“But that’snae why I’m here,” he continued, turning his attention to Angus, who had gone pale with fear. “I want Lewis. Where is he?”
“I dinnae ken,”Angus stammered. “He moves about. Changes locations every few days.”
Hector studied him for a moment,then removed his dirk from his belt. The blade gleamed in the torchlight as he examined its edge.
“Let me explain somethin’,”he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. “I am nae a patient man. Nor am I particularly merciful when it comes to men who hunt women like game.”
He approached Angus’s cell,the dirk still in hand.
“Every moment yewaste with lies is a moment closer to discoverin’ exactly how creative I can be.”
“Ye cannae torture us,”the brute protested from the other cell, though with considerably less conviction than before. “The law?—”
“The law?”Hector turned, his eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Ye mean the same law that prescribes drawin’ and quarterin’ for treason?” He looked back at Angus. “Abductin’ women to sell to depraved lairds… I believe that qualifies.”
Angus broke first,as Hector had known he would. The weaker of the two, with more brains than brawn.
“He’s gatherin’men,” he blurted, pressing himself against the wall as if trying to melt into the stone. “At the old McTavish ruins, north of Inverness. He’s convinced three lairds to support him—men who’ve participated in the hunts before. They fear ye’ll expose them.”
“Names,”Hector grunted.
“Laird MacDuffof the western hills. Laird Sutherland from the northern coast, and Laird Ferguson.”
“How many men?”
“Twenty—maybe thirty by now,”Angus continued, words tumbling out of his mouth. “Lewis plans to attack soon. He says that the lass is his property, that ye stole what was rightfully his.”
Cold rage surgedthrough Hector at the words, though his face remained impassive. “When?”
“I dinnae ken exactly,”Angus insisted, shrinking back as Hector took another step toward the cell. “Soon! Within the fortnight, he said. But that’s all I ken, I swear it!”
Hector studiedhim for a long moment, then re-sheathed his dirk. “For yer cooperation, ye’ll have a quick death rather than a lengthy one. Consider it a mercy.”
He turned to leave,then paused, glancing back at the two men.
“If I discoverye’ve lied about any detail, nay matter how small, I’ll return. And ye’ll both pray for the hangman’s noose as a reprieve from what I’ll do to ye.”
Without waiting for a response,he climbed up the stairs, his mind already formulating plans based on this new information.
Lewis had gatheredallies and was planning an attack. The wedding would need to happen immediately—not just for appearances’ sake, but to cement Gabriella’s position in the clan.
“Keepthem locked up until ye hear directly from me,” he ordered the guard, who had remained by the entrance, nodded nervously, bowing several times.
Without another word,Hector strode through the castle corridors, away from the dungeons, his jaw set with grim determination. His boots clicked loudly on the stone floor as he ascended the narrow stairs, the air growing warmer and clearer with each step.
Gabriella’s faceflashed through his mind unbidden—not frightened as he’d first seen her in the forest, but as she’d looked yesterday in the village, defiant and brave even as Lewis’s men closed in on her.
The thoughtof Lewis claiming her as ‘property’ made his blood boil anew.
Noah metHector as he passed through the halls, his expression shifting to alertness at the sight of Hector’s grim countenance.
“What news?”he asked.
“I plan to wed Gabriella. Seein’yesterday’s events, and now hearin’ that Lewis plans to take her, the weddin’ must happen sooner than planned. Tomorrow, if possible.”
Something like understandingflickered in Noah’s eyes, though he merely nodded again. “I’ll inform Lady McCulloch to make the necessary arrangements.”
“And haveAileen prepare Miss Patterson for breakfast,” Hector added. “The small dinin’ room, nae the hall. Half an hour.”
