping her safe or close to him.