Page 18 of Highland Guard

She rubbed a hand over her forehead in a vain attempt to dispel a growing ache in her head. “Then I shall start praying my son stays close to his guards.”

“That would be helpful.” Seeing the pinch of pain on her face, he asked, “The letter was difficult to write?”

“Oh, aye. The hardest part was nay saying what I truly felt.”

“Go and rest.” He stroked her arm. “Now all ye need do is wait for an answer.”

“And find the one who betrayed us.”

“’Tis a woman, Annys. Look there first.”

“We already are.”

He waited until she was back inside the keep before going to look for Callum. That young man was not adored by just the children. All the maids tried very hard to catch his eye. The MacFingals had not been around long enough to gain any information and he had plans for those two that would put them on another trail. However, Callum was not going anywhere. It was time he set a skilled spy of his own amongst the people of Glencullaich.

Chapter Six

Harcourt did not know whether to laugh or curse when he found the MacFingals. He had been searching for the two men for an hour. Now he realized he should have gone to where the maids were first. Nathan and Ned were very busy trying to charm two bonnie maids into offering them their favors. If the blushes and giggles of the women were any indication, the MacFingals were close to succeeding in their quest. Although he had thought they would be a good choice to gain some information from the maids, something that might lead them to the traitor, Harcourt did not think they were doing that at the moment. They looked far more interested in warming whatever beds they found to sleep in. When Ned suddenly looked his way, Harcourt signaled him to join him and then impatiently waited while the two men took their leave of the maids in a way that left the women still giggling.

“Has something happened?” asked Nathan.

“Nay,” Harcourt replied, walking back toward the stables where he had begun his long search for the two men, both of them falling into step at his side. “I but need your reputed skill at finding things.”

“What have ye lost?”

“The trail of that bastard causing us all of this trouble.”

“Ah, aye, kenning where he is would be helpful. Ye think he must be close at hand, dinnae ye.”

“It would explain the ease with which he slipped away yesterday. I also think all these wee attacks, and annoyances, are meant to weaken us. Mayhap distract us just enough to nay see what his true plan is.”

Ned frowned. “And that would be?”

“To attack, to take what he wants by force and, I suspect, to make certain that Annys and Benet dinnae survive to continue to argue about his claim for this land.” He stopped, leaned against the side of the stables, and frowned. “He may think to just be rid of Annys and Benet to clear his path to the laird’s chair here but he has already failed to get hold of her and Benet is verra closely watched at all times.”

Nathan nodded. “He has also tried his luck with the courts and the king and gained naught.”

“So that leaves war,” Harcourt said. “If he cannae take Glencullaich easy, he will take it hard.”

“Ye think he may be gathering an army.” Nathan looked around at the men of Glencullaich working in the bailey. “I dinnae think these men are prepared enough to fight an army.”

“Nay,” Harcourt agreed, “but they are gaining skill every day. That may be something Adam doesnae ken. He saw us, judged our skill as a threat, but I dinnae think he has the wit to see that we could weel give some of that skill to these men. And he doesnae have enough respect for them to believe they could learn. These men may nay be full ready to repel an assault on this keep but they have the heart and stomach to do their best to try. Dinnae think Sir Adam kens that either. At least that is one weakness we might be able to make use of.”

“And ye want as much information on where he is and what he is doing as possible.”

“I do. E’en what alehouse he goes to or what maid he is swiving.”

“We will get ye what we can.”

Harcourt watched the two enter the stables to select their horses and sighed. The MacFingals had a reputation for their ability to spy or steal with a skill none could match. The clan had, more or less, stopped stealing since their laird, Ned and Nathan’s eldest brother, Ewan, was trying very hard to shine up the MacFingal name. The skill they had for spying, however, as well as their reputation for being fierce, skilled fighters, had proven very helpful to Ewan in getting some of his far-too-many brothers into good positions with other clans. Harcourt knew the necessity of what he asked of Ned and Nathan but hoped he had not put them in too much danger.

Nathan and Ned had soon selected their horses and packed their supplies. After wishing them a safe journey, Harcourt turned to go back into the keep only to catch sight of Annys. She stood watching the MacFingals leave, her soft, full lips curved into a small frown. Harcourt’s gut clenched with want as the memory of her kiss washed over him. It had been two long days since he had kissed her and she had done her best to avoid him since then.

That would stop now, he decided, as he walked toward her. He refused to be ignored. He wanted more than the occasional kiss snatched when he caught her alone at some weak moment. Harcourt decided he was going to seduce her and he smiled when he reached her side, looking forward to the challenge. The way she looked a little wary did not surprise him. He suspected he looked somewhat predatory, the hunter inside him revealing itself in his smile.

“Has something happened?” Annys asked. “Is that why Nathan and Ned are leaving?”

“Nay, nothing has happened.” He was not surprised that the question was so often asked around Glencullaich. “I just decided it was past time we kenned where that fool Adam is and just what he may be doing. Kenning where he is could be a great help. He slips in and out of your lands with far too much ease and disappears far too quickly. I want to ken how he does that.”