Page 46 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
“Trail’s cold,” Calum uttered grimly. “We tracked it back half a day then we lost it. Whoever passed through covered their tracks well.”
Archer nodded, his jaw tightening. “And Reid?”
Calum hesitated before answering, “He never crossed into our lands. Spoke with some of the traders and a few border sentries, but none have seen him.”
Archer swore under his breath.
“Still think it’s O’Gunn?” Calum asked.
“Aye,” Archer muttered darkly. “He’s mad but nae stupid. If he’s got McFair’s kin, he’s keepin’ him alive for leverage.”
Calum crossed his arms. “What do ye wish for me to do now?”
“Keep diggin’. Discreetly. If there’s even a whisper of his whereabouts or anything odd about O’Gunn’s movements, I wish to ken it first.”
“Aye, and the attempt and themishapat the forge?”
“Let’s keep that closer to home. The smaller the search, the better.”
“Ye reckon it’s one of our own?”
“The way they got in and out was too easy. They had to be, at the very least, aided by one of our own,” Archer explained smoothly.
“Their funerals are tomorrow.”
Archer nodded silently. He would go. Of course, he would go.
But funerals… well, he hated funerals most of all.
Calum sighed. “Lady Eileen is well. She is still quite… curious about her braither’s whereabouts.”
“She’s clever, is she nae?” Archer asked eventually.
“Aye, she is, to be sure,” Calum agreed. He raised a knowing eyebrow, leaving room for Archer to finish what was clearly on his mind.
“And so exhaustingly, bleedin’ stubborn!”
Both men huffed a chuckle.
“She’s clever, Archer. Ye have chosen well.”
“Ch—” Archer started to exclaim at the exact moment Eileen appeared.
He straightened. He felt as stiff as the two corpses would be in their caskets. Not even her rich brown eyes could melt the shell that had grown around him. Two men dead on his watch was a timely reminder that he had to be vigilant about what happened around him and within him.
“Me Laird,” she greeted, almost in a purr.
Her voice was low, hesitant, but mildly warm like honey that had sat out in the sun and was just starting to soften.
Archer’s eyebrows rose.
What is she up to?
“Good evenin’, Me Lady,” Calum said, dipping his head before leaving them alone in the solar.
“Good evenin’, Calum,” Eileen replied smoothly, her eyes fixed on Archer’s.
She stepped closer to him once Calum was out of the room—a bit too close—and tilted her head.
