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To the Highest Bidder Goes the Prize (Chuckeles/butterfly040

Kiana quickly retreated to Nessa's side. By the time she reached her, Kiana was shaking something terrible. Nessa was quick to removed the baby before Kiana could go collapsing. Through many tears, Kiana told Nessa what had happened. What she had done, how Lund has found out and how they had parted. Nessa kept trying to tell Kiana things would be alright but it did not seem things where getting through her panicked state. She kept on muttering about not deserving Lund and Sarah. Something about how his father was right. Nessa was eventually forced to slip her a sleeping drink that at last put her out on the settee in her and Angus's room.
 
Lund covers his face for a few more minutes. He turns on to his side as he reaches for the letter reading over it once more. Tossing it back on to the bed he shifts to sit on the edge of the bed. He places his feet on the cold floor shaking his head slightly as he turns to the waiting maid. "Go to mu sister and bring her to my room. If Angus gives you any trouble tell him I will climb out of this bed to come get here.."
 
The maid bobs a curtsy to him and within 10 minute returned with both Angus and Lily in tow. Lily smiles warmly at him as she comes to his bedside to hug him, "I'm so happy to see you are alright dear brother." Her face was comforting and yet seemed a little sad.
 
Lund smiles hugging his sister tightly. "It's good to see you sister. Father and mother have already been by to bring me up to speed on things." He hesitates a moment glancing at Angus. His fingers pick up the note handing it to his sister. "Kiana gave this to me just a few hours ago. It seems you knew about this Angus."
 
Angus sighed and crossed his arms, "I knew not what the note itself held though I knew the source of it and I admit.... I may have known the cause of it as well..."

"What note?" Lily asked as she looked from Angus to Lund then to the note in his hand, reaching for it, "What's it say?"
 
"The cause of my wife betraying me Angus. Why would you hide this from me?" He sinks into the bed losing some of the strength he had from when he woke. His fingers move through his hair as he couchs softly touching his shoulder. He lifts the note letting his sister take it. "I rushed into that room thinking he was raping my wife and it was all a lie."
 
Lily took the note and read it. The room quite as she read of the words once, then a second time. She looked at Lund, then Angus, then the note to read it a third time. Then she looked at her brother, serious as could be and said, "You read this note and you think your wife betrayed you? Are we reading the same note?" Lily handed the note back to him, "That note lists all the reasons that Angus can break their deal by killing you, hurting you, defeating you. Everything in this note is about you and your safety. Perhaps she might not have gone the most sensible route to see you safe, but betrayal is when something thinks only of them self. All this note shows is how she thinks of you over herself."
 
Lund sighs softly as he shakes his head. "She didnt have to go to off with him. I wouldn't have had any trouble in our fight." He sighs softly as he takes the letter back tossing it to the side of the bed. "I don't know what else to think right now." He glances around the room for a glass to get some water.
 
Lily sighs as she sees him looking for a cup and goes to one for him, pouring water into it then returning to hand it to him. "I suppose you have some choices to make then." She turned to Angus, "Will you leave us for a bit? Get some more water?" The big man was not pleased to be reduced to a maid but he picked up the empty pitcher and left anyway. Lily turned back to him again, "Well then.... do you still love her?"
 
Lund takes the glass of water sipping from it greedily. His eyes come up focused first on Angus then back to his sister. He waits till his friend is out of the room before considering his sisters question. "I.. Think so Lily but I feel like a fool. I charged into that room thinking our brother was killing her and had forced her to go along. She didn't even give me a chance to fight him. Father thinks I'm weak because of Kiana he said so himself a few hours ago."
 
Lily listens to him, taking it all in and nodding along. "In a way, perhaps it still was like force. He might not have had her tied down and forced her like that, but was mentally forcing her. Making her think there was no other way." She shook her head a little bit, "Jak was a very manipulative person. He could have convinced a priest to sin if he wanted to. I really think as well you might have saved her live as well. I don't think Jak would have truly been good on his word. Or twist is somehow. All he said spared your live but there was nothing that said he would spare Kiana's or Sarah's."
 
He sighs softly shaking his head as he starts to stand. "I'd have killed him a hundred times over if he had harmed either of them. Besides with me out of the picture he would have no need to harm them." He makes his way to a chair sitting in it heavily. He coughs softly holding his shoulder for a moment not noticing the blood starting to build on his shirt. "I don't know what to do Lily I think father would almost approve of ending my marriage."
 
Lily comes to his side and sits upon the arm rest of it. "He might, but do you want to end it? Lund don't think about what father wants. Think about what you want? To end the marriage now would label Kiana a whore and Sarah a bastard. Even if she was conceived in marriage, it makes no difference. Is that what you want?" Lily tested the waters a bit more, just to see how he would react to the ideas she placed in his head. Perhaps they would help him really decide how he felt about the matter, "Then again you could always turn out Kiana and keep Sarah for yourself. Sarah would never need to know. She's to young to remember Kiana. Would that please you?"
 
