Page 29 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Bride

CHAPTER 29

“I dinnae care! Just get it done!” James shouted at Harris as he tried to explain that the guards were too exhausted to keep up the watch for another day.

He stormed away, kicking over a bucket on his way past the stables.

“Ye are bein’ unreasonable, m’laird, and I willnae have ye take it out on me men.”

James spun around to find Bram behind him, his arms flexed, broad shoulders tense as though ready for a fight. The guards behind him scattered to their posts leaving them relatively alone in the wide courtyard.

“Och yes?” he thundered. “And ye would ken what I am takin’ out on them would ye? I am doin’ me duty, I am protectin’ me people, I am?—”

“Ye are missin’ yer damn wife, man,” Harris growled, stalking toward him, stopping James in his tracks as he pointed a finger into his chest.

“Ye have been impossible since she left. She has been gone two days and already ye have smashed three glasses, made one maid cry, almost frightened Kenzie half to death with yer grousin’, and told me I’m a bampot five times!”

Harris was much smaller than James, but he felt himself backing away from him nonetheless.

“We are all workin’ to try and figure this out together, and ye are actin’ as though ye are the only man who can defend yer castle and yer bride. Well, ye cannae dae everythin’ alone, m’laird.”

James hit a post at the edge of the stable block, and it knocked the wind out of him, as did Harris’s words.

It is just like Maisie said. He thought. She told me she could help me, and instead, I dismissed her and sent her away to a place she may never return from.

James rubbed at his chest and the tightness that had formed in it. He watched Harris breathing heavily and squaring up to him as though he might fight him.

“I have been at yer side all our lives,” Harris murmured, keeping his voice low. “Yer faither abandoned his duties and left ye to tend to the estate while he went all over the clan with his mistresses. Maisie is nae a mistress and ye are nae yer faither.”

“Ye shut yer mouth if ye dinnae want a fist to the jaw.”

“Go on then,” Harris challenged. “Come at me, ye’ve been itchin’ for a fight all day.”

James looked at Harris’s loyal, firm expression and felt the fight drain out of him. His man was right. He was being a monster to everyone, and he missed Maisie terribly.

Even now he wondered where she was, what she was doing. Despite the danger for her, he would rather have her here with him than miles away with her father.

“Well? Are ye goin’ to fight me or nae?”

“I wouldnae wish to ruin yer beard,” James said softly, and Harris’s eyes turned from as hard as marble to soft in moments.

“The best chance ye have of gettin’ to the bottom of this is the man in the cells downstairs. If I were ye, I’d go and see why he’s so adamant that he’s innocent.”

James knew he was right. He had been avoiding visiting Marcus, leaving him to stew. He had hoped it would provoke a confession, but the man had refused to speak to anyone.

As James looked across the courtyard to the dark entrance of the cells he suddenly stiffened as he saw a female figure going down the steps.

“Ye ken, Harris? I think ye might be right.”

Harris raised his eyebrows.

“I didnae think I would persuade ye so easily.”

James nodded, already making for the place, pretty sure he knew exactly who was visiting Marcus.

Lillian’s figure was just visible at the base of the steps as she looked warily about herself. James hid behind the curve of the stairwell, keeping out of sight until she descended.

He followed, a dank smell permeating his nostrils as he walked down the long winding pathways of the dungeons. The moss and stagnant water meant the place reeked of damp.

He had felt guilty that he had subjected Marcus to this hideous place just to see whether it would flush Lillian out. But he was satisfied now that his decision had been justified.

He padded steadily behind her, keeping her just ahead of him, making sure he had enough space to step back if she turned to look behind her. The girl was out of her depth and seemed to have forgotten how much danger she was in.

Eventually, she arrived at Marcus’s cell, and James saw her pass him some bread through the bars.

As if I havenae fed the man he thought angrily. Does she think I am starvin’ him down here?

“ Lillian, what are ye doin’ here?” Marcus’s voice echoed out from the cell as he moved forward into the light.

James could hear the rats in the walls. He wanted Marcus to confirm she was to blame so he could get him out of this place.

“I came to see ye, Uncle, I am worried for ye. Aunt Jenny sends her love. She has been weeping since breakfast.”

“Ye shouldnae be here child, get out of this place. If the guards see ye, they’ll suspect I have been workin’ against the laird. Yer presence will only confirm it.”

“Has he mistreated ye?” she asked worriedly. “I cannae bear to see ye like this.”

“In fact, it has been quite the opposite. I cannae understand it. Laird MacLennan has almost been…respectful.” Marcus sounded truly baffled. “It is all right, child. Go back to yer aunt. This will all be cleared up soon. I am sure of it.”

James stiffened as he heard footfalls approaching from the other end of the tunnel. Ducking sideways behind some large barrels of mead, James lowered himself to the floor, hoping that neither Marcus nor Lillian had heard him.

He watched, intrigued, as Bram Wallace appeared at the end of the tunnel, his eyebrows raised in surprise as he saw Lillian.

“Miss Lillian,” he bowed briefly. “Ye shouldnae be here.”

“That was what I was tellin’ her.” Marcus said. “Please take her back to her aunt, Bram, before she is caught here.”

Bram stepped forward. “Are ye well?”

“I am alive. I am surprised the laird has been so civil given his suspicions, but he hasnae harmed me. Yet.”

“That is good. Ye ken I will tell ye if there are any developments. No one has found any proof yet.”

James’s hand moved automatically to the vial of poison in his pocket.

Maisie found proof. She is the only one who has even tried worth a damn.

Bram put a gentle hand on Lillian’s shoulder. James watched as Lillian leaned into his touch. He frowned as she took a step toward him. Closer than was appropriate.

“We should get ye back to yer aunt, me girl.” Lillian’s tear-stained face turned to his and she nodded her head, giving Marcus’s hand one final squeeze before they departed.

James kept his eyes on Lillian, convinced something was amiss. As he watched Bram walk her toward the rear exit of the dungeons, he felt compelled to follow them. Keeping his big body behind the barrels, he crept after them, staying out of sight.

Maisie’s leg was aching painfully as the carriage traveled the final half mile to the castle.

After her talk with her father, she realized that he was right. She had been running away at James’s behest. They could not work together, or find a way forward if they were separated.

A part of her mind was excited and happy that she was back. Returning to the townhouse had been strange. It had not felt like home. The castle made her feel at peace in ways she was unfamiliar with.

As the carriage came to a stop as they entered the gates, she alighted and looked about her eagerly.

The first person she saw was Jean as she came down the steps to meet her, looking puzzled but happy.

“Me lady,” she said in surprise. “I thought ye were nae returnin’ until… next week.”

“Where is the laird?” she said at once. “I wish to speak to him.”

Jean looked about her curiously as though she did not know. Her eyes fell on Harris, who was on the battlements with one of the guards. He was watching Maisie, but he was too far away to speak with her.

“He has gone down to speak with Mr. Guthrie, me lady,” Jean said confidentially. “He is in the cells below the castle.”

Maisie thanked her, walking purposefully toward the entrance to the dungeons without a thought as to who might be after her.

She was going to speak with her husband and get to the bottom of this once and for all.