Strangely enough, there was no anger in his tone, which was what she expected. He was perfectly calm, as if she were back home and he had caught her misbehaving.
“Ye may play at being a laird’s wife,” he continued, “but ye remain me daughter. And I willnae be defied by ye again.”
Margaret’s heart was beating harder now. She could feel that old fear chaining her, but there was also the effort of holding her ground before the man who had controlled her for her entire life.
“Ye have already been defied,” she snarled silently.
What followed was a pause that was as sharp as it was dangerous. She felt it more than heard it.
“Ye will come back tae me house,” her father ordered, and that initial calm sharpened into rage now. “One week from this night. The old road beyond the eastern ridge.”
Margaret’s breath stilled.
“Aye,” she said slowly. “I ken it.”
“Good.” His hand shifted slightly on her shoulder, and his fingers dug into her flesh. It was not enough to hurt, just to remind her that it might. “Ye will come alone.”
“I willnae.”
The refusal left her before she could temper it.
“Ye will,” he growled. “Or I will see tae it that yer sister’s…happiness… is very short-lived.”
Margaret went still as if she had been struck by lightning.
“What… have ye done tae her?” she demanded, but she knew that he was holding all the cards now.
“Naething,” he replied. “Yet. But I ken where she is. I ken that she lives with herhusband. I ken the house with the broken roof on the west side. I ken the flowers that she waters every morn. And I ken the cat that sleeps at her feet.”
Everything until the cat could have been mere coincidence. But once he mentioned Tom, Margaret knew. This was not a threat without substance. He gave her the location, the place where Eleonor and her husband had made their home.
Margaret felt the world narrow.
He kens.
“Now,” her father continued, almost mildly, “ye understand the necessity of yer cooperation.”
Margaret swallowed, though her throat felt tight.
“Ye… would harm her?” she asked, although she already knew the answer to that question.
He didn’t need to think about his response. “I would correct what ye have both endangered.”
The words struck harder than any blow.
“Come tae me,” he ordered again, “as I have instructed, or I will ensure she is found. And what follows willnae be gentle.”
Margaret’s hands trembled. She forced them still.
“And if I dae?” she asked. “If I come?”
“Then we may yet resolve this matter without further damage.”
There was no promise in it, only further implication.
Margaret drew in a breath, steadying herself.
“I willnae allow ye tae touch her,” she warned him.
