Too Scot to Hold (The Hots for Scots #8) - Caroline Lee Page 0,40

would be lucky to have him.

The way her sister’s lips quirked told her Katlyn had heard the unspoken words. “Aye, he will. ‘Tis strange that, after so long without any purpose, he’s guaranteed a roll as a clan leader, just because he married me.”

Hurrying across the room, Davina gathered Kat’s hands in hers. “And ye will be a wonderful Lady MacKinnon, sister. Ye deserve to be revered and loved and respected.” After so long being ignored, simply because her eyes were two different colors. “Kiergan is lucky to have ye.”

“Aye, he is,” Kat agreed with a smirk. “And Graham is lucky to have ye. Now, we just need to convince Grandda to see him as we do.” Without giving Davina a chance to agree, she nodded firmly. “Now help me up and let us go down to break our fast.”

As she did, Davina noticed her sister rubbing at her belly again. “Does the bairn pain ye already?”

“Och, nay. By my count, I still have weeks to go before this little one arrives. Even with Merewyn’s pregnancy dragging on for so long, she was still ahead of the rest of us.”

Still, Davina linked her arm through Katlyn’s as they headed for the door, determined to support her. When they reached the doorway, both turned toward the stairs, but then stopped.

“Do ye…do ye smell smoke?” Katlyn asked, sniffing at the air.

“Yer sense of smell has become almost super-human since ye discovered ye’re increasing,” Davina teased. “But…”

She glanced back at the hearth in her room, which had died to mere embers overnight. There was a distinctive tang of smoke in the air.

Frowning, Kat pulled her in the opposite direction, toward the rest of the chambers on this level. Hers was nearby, as was Malcolm and Evelinde’s, and Agatha’s was the women’s solar. In fact, ‘twas that room, as they drew closer, which seemed the most ominous. It was the largest and set in the corner of the castle, so as to have the largest room. Davina had sat in the woman’s solar yesterday, laughing at wee Tomas’s antics and listening to Liam read, as Evie silently labored.

“Vina,” Katlyn suddenly whispered, her voice full of dread, “look at the door.”

Blessed Virgin, there was smoke seeping out from under the doorway to Agatha’s chambers. The two of them glanced at one another, then hurried for the door, hesitating at the last moment. If there was fire on the other side, would the rushing of air cause—

“Nae time,” Katlyn snapped, then threw open the door.

“God in heaven,” Davina whispered before she was overcome with a coughing fit.

Smoke was everywhere. From what she could see, it appeared an ember had jumped from the hearth to the rushes and smoldered its way across the chamber to the bed. ‘Twas the smoke which was the most dangerous, but as they watched, the influx of fresh air from them having opened the door caused the spark to burst into flame, which caught the bed hangings.

Lying in the bed were two still shapes.

Grandda and Lady Agatha!

They could even now be dead from the smoke, but when Katlyn glanced at her, Davina knew it wouldn’t matter. They couldn’t allow their loved ones to be burned further.

There was a determined glint in Katlyn’s mismatched eyes as she lifted her forearm to her nose and mouth to block out as much of the smoke as possible. She nodded once, squinted her eyes, then darted toward the now-burning bed.

To hell with that! Vina wasn’t about to allow her alarmingly pregnant sister to do all the work. She took as deep a breath as she could manage, hollered, “Fire! Fire!” to alert the rest of the castle, then plunged into the room after her sister.

Chapter 10

By the time they reached the village, Rocque was jogging. Deciding ‘twould be better for him to address his wife first anyhow, Graham hung back. He wanted to give Rocque and Merewyn some time alone. He raised a brow when he saw Kiergan leaning causally against the fence post.

“Allowing them some privacy? ‘Tis uncharacteristically kind of ye, brother.”

Kiergan grinned unrepentantly. “I’m a kind sort of bastard.”

“Ye’re a something sort of bastard aright. ‘Tis barely after dawn. Why are ye awake?” St. Luke knew if Graham had the opportunity to lounge about in bed with his wife, he’d not squander it.

But Kiergan just chuckled, as if he heard Graham’s unspoken bitterness. “Katlyn was awake early, filling my ear with news of all the bairns in the castle. She’s excited to become a