Page 13 of Proven By The Highlander (Highlander Forever #15)
CHAPTER 13
H er worry stayed with her all day, despite the cheerful circumstances. All of the other time-travelers came to meet her for lunch in the Great Hall, and there was a great deal of raucous talk and laughter at the long table that was almost completely occupied by women from the future. From the amused looks from the Keep locals, Leanne could tell that the time travelers were quite popular here… and for good reason, if the stories of their exploits were anything to go by. She wondered what kind of stories would be told about her own arrival here, frowning into her soup. So far, she hadn’t exactly done anything noteworthy. Turned up in her pajamas, proceeded to get horribly sick for a week.
Nancy nudged her with one elbow. “You feeling alright, sweetness?”
“Fine,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “Just thinking.” She hesitated, wondering whether she should tell Nancy what she’d learned that morning. But nobody there had said that any of it was to be kept secret… and besides, she had a feeling Nancy’s husband didn’t keep much information from his bright, cheerful wife. “I met the Laird and everyone today.”
“Oh, you did! That’s great. Malcolm had said Donal was keen to meet you.” Nancy’s smile faded a little at the look on Leanne’s face. “What happened?”
“Nothing major,” she said quickly. “Just… they wanted to know about the guard I met on my first night here. Caelan.”
“I remember,” Nancy agreed. “When I asked Malcolm about it he said he’d ask Brendan. He looked kind of spooked, though.”
“I think I know why,” Leanne said drily.
She filled Nancy in as quickly as she could on the whole story — on who Caelan was and why he hadn’t accompanied her all the way to the Keep. Nancy listened, clearly spellbound. Talkative as the blonde was, she was also a very good listener when she needed to be. She even resisted interjecting when Leanne described what Caelan thought about his brother’s death, though she could tell by the woman’s indignant expression that she, too, thought the monster was innocent.
“Anyway,” she concluded with a wave of her hand. “Now I feel bad for telling the guards where Caelan’s camp was. He clearly wants to be left alone, and now…” She rubbed her forehead tiredly. “At the same time, I don’t think he should be out there by himself. Maybe it’ll be good for them to catch him and bring him home.”
“It doesn’t sound like they want to punish him,” Elena put in softly. She’d been listening from the other side of the table to much of the story, and Leanne assumed she knew plenty already, being Brendan’s wife. “More that they want to make sure he’s safe.”
“I hope they do catch him,” Nancy said rebelliously. “Sorry, Leanne, really, but… Nessie never did anything wrong in her life. If he hurts her, I’ll be furious.”
“You won’t be the only one,” Julia pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “Can you imagine what Maggie would say if she knew someone was hunting the Monster?”
Leanne leaned forward curiously at the sound of that familiar name. In the stories she’d heard about the Keep, Maggie’s name had come up again and again. From what she could tell, she was a part-Fae woman who lived on the shore of the Loch. She seemed like a friend to the Clan, but at the same time, that friendship seemed somewhat fickle… something that seemed to be a natural part of relations with the Fae.
“It’s true,” Anna agreed. “Any attack on the Monster won’t bode well for our alliance with the Fae… and I’m not just talking about Maggie. The last time harm befell the Monster, it took months for Donal to repair the damage, diplomatically speaking. It’s very much in our political interests to stop Caelan from doing what he’s trying to do. If they even knew he was trying to harm her…” She sighed, looking worried.
“Has the Monster ever hurt anyone before? I mean, other than the Unseelie Fae or, or… people attacking the Keep?” Leanne asked, lowering her voice a little as she leaned forward. The women exchanged glances, shrugging their shoulders. It was Kay who shook her head most firmly.
“No. She’s more than capable of doing damage if she wants to, or if she’s attacked… but nine times out of ten she’ll simply go under the water and hide if something’s threatening her. It makes no sense from a behavioral perspective for her to have suddenly decided to eat someone. Most of the time, she’s more interested in helping them ashore, as most of us have experienced.”
“Exactly,” Leanne said, hearing Nancy echoing her sentiments. “Why would she suddenly decide to turn on a member of this family? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Someone needs to talk that sense into Caelan,” Nancy said darkly. “Because if he hurts Nessie…”
“Well, Graeme and Hamish are investigating his camp now, right?” That was Anna, briskly cutting across the conversation with the clear intention of wrapping it up. “The situation’s under control. No sense worrying about it now.”
