Page 71 of The Rogue’s Redemption

Reid broke eye contact with his father’s friend, but he’d seen something in Edmund’s gaze. If he fell in line—if he agreed with the counter-raid—he would be given the position he wanted.

But Reid had never liked to make things easy.

23

“Until the day I die I will not understand how you talked me into this,” Aidan said. Again.

“You’ve mentioned as much.” Allie looked up at the bright yellow-orange torches that lit the night sky. If Highgate was so named because of its position, Brockburg was even more impressively elevated. From the valley beneath it, she was forced to tilt her head up to see its outline clearly.

Aidan was determined not to spend another night on the road, so they’d ridden well into the night with the four men he’d insisted on taking to ensure her safety. By now, her stomach rumbled and her eyes had begun to flutter shut, a dangerous proposition atop a horse. She caught herself each time and sped forward, anxious to arrive.

“Graeme will kill me,” Aidan muttered beside her as they made the climb toward their destination.

“Unless I do it first,” she teased. “You’ve said nothing else for two days.”

He shook his head. “To think I’d always wished for a sister.”

She laughed then, her mood light as they approached the gatehouse. Though she and Reid had only been separated for a matter of days, it felt like much, much longer since she’d last seen him. And while her stomach was jittery and her palms moist with sweat, Allie could not be happier with her latest rash decision.

She’d been denied her entire life, but no longer. She was no longer the girl who’d obeyed her father so unquestioningly. And while she loved Gillian, she would not let her sister control her decisions either. Fortunately, Aidan had sympathized with her plight. Besides, as he had said, her father’s message needed to be brought to Brockburg anyway.

Why shouldn’t they be the messengers?

“If it were not for your father’s message—”

“You would be here anyway.”

He ignored her and spoke to the guard stationed atop the gatehouse wall. “Aidan, brother to Graeme, chief of Clan Scott, ally to Clan Kerr, requesting to be admitted entrance.”

Allie had expected a delay, but the massive portcullis immediately began to rise. Perhaps that shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The two clans had been neighbors, and fair-weather allies, for years. These men likely knew Aidan and Graeme as well as anyone, a fact that was quickly confirmed as they rode through the gate. One of the guards inquired about Graeme and another greeted Aidan as if he were an old friend. A third led them toward the stables as Allie looked around the large inner courtyard. Like Highgate, Brockburg was built in a circular pattern with buildings on all sides. The ground beneath them was cobbled, a sign of great wealth. Allie counted seven towers in addition to the great keep. It was much larger than Lyndwood, though less spread out.

Brockburg was an impressive stronghold.

“My lady?” A groom held up his hand, and she dismounted. They’d arrived well past the evening meal, and only servants scurried through the courtyard now, mostly on account of their unannounced arrival. A man approached them, and before she could see his face, Allie’s heart skipped a beat at the thought it could be Reid.

“Evening,” he said, coming closer. Not Reid. The man was smaller in stature, pleasing to the eye, and very clearly a man of the cloth.

“Father Simon,” Aidan said, holding out his hand. “Do you make it your habit to wander the courtyard at night?” he asked. The two obviously knew each other well, and now that the man had been identified by name, she recognized him from Reid’s stories about his home. He’d told her the priest had come to Brockburg years ago, and though his age was certainly not advanced, his intelligence and compassion made him beloved by all. Including Reid.

“As much, I presume, as you do arriving at such an hour with such a lovely companion at your side.”

Allie curtsied to him. “Father.”

He held out his arm to her, which she took immediately.

“I was returning from the hall to the chapel when I noticed your arrival.” He smiled kindly at her as he answered Aidan. “What brings you to Brockburg?”

As they walked toward the great keep, Allie’s bravado faltered.

“An urgent message,” Aidan said from over her right shoulder. “For your chief. And I am pleased to introduce you to Lady Allie Bowman, whose father brought the message to us.”

Father Simon looked curiously at her but refrained from asking why she would have been brought along, though he greeted her very graciously.

“God is with you,” he said as they arrived at the main door, which was opened as they approached it. “Toren is still here, but he leaves in the morning.”

She wanted to ask why but was afraid. “And Reid?”

The priest stopped, looked from Aidan to her, and seemed to understand immediately. At least, she imagined so by the way he was looking at her now. Had Reid spoken of her?