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Glad that they’d come with news that Jamison was now heir to Clan Munro and that he was expected to marry his dead brother’s betrothed.

The mention of the betrothal had almost been an afterthought following news of Georgie’s death and the feud with the MacKenzies, but to Tobias, it was the most important thing he’d heard.

Jamison is betrothed to another! Finally, now he had his chance with Havilland.

He would swear to Jamison he would take very good care of her and make all sorts of promises to the man for the care and keep of Havilland, but the truth was that he was ecstatic over the news.

Ecstatic and struggling not to show it. So he pretended, as he sat at the feasting table with the others, that he was as distressed as everyone else. He put on a good show of it.

Finally, something on this day had gone his way.

“I never met Georgie Munro,” he said, pouring himself and Kendrick more hot wine. “What was the man like?”

Beaux, having had four cups of wine already, was feeling the alcohol.

Half-lidded, he answered. “He wanted tae be a priest,” he said.

“The man was kind and quiet. He wasna suited for the life as a Clan Chief. Everyone knew it so there may be some who think his death a blessing. Now, Jamison will assume control and he will be the best chief in the Highlands. With him, there will be no question of the Munro Clan’s strength. ”

Tobias pretended to ponder that but his next question was calculated. “And the woman he is to marry?” he asked. “What about her clan?”

Beaux was feeling just as bad as he possibly could about that. He simply shook his head, imbibing of more wine, as Kendrick spoke.

“She’s the heiress tae Clan MacLennan,” he said; the man was bloody well drunk with the amount of hot wine he’d consumed.

“She’s a tiny little lass, barely fourteen years of age, with a pale face and pale hair.

She’s been sickly most o’ her life but she’s the only child of Amos MacLennan, a rightly powerful man who commands thousands.

Moreover, the MacLennans are a rich lot.

More sheep and wool than they know what tae do with.

When Jamie marries Agnes, he’ll be rich beyond his wildest dreams.”

Tobias listened seriously, but inside, he was dancing a gleeful dance.

Still, he kept up the pretense of being sorry on Jamison and Havilland’s behalf.

“And if he marries Havilland, he will get nothing,” he said.

“Oh, ’tis true that she is a beauty. No doubt about it.

She is bright and compassionate. But her father is not a wealthy man.

In fact, he’s quite mad. Did Jamison tell you that?

We only found out yesterday. Havilland’s father, Roald de Llion, has been mad for over a year and Havilland and her sisters have been keeping the secret.

So if Jamison marries her, he inherits a madman for his wife’s father and a castle that does not even belong to the de Llion family. It belongs to my father.”

By the time he was finished, Beaux and Kendrick were looking at him in various stages of disbelief. It occurred to them both that Tobias knew Four Crosses and, more than likely, the history between Jamison and Havilland. Clearly, he had divulged a great deal already.

“Lady Havilland has kept her father’s madness from her liege?” Beaux said, somewhat incredulous.

Tobias nodded. “She did,” he said. “But that is not the worst of it; at nearly the same time we were told of Roald’s madness, we discovered that Lady Havilland’s sister, Lady Madeline, had been feeding information to the Welsh.

Did my father tell you that Four Crosses has been repeatedly attacked over the past several months?

It has, you know. Now we find out that there was a spy in our midst– Lady Havilland’s own sister. ”

He was trying to make it seem as if this was a terrible place, with terrible people, and Jamison would be well rid of them by not marrying Havilland.

It was a calculated statement. Now that he’d thrown out such terrible information for them to digest, he went back to his wine, watching Beaux and Kendrick out of the corner of his eye, pleased to see that the men were quite shocked by the news.

“A spy,” Beaux finally hissed. “And Jamie discovered this, did he?”

Tobias smacked his lips of the tasteless red wine. “He did,” he said. “He stumbled upon her as she met her lover. Now the girl is in the vault, awaiting my father’s arrival to bring her to justice.”

Beaux shook his head, distressed with all he was hearing. “And Jamie has had tae manage all of this?” he said. “How could this happen? Who is in command of the castle wit’ the father mad as he is? For a lass tae become a spy… that is a disgrace tae any commander. How could he not have known?”

Tobias shrugged. “It is quite simple how this happened, actually,” he said.

