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Niall felt that something was wrong as soon as he got to the castle and looked around himself. Finn strode up to him and said, “I have somethin’ tae tell ye, Niall.”

Niall, looking at the expression on his friend’s face, felt that he knew what was coming. “You’ve done the job?” he asked.

“Aye,” Finn replied. “But I need tae talk tae ye in private—it’s very important.”

Niall looked at the expression on his face and realised that something was desperately wrong. “My study,” he said firmly.

They sat down and Finn launched into an explanation of what had happened. He took a deep breath and started, “I found out that Moira’s name isnae Jamieson. It is McDonnell. She was married tae a merchant called Roy McDonnell, a man that was much older an’ a cruel drunkard. He was found dead on the floor o’ his house by his brother Brody. They think Moira did it, an’ they were lookin’ for her.” He paused, then looked Niall straight in the eye. “Moira is no’ the woman we thought she was, Niall. She has deceived ye.”

The news that Moira had lied to him caused Niall’s heart to ache. He was deeply hurt that she had been dishonest with him since the first moment she had met him. He had lost count of all the times she had refused to tell him the name of the man to whom she had been betrothed, but now it appeared that she had not been betrothed, but married, all the time he had known her. Why had she lied to him?

Yet, he could not believe she was a killer. He felt that he would have known if she was, for he had met murderers before, and had always sensed the violence and hatred that they hid inside them. Niall had killed before, but only in the heat of battle or in self-defence, and it had scarred him deeply, but he had never carried violence off the battlefield into his daily life.

Nevertheless, someone had murdered Moira’s husband, and if she had not done it herself, then who could have committed the crime? Roy McDonnell sounded like the kind of man who would have collected many enemies in his life, so it could have been one of many people who wanted revenge on him, or repayment, or both.

Niall’s mind wandered back to his and Moira’s last encounter—was it only that morning? It seemed like a lifetime ago that they had teased each other on her bed. Their lovemaking the previous night had been one of the most sublime experiences of his life, and now he was determined that it would not be the last time they were together. By hook or by crook he would have the woman he loved in his arms, in his bed, in his life.

“I cannot believe Moira is a killer,” he said to Finn. “You and I are warriors, Finn. We know how killers behave, and Moira is not like that. She may be stubborn and angry sometimes, but there is no badness in her.”

Finn was reluctant to venture an opinion, since he could see that Niall was completely besotted with Moira, but as far as he could tell, the matter of her guilt was still an open question. Niall was biased and blind to her faults; he could see no evil in her at all, but Finn still had his doubts. Moira seemed like a good person, but he had no idea how she behaved when no one was watching.

“I want you to do something else for me, Finn,” Niall said as he poured them both a large measure of whisky. He felt he needed something stronger than ale. “I want you to ask some more questions for me, and use some of your other trusted men if you have to.

I need to find out who killed McDonnell. You said he was a gambler. It might be someone he owes a great deal of money to. If he left someone poverty-stricken, that person might want revenge, and what better revenge than ending his life once and for all?”

The moment Finn had been dreading had arrived. He stood up and took a deep breath, then watched as he saw Niall’s whole body tense as though he were expecting a blow. He received one, although not of the physical kind.

“I have somethin’ else tae tell ye, Niall,” he said heavily. “Some men came here an’ took Moira away at knife point. There was nothin’ we could dae. They threatened my men they would kill her if we tried tae stop them. One move fae any o’ us an’ they would have slit her throat.”

Niall was so stunned, there was all he could do was stare at Finn for a second before he exploded. He thumped the flat of his hand on the desk and glared at him, his eyes blazing. “Nothing?” His voice was a roar of rage. “There are eighty men here. You must have been able to do something!”

Finn dropped his gaze to his hands, which were resting on top of the desk. “If I could have stopped them, dae ye no’ think I would have done it?” he asked.

He felt deeply ashamed, but at the same time angry that Niall had not recognised how impotent he and his men had been.

“They even locked up a’ the stable hands. I told ye already there was naethin’ we could have done. We were helpless!” He was beginning to get angry, and his face flushed as he stared at Niall.

