Page 96 of The Scot’s Secret

After handing their reins to a groom, they made their way to the front entrance of the keep.

“You could at least not look as if you plan to kill someone at any moment.”

Alex’s answering expression was meant to convey exactly whom he planned to kill if Geoffrey wouldn’t stop talking. But his brother-in-law simply laughed.

“Greetings, my lords,” the steward said from the steps of the main keep.

The man was hiding something. And this time Alex knew exactly what it was. He would not be put off by feeble excuses.

“I want to speak to her,” he said simply.

The steward, large in both height and in girth, barely flinched.

“I’m unsure to whom you refer, my lord, but I can assure you—”

“We are not leaving without speaking to Lady Margaery.” The name was bitter on his lips, but he would not be put off. “Tell her—”

The man looked up so quickly, Alex nearly missed it. He followed his glance to an arrow slit just above them. She was there.

He took a few steps back and glared directly at the tower and the woman he knew was watching him. Alex would not leave Elkview until he spoke with her. Rage boiled inside him as he continued to look up. He ignored Geoffrey and the steward and waited. Two guards joined them, but still Alex stood, unmoving.

The door to the main keep finally opened, and his mother emerged. She walked toward them and placed a hand on the shoulder of the steward, who stood aside.

She had not changed much. She was still a beautiful woman who looked much like an older Catrina.

He hated her.

“Leave us,” she said, obviously expecting to be obeyed. Her men did so, but Geoffrey moved toward them. He was looking for Alex’s permission to leave, which he gave with a nod. Geoffrey left him alone with the woman who had abandoned him and Reid and Catrina and Toren when they’d needed her most.

She looked nervous.

Good.

“You are despicable.”

He’d dreamed about this moment for years—imagining what he’d finally say to her when he saw her next. He supposed it was as good a greeting as any.

“Good day, Alex.”

Her lilting voice, so serene, sounded exactly as it did in his memories.

“Good day? I would think not. Not for you. Nor for me.”

“You’re angry—”

“Angry?” He took a deep breath, his hands shaking with rage. “What could I possibly have to be angry about, Mother.”

“Let us speak privately—”

“So your new family does not overhear?” He looked around. “I understand you remarried. Do I have brothers? Sisters? You weren’t so old when you left your first family—”

“Alex, please.”

Alex could see her hands tremble ever so slightly. The fear in her eyes was real. He should not care. Did not care. But something about the way she looked at him made him relent.

He bowed, mockingly, a gesture for her to lead the way. She did not lead him into the hall, as he’d expected, but around the tower where he’d first seen her. A narrow passageway led them to a dirt-floored area surrounded by stone walls. An odd choice to host a long-lost son.

Or perhaps not.