for her.
Slowly, she closed the door behind her and went below stairs.
Chapter Ten
The slightest breath could have knocked her over.
There, in the greeting room, sat Lachlan MacCullough and he was in a deep conversation with Euphemie.
How did he know she was here? Had Aeschene sent word to him?
As soon as she stepped out of the shadows of the hallway, he stood to his full height. His face bore the oddest of expressions, but she didn’t care to take the time to parse it out.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she rushed into his arms. Thankfully, those arms she’d been dreaming of only moments ago, wrapped around her and held her tightly.
“Wheest, lass, wheest,” he whispered against the top of her head.
“She’s gone, Lachlan. She’s gone,” she cried into his chest. Clinging to him, she continued to cry.
A moment passed before she felt Euphemie’s warm hands begin to rub her back. “Lass, I am so verra sorry.”
Lachlan looked to Euphemie for guidance and answers, for he certainly had none of his own. He had no earthly idea as to why he’d find the woman he loved in a brothel in Inverness in the middle of the night. And he certainly didn’t know who ‘she’ was. He could only surmise she had been someone important to Keevah.
Euphemie whispered answers to his unvoiced questions. “Kiernan. She was Keevah’s dearest friend since they were children.”
That offered only a partial explanation as to why she was here, of all places. Now, he thought, was not necessarily the right time to ask that particular question.
Admittedly, it felt good to have her in his arms. Even if she was sobbing uncontrollably. He closed his eyes and breathed her in. The faint smell of roses blended with wood smoke and winter.
He decided then that the reasons she was here didn’t matter. He also decided he would never let her go.
When she finally stopped crying, Euphemie guided them to the chaise. Lachlan sat beside Keevah with an arm draped around her waist. He wasn’t quite ready to relinquish his hold just yet.
“I will get ye some warm cider,” Euphemie said before quietly slipping from the room.
Keevah dried her tears on the bit of linen Euphemie tucked into her hand before she left. “’Tis the God’s truth I never thought to see ye here, Lachlan. But, Lord above, I am glad ye are.”
He chuckled softly. “I can say the same.”
Puzzled, she sat up to look at him. “I thought Aeschene had sent word to ye.”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “Lass, I had no idea ye were here.”
More confusion filled her eyes. “Then why are ye here?”
“That is a verra long story, lass. One I will gladly explain to ye someday. Now, tell me why ye are here.”
She dabbed at the corners of her eyes and began to explain, as best she could. “Kiernan was my dearest friend, since we were weans, really. She was the closest thing to a sister I have ever had.” She swallowed the tears before going on. “Several years ago, she married a most vile, violent man named Dermott. I did nae realize just how violent he could be until … Had I known, I would have made her go with me, when I went to live with the MacCulloughs.”
Above all things, Lachlan hated men who were cruel to women. Anger began to bubble deep in his gut.
“I received a missive from Euphemie a few days ago. Kiernan had been brought here after Dermott—” she couldn’t quite get the words out. It hurt too much to say it aloud. “He killed her, Lachlan. He beat her so badly that she died. I made it just in time to say goodbye.”
She fell against his shoulder, struggling with tears and guilt. “I should never have left her. I knew he could be mean. I knew, but I did nothin’.”
Gently, he rubbed a hand up and down her back. “Lass, ye cannae blame yerself.”
“But had I insisted, truly insisted that she go with me—”
“It would have changed nothin’,” he told her. “Men like this Dermott ye speak of? He would have eventually found his way to her.”
Keevah refused to give any weight to that statement. “He verra well may have, but ye and the MacCulloughs would have kept her safe. I ken that in my heart.”
There would be no arguing that point further, at least not for a while. Lachlan knew she was bereft and grieving. Logic rarely figured into one’s mind or heart when a