Niall felt shame wash over him, and he shook his head, sighing. “I am sorry, Finn. I’m so furious. Now we have to figure out where she is and how to get her back.” He stood up and paced agitatedly across the room to the window.

Why did I have to fall in love with you, Moira? he asked himself. However, he already knew the answer to his own question. It was because it was his destiny because they were meant to be together.

Niall was beginning to feel quite desperate. Where was Moira now? Why had her kidnappers taken her? There could be only one reason: to extort a ransom from him. He could afford to pay a ransom, of course, he would pay anything to have Moira safe and sound in his arms again, and once she was under his protection she would never have to worry about her safety again.

“I know who the swine is who took her,” Finn said grimly. “It is Brody McDonnell, the one who has been lookin’ for her a’ this time. I have seen him in the village when I dropped intae the tavern, an’ he is a nasty piece o’ work.”

“Who let them into the castle?” Niall asked, puzzled and furious. “Because I cannot believe my men would just let them walk in. Do you know?”

“The men said it was Gerald McNicholl,” Finn replied. “He told them they were friends o’ his an’ had come tae visit. They said they were a’ very friendly an’ polite.”

Finn felt a surge of fury erupt inside him. He thumped his desk and let out a roar that hurt Finn’s ears. At that moment, he could have put a gruesome end to Gerald’s miserable life and smiled while doing it. He tossed back the rest of his whisky and wrenched the door of his study open, then stopped short as he saw a very startled Beitris. She gave a little squeal of fright and took a hasty step backwards the second she saw him.

“What are you doing here?” Niall demanded furiously.

His face was a mask of rage, and Beitris cowered in fear as she slowly backed away from him.

“I-I was just coming to find you,” she stuttered. “Everyone is waiting for you to come to dinner.”

“No,” Niall countered. “You were not. You were eavesdropping, My Lady. You were being underhand and deceitful, and I will not stand for it!”

Beitris shook her head. “Niall—” she began, but he stopped her.

“It is ‘My Laird’ from now on,” he told her grimly.

Beitris nodded in acknowledgement. “My Laird,” she said, then took a deep breath. “You must think of your clan, and you need an heir to secure your position. Surely, you would rather its mother was a woman of quality like myself rather than a murderous peasant like Moira McDonnell?”

At the mention of Moira’s married name, Niall frowned even more deeply, and took another threatening step towards Beitris. “How do you know her name? And who told you she had murdered anyone?” he demanded.

By this time, Beitris’s back was almost touching the wall behind her, and she was visibly trembling with fear. However, she was not ready to give up yet.

“My Laird,” she began again, “you have so much to offer a lady of substance. Any noblewoman would be glad to marry you, and give you many babies. If they were sons and looked like you, they would be very fortunate indeed.”

Niall had never struck a woman, and never would, he despised men who did so, but at that moment he wished Beitris was a man so that they could have a fair fight.

“You trapped Moira, did you not?” he asked angrily. “You have taken her away from me, hoping I will never find her! Well, you are wrong, My Lady. I will search to the ends of the earth. I will move mountains because that is how much I love my Moira. Now tell me who told you this, and tell me where she is!”

He took one more step towards her so that they were separated by inches, and Beitris’s eyes were round with fear as she looked up at him. For a moment, Niall felt ashamed that he was frightening her so much and almost turned away, then Beitris blurted out, “My Uncle Gerald found Brody McDonnell and told him where Moira was.

Truly, My Laird, I had no idea he had anything criminal in mind. I just wanted to be rid of her so that you and I could marry and be happy. I-I care for you very much.”

“Ha!” Niall gave a scornful, derisive laugh. “Care for me? You hardly know me, My Lady! All you care for is my wealth and power, and I care nothing for you. Go back to your family and see if they can find you another suitor who is less choosy than I am. Goodbye.”

He strode away, leaving Beitris to follow him with her eyes until he was out of sight. Now he was about to confront her uncle, and she felt a savage stab of satisfaction. He had talked her into this plan, and now that it had fallen through, he was going to get his comeuppance. How she wished she were a fly on the wall!

