Page 72 of A Hellion for the Highland Hawk
“I should have asked that art teacher more questions,” Nancy added, her head in her hands. “Then again, it’s not like I knew what would happen.”
“Well, to be honest with ye,” Isla replied, coming to sit at the reading table with her. “When I look at that list, I daenae see how it can be anyone but Laird MacLeach. Aye, there are people in this clan who daenae favor him, but nae to the point of wanting to murder him.”
“Unless they make it look like it’s someone from Clan MacLeach, so the war will start again?” Nancy theorized. “Hunter told me that there are people who aren’t happy that it ended when it did, still seeking their revenge.”
Isla nodded gravely. “Aye, it’s a possibility.” She shuddered in her chair. “Och, I daenae like this one bit. I daenae ken how ye can be so calm. So brave, in truth. Ye must… care a great deal for him, to be goin’ to all this trouble to save him. It wasnae so long ago that ye were desperate to leave.”
Nancy cast the older woman a curious look, her cheeks warming. Did Isla know something, or was it plain for everyone to see that things might not be as fake as they’d first appeared?
“Nae that I’m nae grateful,” Isla blurted out. “I daenae want any harm to come to me nephew, but… it’s just interesting that ye’re the one leadin’ the charge. Are ye fond of him?”
A knock at the library door saved Nancy from having to answer, though the question lingered in her mind like a splinter as she turned.
Beathan raised a hand in greeting as he entered. “I hope I’m nae intrudin’?” he said. “Elsie sent me to find ye, Miss Kane.Apparently, shehasto ken whether ye want white flowers in the chapel or some color, and she has to ken now. I wasnae feelin’ bold enough to tell her that I’m nae her errand boy.”
He walked closer and reached out to touch the top of Freya’s sleeping head.
“Och, to be a wee bairn with nay one botherin’ ye, eh?” He laughed. “I cannae remember the last time I had a nap.”
“Babies and dogs have the best lives,” Nancy agreed, wondering what would befall Beathan if she sent a message back to Elsie that she wasn’t really in the mood to talk about flowers when she had a murder to stop.
Then again, Elsie didn’t know about all that, so Nancy would have to come up with a different excuse.
“What are the two of ye up to?” Beathan asked, his gaze wandering to the list. A surprised gasp left his lips. “That cannae be who ye’re invitin’ to the weddin’, unless ye want yer groom dead?”
Nancy cast a warning glance at Isla, who clamped her lips shut. The fewer people who knew about what might happen, the less chance there would be of word spreading to the would-be killer. Yes, Laird MacLeach didn’t live nearby, but it would’ve been foolish to think he didn’t have spies.
“It’s a list of who we should… watch out for on the wedding day,” Nancy replied diplomatically. “You know, with there being a lot of tension and all that.”
Beathan frowned. “Has someone made a threat?”
“No, no, nothing so bad. It’s more like… preparation for possible scenarios,” Nancy offered, wishing she’d thought to turn the list over when he came into the room. “I’d hate to start married life by having to send my husband off to war, or… well, being a widow.”
For a moment, she felt as if there were an elephant on her chest, a crushing weight that stole her breath away.
Visions of that wretched tapestry and her in her bloodied wedding gown flashed through her mind, but instead of woven figures, they were flesh and blood. Her, about to crumple to her knees as she stared at Hunter with a great sword through his chest, knowing she had failed.
Was that a premonition, or simply too many nights with too little sleep and stress levels through the roof? She prayed it was the latter as she put a hand to her heart, feeling its frantic beat.
“I wouldnae worry,” Beathan said. “The Laird can take care of himself.”
That’s what he keeps telling me.
Nancy mustered a polite smile. “Still, it doesn’t hurt to be… I don’t know, reassured.”
“Aye, quite right.” Beathan bent to kiss Freya’s downy hair. “Well, if ye want to make it to yer weddin’ day, I suggest ye go and find me sister before she finds ye. And if ye need any help with yer reassurance, ye just let me ken. Jack isnae tendin’ to his duties as he should, with Elsie botherin’ him about the weddin’ preparations, so I’m temporarily actin’ as man-at-arms until it’s over.”
He turned to leave, when a thought came to Nancy.
“Actually, Beathan,” she called, her voice halting him. “You couldn’t find me some maps, could you?”
He turned back. “Maps, Miss Kane?”
“Of the chapel and the surrounding area,” she clarified.
Beathan gave a small nod. “Of course, Miss Kane. I can have them brought to ye by this evenin’, if that’s of use to ye?”
“It is, thank you.” Nancy heaved an anxious sigh.
