Page 24 of Defy the Highlander

Lilia nodded. “She knows that Colly fights with me.”

“And what does she say?”

“She asks me tae not fight with her. I believe she knows that Colly is wicked, but she tolerates it because the woman raised her. She willna send her away.”

Brody’s lips pressed into a flat, unhappy line. “So she lets the woman do as she pleases?”

“Aye.”

He grunted and looked away, his gaze moving out over the loch. “Ye canna remain there, Lilia,” he said. “That old woman will kill ye if given the chance.”

Lilia knew that but she didn’t like to think about it. She believed she was strong enough to protect herself, but incidents like the one on the stairs concerned her. Colly could easily catch her off guard and do some damage.

“I have no choice,” she said quietly.

Brody lay back on the grass, pulling Lilia down with him. He found himself looking up at the sky as she nestled against him, her head on his shoulder and his big arm around her. It seemed like the most natural position in the world.

“I told ye I want tae marry ye,” he said, his lips against her forehead “But I willna wait, not if this woman is on the prowl tae kill ye. I must get ye out of there.”

Lilia was deeply contented, curled up against him. She closed her eyes, feeling his warmth against her and letting the sound of his voice flow through her.

“Not until my da’s debt is paid, Brody,” she said. “I willna change my mind about that. I willna simply leave.”

“I am going tae pay it. I told ye I would find a job and make enough money.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. He’d said the same thing before, but she didn’t feel comfortable for the man to pay a debt that wasn’t his. That was the truth. But given how badly she wanted to be with him, and truly not knowing how long Lady Currie might try to keep her, perhaps paying off the debt was the only way she and Brody could be together while they were still young.

If he was serious.

“If ye mean it, then ye’d have tae speak tae Laird Currie,” she said. “’Tis a debt owed tae him and he will tell ye how much.”

“Do ye not think I mean it?”

She opened her eyes and sat up, looking down at him as he lay there in the damp grass. “I’ve known ye less than two weeks,” she said honestly. “I dunna know all about ye, Brody. I know ye come from Clan McKay and I know ye fled from the Highlands and ye’ve been living in the streets of Edinburgh. But beyond that… I know nothing about ye. Ye could make me promises and then disappear. How do I know ye willna?”

Brody folded a big arm behind his head, laying on it as he looked at her. She had a point; he’d seen plenty of men make promises they never intended to keep, but he wasn’t one of them.

But she was right.

She didn’t know that.

“Because I am a man of honor,” he said quietly. “At least, I used tae be.”

“Then why did ye flee the Highlands?” She jumped on his comment because it was one he’d made before. She wanted to know why this kind, handsome, and clearly capable man had been living in such self-imposed hardship. “Ye told me ye were a great warrior, once, so great that they called ye the Highland Protector. What happened, Brody?”

“Before the screeching hag found us in the hay, I was going tae tell ye,” he said. “Do ye know anything about the wars against the Sassenach?”

She shook her head. “Not much,” she said. “My da never fought and I dunna have any brothers or menfolk that have.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Then ye’re fortunate,” he said. “Three years ago, the call went out tae fight for Berwick because the English had overrun it. They brought mercenaries with them by the thousands and launched a campaign along the border that destroyed many villages. My da took me, my cousins, and fifty of our best lads and we joined up with Clan Munro. We went south tae the borders but by the time we got there, many villages were in ruins. It was war like I’d never seen before.”

Lilia was listening intently. “But why did the English attack?”

“Because the Scots held the city of Berwick and the English wanted it back,” he said frankly. “The Duke of Gloucester led the charge. Once we reached Jedburgh, we settled in with Clan Kerr, whose numbers were decimated. They told us that they heard tale of a group of Sassenach knights heading for a stronghold known as Wolfe’s Lair. It’s near the border, a great English fortress that has belonged tae the Norman de Wolfe family for two hundred years. The Kerr wanted tae intercept the knights, but they were too few, so I told my da we needed tae go in their stead.”

“What did he say?”

His somber expression foreshadowed his response. “He told me not tae go because the English would overwhelm us. But I went anyway. Being foolish and believing that no Sassenach could defeat me, I went and took about thirty lads with me.”