“Lady Havilland and her sisters were in command of the fortress. You see, they were raised as warriors. Their father, having no sons, raised the girls to fight. When Jamison and Havilland first met, she attacked him with a sword. It was a serious battle until he subdued her. She is a lady warrior.”

Now, Beaux’s shock increased. His half-lidded eyes lifted a bit. “She fights?”

“And very well.”

Beaux looked at Kendrick, who simply lifted his shoulders. “If Jamie marries her, she’ll need tae fight,” he said. “It may be a blessing.”

That wasn’t what Tobias was driving at. He didn’t want them to think that a marriage between Jamison and Havilland would be a good thing at all.

“If she marries him, then she will be in a strange world, fighting people who will want to kill her simply because she married him,” he pointed out.

“That is a difficult life to commit anyone to. Nay, for Jamison to marry one of his kind is all for the best. Lady Havilland should remain here and marry someone who will keep her and her family linked to Four Crosses and to the House of de Lohr. That is the life she knows, after all. She will be happier in time. Besides… she has only really known Jamison a week. How can you know your feelings for someone in just a week?”

Beaux and Kendrick pondered what they’d been told, thinking that Tobias made some sense in the matter.

They were both caught up in the emotion of it, for Jamison’s sake, and Tobias didn’t seem to have that handicap.

Perhaps the man was right. In any case, it was a sad situation.

As Kendrick stood up and leaned over the table, over to a tray of cold meat that a servant had brought earlier, they heard commotion at the entry to the hall and they turned to see Thad staggering in with his hand to the back of his head.

The other hand was dragging Amaline behind him.

Amaline was fighting and kicking at him, trying to break free, and it was a scene that brought Tobias, Beaux, and Kendrick to their feet. Tobias was the first one to move away from the table, heading for Thad.

“What goes on here?” he demanded, pointing to Amaline. “Let that girl go.”

Thad was pale. His head was killing him and the blow to the back had split his scalp. “I will not,” he said. “She hit me over the head and stole the keys to the vault, whereupon she released her sister. Madeline is gone.”

Tobias’ eyes widened as he looked at Amaline. “You did this ?”

Amaline was weeping and frightened. “I did not let her go purposely,” she sobbed. “I opened the door to give her a cloak and she escaped.”

Thad didn’t believe her in the least. Frustrated and injured, he looked at his cousin.

“She asked me to go to the vault to let her in so she could bring Madeline a cloak,” he said.

“I took the stairs before her and she came up behind me and hit me on the head. While I was unconscious, she stole the keys and released Madeline.”

Tobias was outraged. “How long ago?”

Thad looked at Amaline, giving her a yank to elicit a response. “You heard him,” he said. “How long ago did she leave?”

Amaline squealed when he yanked on her again. “I do not know!” she said. “Five or ten minutes. I do not know!”

By this time, all three Highlanders were on their feet, listening to everything. “She canna have gotten very far,” Beaux said, a sense of urgency in his tone. “Was she on foot?”

Thad looked at Amaline and, fearful he was going to yank at her again, she spoke. “I do not know,” she said. “She ran out of the vault but I did not see where she went.”

Tobias was genuinely upset. “She could have walked right out of the gatehouse for all we know,” he muttered, glancing at Beaux.

“Jamison did not tell the men of her capture out of respect for the family. He thought to handle the matter quietly. Therefore, only a very limited number of men knew she was in the vault. The rank and file, guarding the gatehouse, would not have known.”

Thad still had his hand to the back of his head. “Didn’t Jamison say he had followed Madeline from the postern gate?” he said. “I seem to recall that he found her by the river.”

Tobias nodded. “That would, indeed, mean she took the postern gate,” he said. Then, he hissed. “Damnation… she has probably taken it again and has lost herself in the forest along the river. We will never find her in all of that.”

“Do we try?” Thad asked. “She cannot get very far on foot and we can send out mounted men to cast a net.”

Tobias shook his head. “But in what direction?” he wanted to know. “North? East? South? Where?”

“The longer ye debate this, the further away she gets,” Beaux put in. “Mount as many men as ye can and send them out in all directions.”

Tobias turned to him. “I cannot risk sending out gangs of men, not when the Welsh have taken every opportunity to attack us,” he said. “Sending them out and opening them up to possible organized attacks is not smart. Moreover, it would leave us low on manpower. I dare not risk it.”