Page 85 of The Laird's Secret Bairn

She tried and stumbled almost immediately.

Lily’s laughter rang out bright and unrestrained across the hall, joined a moment later by Freya’s. Even Skye couldn’t help but laugh at herself for missing steps she’d practiced a dozen times that week.

“I suppose I will have to practice some more.”

Freya took a step back. “I daenae want to teach ye again. Me poor feet willnae be able to handle it, and ye are a lot bigger than ye were when we were children.”

“I am nae asking ye to teach me, Freya.”

Lily raised her hand. “I can teach meself, Skye! Watch me.”

She twirled around, taking Skye’s hands in her own. Skye laughed, allowing her to ‘teach’ her to dance. Thankfully, shedidn’t step on Lily’s feet, which Lily was desperately trying to avoid.

“Well done, Lily!” Freya praised. “I think yer da is going to be so excited when he sees how well ye dance.”

“Ye really think so?” Lily asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

Skye nodded. “Yer da is going to be very pleased with what ye have learned, Lily. He’ll probably want to dance with ye too.”

Lily squealed. “I’ve always wanted to dance with Da! It’s going to be so fun!” With that, she ran off, shouting her grandmother’s name.

Freya held her hand over her mouth. “Oh Lord, she is so precious.”

“Isnae she?” Skye whispered, unable to hide her affection for the small girl. “She’s managed to wrap me around her finger.”

“Aye, I think it’s impossible for that nae to happen,” Freya admitted. “I’ve only been here for a short while, but I think she’s starting to wrap me around her finger too.”

“Lily has that gift,” Skye said with a laugh.

“Does her faither have the same effect on ye?”

She smoothed her skirts, trying to avoid her sister’s eyes. “It isnae the same. Lily is a child.”

“And her faither is a man ye’ve defended to strangers before ye kent him, worried over while he was away, and gone soft in the face over more than once since I arrived.” Freya’s teasing smile faded into something more gentle, much to Skye’s relief. “Ye neednae hide it from me, Skye. I’ve seen enough already. I only wish ye would admit it to yerself. Do ye ken how much easier that would make everything?”

“What exactly do ye see?”

“That ye care for him, far more than a false betrothal ought to allow, which I kent would happen. It was why I was so against ye coming here in the first place,” Freya said softly. “But there is nothing ye can do about it now. That ship has sailed, and he has already stolen yer heart.”

Skye said nothing, which was answer enough.

Freya reached over, squeezing her hand. “I willnae push further. Only promise me that ye’ll guard yerself, whatever comes of it. I’d nae see ye hurt by a man, however fond his daughter has made ye of the whole household.”

“I’ll try,” Skye said quietly. “Though I fear it is already too late for that.”

She did not want to speak of Dougal any further. It wasn’t because she couldn’t handle Freya’s light teasing. It was because she missed him. He had only been gone a few days, but it felt longer than that.

She had busied herself with taking care of Lily, wanting to do whatever it took to distract the girl from thinking about her father. She and Kenna had both agreed to do it the day after Dougal left. Freya being here helped with the distraction, but it didn’t help Skye stop thinking about him.

Every quiet moment made her thoughts drift back to him: the sound of his voice, the warmth of his hand on her back, the way he’d looked at her the morning he rode out, as though there were words he’d left unsaid. She had caught herself glancing toward the gates more often than she cared to admit, listening for hoofbeats that never came.

“Ye’ve gone quiet again,” Freya observed, watching her closely. “Thinking of him, I bet.”

“I’m thinking of Lily,” Skye lied.

Freya smiled. “Of course ye are.”

Skye huffed. “Could ye at least pretend to believe me?”