Niall’s footsteps thundered through the castle as he strode along the corridors to find Gerald. Servants looked at his furious face and hastily jumped out of his way, since it looked as though he had murder on his mind.

They had never known their Laird to be violent towards them, but at that moment it looked as though someone would be on the receiving end of some dire punishment.

Baltyre Castle was vast, and Niall had no time to waste searching all its miles of corridors and hundreds of rooms.

Niall tried to put himself in Gerald’s place, wondering where he would be, but at that moment the man himself appeared.

His eyes widened with fear when he saw Niall’s ferocious expression, but he tried to school his face into a sickly and unconvincing smile.

Niall strode forward and caught Gerald by his collar, pulling him towards him so that they were almost nose to nose.

Gerald’s eyes were wide with fear, and Niall’s voice was dripping with disgust when he said, “I know what you did, you miserable swine. You brought Brody McDonnell here so that you could ruin my relationship with Moira!

Well, let me tell you, your plans have come to nothing. Beitris is on her way home to her family, but you are going to be enjoying some different and less comfortable accommodation in my dungeons. Brody McDonnell has kidnapped the woman I love!”

Gerald shook his head, and opened his mouth to say something, but Niall’s warning glare stopped him. Niall felt like giving him a hefty kick, but restrained himself. Instead, he grabbed his wrist so tightly that he begged to be let go.

“Did you know what they were going to do?” he asked, thrusting his face into Gerald’s so that they were almost nose to nose.

Gerald swallowed nervously, then nodded in resignation. “Yes, I did,” he replied.

“Where did he take Moira?” Niall asked. “It would be better for you to tell me because I might have a little more mercy on you.”

Gerald was silent, then Niall shook him so violently that his teeth rattled. “Where is she?” he roared.

“I don’t know!” Gerald answered, his voice hoarse with fear. “He just disappeared. If I knew, I would tell you!”

Niall stared down at him, then slapped him once, twice, with the front and back of his hand hard across his face, before flinging him with all his might towards one of the guards.

“Put him in the cell at the end—the darkest one,” he instructed. “Give him enough food and water to keep him alive, no more.” Then he addressed Gerald. “I will have mercy on you and put a couple of rat traps in there with you, you’ll need them! If anything bad happens to my Moira, I can assure you that the same—or worse—will happen to you!”

He beckoned to two other guards, who marched up and hauled their prisoner away none too gently. The last Niall saw of Gerald was his terrified face as he glanced over his shoulder. He felt a stab of vicious satisfaction, but he had no time to gloat. He had to find Moira because he needed her as much as he needed the air that he breathed.

Niall ran to the stables and saw Ritchie Young standing with Glennie. They were holding hands and looking into each other’s eyes, and although he would have reprimanded them at any other time, Niall had no time to be angry just then.

“Get to work, you,” he snapped tersely at Ritchie, and he and Glennie sprang apart, looking guilty. Niall gave his sister a look that said, I’ll deal with you later.

Then he went to find Logie, who had already been saddled for him.

Glennie came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Niall,” she said gently.

He whipped around to face her, ready to give her a piece of his mind, but when he saw the expression on Glennie’s face, his expression softened.

“Where are you going?” she asked anxiously.

Niall took a deep breath. “A situation has arisen on the estate that I need to take care of,” he replied, “but it’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be back soon.”

His reply was evasive, and not very convincing, but he could think of nothing else to say to her, having been unable to think of a suitable lie. He kissed her cheek softly, then turned and strode away.

Glennie watched as Niall mounted Logie and rode down to the gate. He was not taking the entire garrison with him, only a few of his best and most experienced men. Glennie watched as they rode out of the gate, and burst into tears as soon as the riders were out of sight, but Ritchie was behind her, and he folded his arms around her.

“They will be back soon, hen,” he said soothingly. “There are no’ many men that go up against your brother an’ come away unhurt. He will be fine.”

Glennie wished that she could be so confident.