He swallows softly as he leans back against the cushion of the seat beneath him. "I care for that child sister. She's precious and not just to me." he blinks hearing his sisters words a shivering going through him. "It I took Sarah from Kiana she would kill herself. That child is all she held on to in the months I was gone." He stands suddenly as he looks around. "I could leave. How do I face the court after all this. There is a chance kiana could be carrying his child lily.
 
Lily tested the waters more around the idea of Kiana and Sarah, "If you are doing to end the marriage, what care you if she kills herself? You'll have Sarah still. And is Kiana does now carry a child, it could be yours as well," she smiled a little, "You were not as sneaky about it as you thought you were. Nessa knew about it and was quite mad you tempted her to when she knew she wasn't suppose to be doing that." Lily sighed, "The court is a tough place, I will agree but no one is ever truly perfect within it. No one knows Kiana went to Jak willingly. That is a secret held only there in that letter and between all that have read it. Burn it Lund and let the secret die in the flames."
 
"Father thinks the other nobles will find weakness in me because of Kiana. I love her but I see his point as well." He starts to move around the room ignoring the pain as his stitched stretch and pull. "I don't want her to kill herself. Even if it would make Sarah a bastard I wouldn't take her from Kiana." he rubs at his face starting to feel exhausted as he drags his feet more as he paces. "I dont even know what to do. All of my paths destroy someone that i care for."
 
Lily sighed and shook her head, "Perhaps then you don't love Kiana as much as you think if you can actually think about what others will think before you think about how you feel about her. If you end the marriage, don't think to keep her here. It would be an insult to her that you force her to remain and raise Sarah while watching you remarry and have other children with your new wife. She'd be a laughing stock among the people as would Sarah." Lily could not believe her brother might even consider these things, but perhaps if he did he was not the man she thought he was.
 
Lund sighs softly as he shakes his head quickly. "Im not going to throw away what I have with Kiana. I love her no matter what even if it feels like she betrayed me." He moves to sit on the bed the pacing having taking a toll on him. He runs his fingers through his hair as he lays back on the bed slowly. "I think I need to get some sleep sister." Lund lays back on the bed rubbing his eyes as he yawns slowly.
 
Lily nodded as she helped him back to the bed, "I'm sorry if my words have only upset you more Lund. This is a trying time, I understand but.... just don't do anything drastic without thinking about it first, alright?" Lily came to sit at this side once again, "Would you like me to stay with you? I don't like you being in here alone so it's going to be either me, Angus, or that maid in here with you." She kept out Kiana's name from the list for the time being.
 
Lund lays his head back on the pillow nodding softly. "Please do stay sister. I wish to have someone close by." He sits up for a moment grabbing her wrist. "Lily if I cared what others thought I wouldn't have run off with Kiana to marry her. I love her deeply and so much I risked fathers wrath to marry her." He collapses back against the bed coughing softly as he closes his eyes.
 
She looks at him with a bit of concern over the way he coughs and how weak his grip was on her wrist. Shaking her wrist free, she in turn puts her hand in his as she moved from sitting on the bed to sitting on the chair beside the bed, "Are you feeling alright Lund?"
 
He coughs again curling up slightly as he holds her hand weakly, but with all ofthe strength he can muster. "I feel like I've been trampled over by a Calvary charge Lily." His skin is also starting to warm up as he buries himself under the covers once more. "Can you ask Angus to stoke the fire it's getting cold in here." He lays his head back breathing shallowly.
 
Lily looks at him worried as she reaches out to test the heat of his skin. Feeling like her own skin could be burned from his, yet he spoke of being cold, Lily knew this. "Lund you are coming down with a fever..." she tried to tell him calmly. "I have to sent for someone. This is dangerous." She paused a moment, "Do you... want me to get Nessa...... or Kiana?"
 
His eyes are closed as he tries to doze off but is woken feeling his sisters hand on his forehead. He coughs softly as he turns to look at her blinking. "I don't feel hot sister I just need to warm up." He lays back listening to her words blinking as he hears Kiana's name. "Send for the best sister she will know what to do."
 
He does not say her name, but she knows who the best is. "Angus," she calls as she goes to the door, knowing that the man can't be to far away. And right she was. Explaining to him the situation, Angus goes racing off to fetch Kiana. He is a bit dismayed to find her sleeping heavily in his rooms. There is a slight argueement between Nessa and him over waking her and in the end, it is decided to let her sleep the night out. Nessa will attend Lund for the night with the help of the midwife's skills.

Knowing that the fever was starting to take a hold of him, Nessa and the midwife had seen Kiana focus out a fever before and decided that was what was needed here as well. They threw more logs on the fire to sweat it out of him.
 
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