“I’m Charlotte—”
“MacGregor,” Niall said before she could finish. “She’s visiting us.”
“MacGregor, is it?” Keir looked at him. “’Tis a bold lass who’ll admit to the name in these times.”
Better than telling you she’s a Campbell. But he didn’t say the words. “Her…da sent her this way.” He ignored the look Charlotte gave him. It was true, in a way. She wasfleeingfrom her father, according to her.
“For safety,” Greer added quickly.
“There’s that.” Keir nodded. “Ye’ll be safe enough among us. We’ve nae liking for the English telling us what to do, particularly in wantin’ us to turn in our clansmen.”
Charlotte smiled weakly. “That’s good to know.”
“How long will ye be staying?” Fiona asked.
It sounded like an innocent enough question, but Fiona’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. What she really meant wasWhen will Charlotte be leaving?
Niall tried to mask his own expression. He’d made the mistake of kissing Fiona under the mistletoe at Yule. Even though she had maneuvered him into position, he couldn’t say he hadn’t gone along with it. The lass was comely. The kiss had been…interesting. Not interesting enough that he wanted to indulge further, even if his father thought it would be a good pairing. Besides, Keir was his friend who’d probably kill him if he didn’t marry his sister. Unfortunately, Fiona was headstrong and had definitely let him know she was available for more sport. Her question was a loaded one.
“I’m not quite sure,” Charlotte said.
“For awhile though,” Greer said blithely, obviously unaware of the undercurrent. “There’s still a risk to MacGregor women closer to the border.”
Fiona smiled again, although to Niall it looked somewhat feral.
“Aye, I suppose ye wouldna want the mark on your face,” she said to Charlotte.
“Of course she wouldn’t!” Greer exclaimed. “What female would want to be branded because of her name?”
Niall thought Charlotte’s color faded at that remark, and he wondered if she didn’t know about the heinous procedure or if she had suddenly realized the danger of the name she’d assumed.
Keir was right, though. This far north, Scots weren’t about to turn in one of their own to the English. Charlotte would be safe here.
However, the hair at his nape prickled when he saw Fiona was still studying Charlotte with an analytical look in her eye.
It seemed he was to play the valiant bodyguard after all.
Chapter Five
Charlotte tried not to be obvious about her eavesdropping on the conversation between Niall and his brother after dinner that night, but if she were going to be of any help at all in preventing the massacre at Culloden, she needed to gather as much information as she could and as unobtrusively as she could.
Luckily, the men had not retreated to the privacy of their council room—or the War Room, as she liked to call it. Instead, they were seated near her and Greer beside a roaring fire in one of the hearths in the Great Hall. The weather had turned surly after they returned from shopping in Inverness. The wind was howling and the snow was blowing in white-out conditions.
Somewhat like it would be on that fateful day just three and a half months hence.
“The missive Da received said General Murray decided to split the army into two parts on the advance to Stirling,” Simon said. “I wonder how the prince is going to react to that.”
“If he’s wise, he’ll listen to the man. He commands the Atholl Highlanders, and they are one of the strongest forces the prince has.”
“Aye, but ye ken when Lord Murray returned from exile, he was appointed sheriff depute for the English before he crossed the line to us.” Simon glanced over to where Charlotte sat. “And he approved the 1707 Union.”
Charlotte pretended not to notice, but her ears burned and not because of the fire’s heat. She was a Campbell and—in this time—a government ally, but she could hardly explain that shewasn’tfrom this time.
“I doona think anyone will doubt his allegiance now,” Niall said.
“Mayhap, but I wonder if his men are in agreement with dividing the army. The lord doesnae like to accept advice.”
Niall shrugged. “He probably relies on his own experience, which is considerable.”
