Page 35 of Much Ado About a Scot

Rhys smiled once more. “Exactly. Your little wife is more financially secure than she realizes.”

Xander frowned. “Once we get the money out of Graham, and that could prove difficult.”

“That’s why I also used your money to hire a solicitor and an accountant to look over the financial records of both estates and draft a new agreement. They will come to Gladmuir Hall tomorrow afternoon when the effects of our revelry have worn off.”

Xander met Rhys’s pleased gaze with his own serious one. “You’ve done well, but I doubt there will be much revelry for us. I found Bothwell. He is hiding in Graham’s house in the upper chambers. I also found a secret passageway that led from the Graham estate to the Seaton estate. I’m certain it was used to aid someone in poisoning both of Isobel’s husbands. The first died from eating foul grain, which is easy enough to make into bread for the man of the house to consume. And her second husband had a fit, which could have been brought on by any number of things being slipped into his food or drink.”

Rhys’s expression grew serious. “Why was Isobel not affected if their food was poisoned?”

“Isobel believes Rory’s death and that of several of the Graham servants came after consuming a meal at the Graham estate, food she did not eat as she was home nursing her newborn child.”

“And Ezra?”

“I don’t believe he was all that kind to Isobel, judging from some of her remarks about the man. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think she spent as little time near him as possible.”

“That’s not proof of anything,” Rhys said.

“Perhaps not, but I also heard Atholl, Montrose, and Graham talking at Gladmuir Hall the first night I arrived about eliminating possible threats over the past few years while spying on them. I’m certain they were talking about Isobel’s husbands. Then again today I overhead Atholl and Gowrie discussing a need to ‘make Isobel pay’ for some imagined wrongdoing. I believe they think she was the one searching the land grant records today. They were worried that something about that agreement might come back to them.”

Rhys grew thoughtful. “I hadn’t considered that aspect before, but what if the earls were the ones who destroyed Isobel’s original agreement so that they might use the additional funds to help support their effort to usurp the king? The funds would be untraceable as they would flow through the Graham estate and come out as they should, but instead of going to Isobel’s family they went to supporting Bothwell’s campaign.”

“And they saw any of Isobel’s husbands as a threat to their cause,” Xander concluded for Rhys.

“So why does Isobel pose a threat to Graham? Why is he determined to take back her land?” Rhys asked.

Xander narrowed his gaze in thought. “There are only two possibilities. Either Graham doesn’t know anything is wrong and is angry with Isobel and her father, assuming they were not managing the estate well, or he knows everything about the channeling of funds and is trying to hide the evidence.”

“The latter makes more sense. Why else would anyone have Isobel’s husbands murdered, or send the Letham brothers to try to steal back any evidence that they were diverting funds?”

“I agree. Whatever the reason, the situation is escalating. They might be preparing to attack King James and don’t want anyone or anything to stop them.”

“It is time to call in our brothers-in-arms—the rest of the Magnificent Seven, but are you ready to expose to Isobel who you truly are?” Rhys asked.

“She already suspects I am not being entirely honest with her, and while the harvest is not yet complete, I can send workers to help her with the rest.”

“But are you ready to say goodbye? Once we go after Bothwell, we will start a chain of events that none of us can turn back from.”

Xander nodded jerkily. “It is why we came here. It is our duty.”

“If you’re certain,” Rhys said faintly.

“I am.”

Rhys handed the rolled parchment to Xander. “Then I will leave this to you, and I will head for Redhouse Castle where our brothers-in-arms are waiting for this battle to begin.”

Chapter Fourteen

Dusk streaked red and orange across the sky as everyone gathered outside. Isobel and all the newly arrived servers from the village had set up long plank tables in the front yard of Gladmuir Hall hours ago. A head table had been set at the front of the house with four long tables running perpendicular from it.

Now that the feast was upon them, behind the tables, the orange and yellow flames of a bonfire lit up the night. Excited voices mixed with the snap and hiss of the flames and sparks gilded the night air.

The guests took their seats as the wailing of the pipes added a festive spirit to the celebration. Beside her, Jamie bounced up and down on his seat, excited to be attending his first party even though after tonight there would be no more richness or splendor.

But for tonight, she could pretend she had no more worries than the pretty village girls sitting at the table directly opposite giggling at everything one of them said. Reality would intrude soon enough—a reality where she was once more alone and where they struggled to put the simplest of meals on the table each night. But tonight, she would allow herself to experience everything, then hold those memories in her heart in the days and months ahead.

Isobel put her goblet to her lips and drank deeply, savoring the sweetness of the wine. Then Xander was suddenly before her. He was dressed in a brown muslin shirt and a tartan of red, blue, and green. He looked every bit the refined laird, from his clean-shaven cheeks to his hair that was pulled back at his nape and secured into a queue.

“You look enchanting tonight.” He took her hand and lifted it to his lips before his gaze connected with hers. Desire, stark and bold, reflected in his dark eyes. Heat came to her cheeks as he came around the table to sit beside her.