She was right, of course. But still, Leanne found the subject of Caelan’s grudge against the Monster coming back to her again and again as the day wore on. She wandered around the courtyard in the late afternoon sunshine, keeping one eye on the gates, wondering if the group of guards she saw leaving on horseback were being dispatched to investigate Caelan’s camp… none of your business, she told herself firmly. Pay attention to what actually concerns you. Like getting to know this Keep. She wandered the grounds a little longer, then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the castle proper, climbing up and down the winding spiral staircases that led up and down its many floors. Her cough was still troubling her, so she decided to visit the roof another day, heading down for dinner instead.
It was the first evening meal she’d actually had at the same time as the rest of the Keep’s occupants, and she was surprised by just how full the dining hall was with guardsmen, servants, scholars, and herbalists who tended to keep to themselves on the higher floors of the Keep during the day… there was something so pleasant and cozy about the way everyone packed themselves into the warm hall to dine together, ignoring the darkness that gathered outside. Against her will, she felt her mind straying to Caelan. Was he out there somewhere, all by himself, huddled up close to the paltry warmth of a fire with nobody but his horse for company? To give up the comfort of this kind of community… he really must be set on his vengeance. She felt a pang of sympathy for him, mixed with her fear for what he might do if he actually tracked down the Monster.
It seemed she wasn’t the only one who’d been thinking about Caelan today, however. She and Nancy found a seat at a table of guards, and she was shocked to realize they were all hotly discussing the subject of ‘the deserter’. The guardsmen, it seemed, believed Caelan had gone insane after his brother’s death. And when a tired-looking group of men came in through the doors to the hall and approached the Laird, she felt a hush fall over the tables as everyone in the room pretended not to be paying close attention to the conversation going on up at the high table.
Laird Donal was not unaware of the attention, it seemed. She could see him shooting slightly annoyed glances at the watchful crowd as he listened to the report from the guards, presumably the ones who’d gone out looking for Caelan that afternoon — Graeme was among them, his arms folded across his chest and an aggrieved expression on his face as he noticed, too, that the whole room was watching.
“News spreads fast,” Nancy whispered to her.
She nodded agreement, not sure whether to be amused or worried.
Finally, the Laird got to his feet, and the silence in the Hall became total. “Very well,” he said, giving them all a look. “Seeing as it’s clear nobody in this room can mind their own business…”
A roar of laughter went up at that, and the smile on the Laird’s face was tired but genuine. The people of Clan Grant loved their leader, Leanne realized, struck by the feeling of warmth in the room.
“These men have investigated news we’ve received of a former guard who’s been sighted around the Keep.”
“Caelan Grant?” someone shouted, and a murmur went up.
Laird Donal nodded, looking exasperated. “Aye, the very same, thanks for that. Our trackers found traces of his camp, but the man himself was nowhere to be seen.”
“If he’s out there, that means he’s still hunting her.”
That voice was louder than the others, and Leanne turned to see a broad-shouldered man with a worried expression standing in the doorway.
“I’d imagine that’s the case, Harbormaster, and let it be known that I share your concern.”
The man nodded and took his seat again.
“As some of you know, Caelan Grant believes the Monster responsible for the tragic death of his brother.”
“He’s wrong,” the Harbormaster called, brow furrowing — there were similar shouts of agreement from around the hall.
Nancy and Leanne exchanged glances, both of them warmed by the positive sentiment toward the Monster in the hall.
“I agree,” Laird Donal said firmly. “And furthermore, any harm to the Monster will be politically disastrous for us, as most of the people in the Keep well know. It took months to repair relations after the last time the creature came to harm as a result of human action. That aside, she is a friend and ally to us, who assists us in our work. We cannot allow her to come to any harm.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
“With that in mind, I’ll be dispatching a group of guardsmen — led by Graeme and Hamish — to find Caelan and bring him to the Keep. I’m hopeful he will see sense… but failing that, he’ll be held here to prevent any harm befalling the Monster.”
That said, the Laird sat down, giving a curt nod to Hamish and Graeme as he did so. She could see the worry on both men’s faces, didn’t miss the way they frowned at each other… neither of them liked this course of action much, either. Leanne bit her lip. On the one hand, the idea of Caelan being brought in and imprisoned was a relief. Nessie would be safe that way. On the other hand, she didn’t like the idea of a man already distracted by grief being imprisoned by the men who’d once been his brothers.