She groaned, throwing her head back and staring at the ceiling for a beat. If she stayed without telling Darragh, he might be more inclined to listen to her father. Staying quiet might end up putting her in greater danger.
Perched on the window seat again, Amelia pulled her knees to her chest and rested her cheek on the top of them. As she scanned the tree line again, she remembered something that Mrs. Rowan had mentioned in passing. When Flora and Lucas departed, the keep would grow busier as they prepared for the annual fox hunt.
She said that she dinnae ken how she was goin’ to keep track of Isla.
“If it’s anythin’ like what happened when me father held hunts in the North, this place will be overflowin’ with activity,” she reasoned, leaning forward as she caught a glimpse of a snow-white animal weaving in and out of the trees. She couldn’t quite tell what it was, its fur simply reflecting the moonlight. “The guards and maids will be stretched thin… the gates will be open… the hills will be crowded.”
It’s full of distractions.
As the animal darted deep into the forest and further away from the moonbeams, Amelia realized what she had to do. With all of the movement and confusion, she could slip out. No one would realize that she was gone until it was too late for them to do anything about it.
“It’s survival,” she said to the retreating form of what might have been an apparition rather than an animal. “That’s all this is.”
Despite speaking it, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she was running. Standing up and closing her curtains, she wondered if there was a difference. Darragh had said he’d protect her, but an irrational part of her mind told her that she was nothing more than a pawn to him.
I’m nae runnin’ from anyone. I’m savin’ me own hide.
As she crossed the floor to begin snuffing out the candles, the sound of authoritative knuckles on her door made her jump. Pressing her hand against her chest, she turned toward the sound. For a moment, she considered pretending that she was asleep. But then, the knocking came again. Louder this time, more insistent.
I suppose there’s nay avoidin’ this.
* * *
“Shouldnae ye be with yer wife?” Darragh asked, looking away from the reports in front of him to glance at Lucas. “Ye let the lass drink quite a bit of yer scotch.”
“She’s restin’,” Lucas said easily, his arms crossed over his chest. “There’s nae much I can do for her while she’s sleepin’.”
“Ye could sleep next to her,” Darragh replied without missing a beat. “Ye’re on holiday.”
“Shouldnae ye be gettin’ some rest yerself?” Lucas countered, walking into the study and taking the seat directly across from Darragh. “And ye’re well-aware of the fact that lairds daenae truly get to have holidays. Breaks are only that in name.”
Darragh scoffed, the sound the only acknowledgment of that truth that he was willing to offer. “Perhaps I should be,” he said slowly as his eyes shifted back to the most recent acquisitions that Clan Mackenzie had made. “But I kent I wouldnae be able to sleep until I’d read through this.”
“I’d argue that’s goin’ to make it harder for ye to get any rest,” Lucas replied as he leaned forward. “But I’m sufferin’ from the same ailment as ye. Anythin’ of note?”
“Seems he’s lookin’ to trade for grain,” Darragh observed, pulling out sheets of parchment and passing them to Lucas. “Lumber as well. Seems me men stationed in the north have been keepin’ an eye on his activities for a wee bit. Over the last few months, he went from bein’ completely silent to comin’ into a large sum of money out of nay where.”
“And that’s how he was able to purchase the debts of other clans,” Lucas concluded as he scanned over the document in front of him. He tapped his fingertip against the sum scrawled across the trade report. “Any explanation on how he came into that money? As far as I kent, he was strugglin’. He had more than one trade agreement fall through. Clan Mackenzie was hemorragin’ money. It’s nae like he had any assets that were worth anythin’.”
“Nay, I’ve nae come across any information about that.” Darragh gestured to the short stack of parchment beside him. “I’m hopin’ I’ll find the answers I need, but it wasnae in any of these pages. I’ve only two more that I havenae read, but I’m nae confident it’s anythin’ more excitin’ than which trade routes he’s interested in next.”
“Do ye mind if I take a look at what ye’ve already checked?” Lucas asked, already reaching for the documents. “It is late, and ye were a wee bit greedy with yer scotch.”
“Ye’re far too comfortable helpin’ yerself to me information,” Darragh said, making no move to stop his ally. Having a second set of eyes that he respected on the information felt like common sense. “Ye’re lucky I trust yer strategic mind.”
“I wouldnae be so interested if it werenae for the way Amelia looked when she heard the messenger,” Lucas pointed out, settling back in his seat, his eyes scanning over the lines of writing.
“So ye noticed as well,” Darragh replied, watching Lucas’s face. All of his senses were sharpened to a point. His need for outside perspective was at odds with the inexplicable desire to keep the other man out of Amelia’s affairs. “Though, I suppose she wasnae as subtle as she believed she was bein’.”
The other man didn’t look away from the pages. “Aye. Seems as though Laird Mackenzie may have somethin’ to do with the hunt we rescued the girls from. Flora told me that she doesnae ken the name. She may ken him if she sees him, but I’m nae goin’ to go searchin’ for him.”
Ach, so he doesnae ken nor assume that Laird Mackenzie has personally done somethin’ to Amelia.
“It’s probably best practice to nae let the girls near him if we daenae have to,” Darragh decided, leaning back and crossing his arms. He swallowed around a knot of rage. “Nae until we’ve gotten more information about him. There are too many gaps in the information we have. Me men will be instructed to probe deeper into his business.”
“I’ll inform me men as well.” Lucas set aside the first piece of parchment, moving onto the next without looking up at Darragh. “I can leverage me allies, nae let them ken the real reason I’m lookin’ into him.”
“The fact that his actions are sure to alter trade routes for nearly all of us is reason enough to be askin’ about his intentions,” Darragh said with a frown. “I wouldnae be surprised if there arenae other investigations launched into his behavior already.”
