Page 37 of Highlander’s Haunted Past

“I had been alone fer barely any time at all! I went straight from her room to ours. I undressed, I had some wine, I sat by the fire for a spell, and then there ye were!”

“So then deny the accusations. Here and now, put my mind at ease,” Rob pleaded, reaching out for her, but her blue eyes were so full of anger that his fingers halted in mid-air.

With one final glare at him, Kenna spun and marched herself across the room and began tearing into the linen-wrapped packages, pulling from them a few fresh shifts and petticoats before she found a dress.

“Since I am unable to be trusted alone in this room, I’ll go dress and stay in Florence’s. If that is acceptable, at least. I am sure ye would like me out of yer way so ye can go flex with the other men and decide what to do with me.”

She didn’t give him a chance to reply before she gathered the clothes and left.

* * *

Rob was ready to mark down this day as the worst of his life, and it wasn’t even close to being done. It had been hours since he and Kenna had returned from the Queen’s house, but he would have believed it if someone told him it had been weeks.

While Kenna and Florence hid themselves away, surely unleashing a fury of nasty complaints against him, Rob and his father had taken over the first floor of the inn. The tables were soon covered with discarded documents and half-eaten meals. The men wrote messages to everyone and anyone who they thought might receive them with an open mind, focusing most of their attention on the men in the Queen’s inner circle. They needed help, advice, and information that would either clear Kenna’s name or prove her guilt, once and for all.

After many messages back and forth, one of the Queen’s advisors finally granted them access to the messenger, allowing the Fraser men to question him for themselves. The advisor sent the notice with plenty of hesitations, reminding them that there was very little chance that they could coax information out of the man better than the Queen’s torturers had, but the men jumped at the chance all the same. At the very least, it got them back into the Queen’s house, back to where the real discussions were happening.

Though Rob was quick to reveal the good news to Florence and Kenna, he was still met with a pair of twin glares. When he asked Kenna to follow him, Florence did her best to object. She called him names that would have made even Murtagh blush, but Kenna had stayed silent. She didn’t ask him where they were going or why; she just got up and followed him out into the streets of Aberdeen.

Twilight had descended over the city. The thin veil of purple light had a way of making even the worst of the city look beautiful. The streets were nearly empty, and music poured from the windows of inns that were bursting with laughing men. It might have been the ideal time for a pleasant evening stroll with his wife if the circumstances were different. They could have gone up and down the streets, hand in hand, pointing out shops and prettily built houses while they flirted and hinted at what would happen once the walk was over. Instead, she was half a stride behind him, her arms crossed defiantly, sparks of anger flying from her eyes whenever he dared to cast a sidelong glance in her direction.

Rob led them toward the center of town, turning carefully down side streets to avoid crossing in front of the Queen’s house. At last, they turned down a street filled with nearly identical houses. Each was just as large as the one before and built of red stone. The only differences between them were the patterns of ivy snaking their way up the sides, for even the wealthy men that lived on this street could not control the whims of mother nature. The house they stopped in front of was unique only because of the ornate ‘S’ carved into the front door.

“Where the hell are we?” Kenna asked as she looked up at the house.

“I thought ye might enjoy spending the evening in the company of the Earl of Sutherland.”

“Ye mean an evening of being watched by a source that would lie to neither ye nor the Queen?”

Rob had nothing to say. It was the truth, after all. The Earl of Sutherland did not trust Kenna, so it was unlikely that he would allow her to do anything that could result in the release of a treasonous message. But Sutherland also seemed to be an honorable and pragmatic man. If another bit of treachery was discovered while Kenna was in his care, Sutherland would surely defend her and urge the Queen and her advisors to continue looking for the true culprit. For Rob, it was a perfect and easy solution to leave Kenna there for the night while he and his father moved their investigation out of the inn. Rob had written to Sutherland as soon as the advisor granted them permission to question the messenger, and he had returned the request to spend the evening with Kenna quickly and with enthusiasm.

“Ye two always seem to get on quite well. I thought ye might have an agreeable evening.” Rob gave the door three quick knocks and heard a small stir on the inside.

“Aye, ‘tis going to be quite the ball. An evening so full of fun, who kens if I’ll ever want to return to ye,” Kenna said, smoothing down her skirts.

Her new dress was quite the sight. Though made from a simple cotton, it was dyed a rosy shade of pink that brought out the blue in her eyes and made her hair look even darker than it was. A criss-cross of white ribbon across the bodice managed to accentuate both the size of her chest and the thinness of her waist. Rob wanted to tell her that she was beautiful but doubted it would give her any pleasure.

“I’ll be back as soon as I am able.” Rob pulled her close and kissed her quickly before she had the chance to take a swing at him.

The door opened, and a young lass curtsied at them before inviting Kenna inside.

Kenna nodded in acknowledgment, a stiff smile forced upon her face, and she began to follow the lass inside.

At the last second, she turned. “Enjoy this time we are apart. Our reunion will be most unpleasant.”

Rob smiled, knowing how bilious it was for him to be looking forward to it.