“That’s what ye call it, do ye, Bobby?” interjected one of the other men. “Ye’re a mad man tangling with them Chinese. Peculiar lot, if ye ask me.”
“What happened?” prompted Col, leaning forward.
“Well, I was telling the story of the three Chinese warriors that were harassing people in the countryside about three months ago now. I showed this piece of cloth from their uniforms.” He produced a piece of blue quilted cloth from his pocket and laid it on the table. “When out of nowhere, this Chinese fellow sprang up and threw a dagger, pinning it to this very table. You can still see the hole here.” He pointed to the tabletop and the cloth.
“Aye,” corroborated Todd. “Fair scared the shite out of us, he did!”
“What did he want?” asked Col.
“Wanted to know where I’d got the cloth. Seemed to recognise it.”
“How tall was this fellow?” asked Col.
“Big for a Chinese, but not as tall as you, Laird.”
“And how old would ye say he was?”
“Hard to tell, they don’t tend to show their age much. But he wasn’t a young fellow, thirties or forties I’d say.”
Col nodded. It seemed to him this was likely the fellow Aihan was looking for.
“Any idea where he went?”
“After one of his men died in his arms, seems likely he went south, chasing after the others. But you’d know about that, my lord, it was your brother they was chasing.”
Col, in the act of swallowing, choked. After mopping his streaming eyes and blowing his nose from his coughing fit, he said hoarsely, “Tell me about it.”
“You didn’t know? Quite a hero, your brother, by all accounts. Took ’em on, all three of ’em, and bested ’em in a fight. He left to go south the next morning, and they followed him. Last seen in Edinburgh, oh, three months ago now, give or take. The big Chinese fellow came nosing around about six weeks ago?” Bobby checked with the others, and they all nodded.
Todd added, “One of his men came back, but he was mortally injured. Died in the street out there,” he waved his arm. “The big Chinese fellow was verra upset.”
“Damn!” muttered Col under his breath.That explains Merlow’s sudden departure then. Why didn’t he tell me what was going on? Typical of bluidy Merlow to keep things to himself.He couldn’t help a little rush of pride at the notion his younger brother had acquitted himself so well in a fight, though. Growing up, Merlow’s lack of interest in the manly sports of fighting, drinking, and womanising had made their father despise him, prompting him to call him a Jessie and other insults in an attempt to get him to “man up” to his standards. To Merlow’s credit, he took it on the chin and refused to buckle to the old man’s bullying.
“Well, that’s quite a tale, Bobby. Angus!” He called to the barman. “A round of ale for these gentlemen, please, on me.”
An hour later he headed back to Sceacháin House, the dogs trotting by his side, while he mulled over what to tell Aihan. Some version of the truth, but perhaps not all of it. Not, for example, about the death of the man in the street.How did he come to be mortally injured? Was that Merlow’s doing too?He didn’t want her haring off south if his brother was likely to be in any danger from her. He had no illusions that the little woman wasn’t lethal if she chose to be, and something told him she would likely hurt anyone who had hurt her relative.
He wished he knew what relationship lay between her and Liang. Irrationally, he fervently hoped he wasn’t her husband. If only to save him the shame of having inappropriate thoughts about a married woman. Just recalling the sensation of Aihan straddling his lap did things inside his breeches he hadn’t thought about in relation to a woman other than Cat since he’d met his wife fourteen years ago.
He descended the steps into the cellar and found his sons staring at Aihan through the bars of her prison. She was sitting cross-legged on the mattress, ignoring them, with her hands resting palm-up on her knees and her eyes closed.
“Athair!” said Rory, turning to him. “Who is she? And why have ye got her locked up?”
“Her name is Aihan, she is a Chinese woman looking for a relative. I locked her up because she attacked me in the park this morning.”
Rory crowed at this. “That slip of a lass felled the likes o ye?”
Col flushed and growled, “She took me by surprise.”
Rory guffawed in delight, slapping his thigh. “I’d have paid money to see that, Athair!”
“Aye, well, ye won’t see it, so never you mind. Get upstairs the both of ye, Fergus’ll have dinner on the table soon.”
Rory, still grinning from ear to ear, hove off, followed by Callum. Peace seemed to have been restored between them forthe moment. Which surprised Col somewhat. He’d thought the war would continue. He’d question them both separately later. Find out what they were thinking. He did need to pay more attention to them.
“Aihan,” he said quietly.
She opened her eyes and looked at him calmly. All the fire and agitation he had seen earlier seemed to have melted away. She rose smoothly from her position, like a flower unfurling its petals, and came to the bars.
