His father shrugged. “Why nae? If the Campbells sent a lass to spy for them, why nae have her accomplice be a female too?”
He practically sputtered. “’Tis ridiculous.”
His father turned his full attention on Niall. “Is it, son? Think on it. The lass swoons in your arms. Ye bring her home. Her story is that two of herwomenfriends helped her escape a marriage she doesna want. ’Tis very odd that her friends would just abandon her. We have nae been able to find those women.” He paused. “Mayhap that was one of them.”
“I doona think—”
“Precisely, son. Ye doona think.” His father smirked. “At least, nae with the head that is on your shoulders.”
Niall opened his mouth to respond, then clamped it shut. He didn’t want to get into that discussion.
Apparently, his father did. “Ye are besotted with the Campbell lass and ye canna think straight.”
“I am nae besotted!”
“Mayhap ye should just tup her and have it over with,” he continued as if he hadn’t spoken.
Somehow, Niall managed not to strike his father. “I willna take advantage of her.”
His father shook his head. “Ye always were too damn honorable.”
He bristled. “I didna ken that was a bad thing to be.”
“To a degree. The lass poses a danger if ye canna keep your thinking straight.” His father eyed him. “Remember Samson and Delilah?”
“Charlotte is nae Delilah.”
“But are ye as trusting as Samson?”
Niall wasn’t about to get into a Biblical discussion. “So what are ye really saying, Da? That ye want to turn Charlotte out on the streets? I’ll nae agree.”
The older man grinned. “Ye are only proving my point that ye are besotted with the girl.” His expression turned thoughtful as he looked back to where Charlotte was still sitting. “However, I agree we need to keep the lass with us. If she is a spy, we’ll learn it soon enough.” He turned to leave. “And then we can use her.”
Naill watched his father walk away, not liking either what he’d said or the tone he’d used. He was all too aware of how his father “used” people. He wouldn’t let that happen to Charlotte. He stepped out from the alley into the sunshine and started to make his way to Charlotte.
When they got home, Simon would have found out who the other woman was and that would be the end to this spy nonsense. No more questions or suspicion.
And he was not besotted. He wasnot.
****
The short ride back to Castle Dounie felt like a journey of a hundred miles. Charlotte had been quiet as if reflecting on something. Niall wanted to ask what that “something” was, just to assure himself it had nothing to do with the conversation she’d had with the young woman on the bench. Charlotte hadn’t even mentioned the incident, which he wasn’t sure was a good thing or a bad thing.
Then there was his brother. He’d been grim and tight-lipped ever since he’d met them at the carriage for the ride home. Niall couldn’t decipher the reason, either. If Simon had discovered that the young woman had turned out to be a Campbell or a Grant, wouldn’t he have looked happy that hemightbe right about her being a messenger? His dour expression also could be because he’d beenwrong. In which case, Niall would tell him—and their father—that he wanted to hear no more accusations against Charlotte.
The midday meal was ready when they got home, so Niall had to wait an agonizing additional hour while they ate and Greer filled them in on which neighbors were having problems. Then a missive arrived letting their father know that the siege at Stirling had been partially successful—the town had surrendered, but the castle remained in English hands. They’d retreated to the council room to discuss the implications of that, which took another hour. Finally, after the Fraser man who’d brought the missive left, Niall turned to his brother.
“What did ye find out this morn?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Of all the responses from Simon that Niall had mulled over, he’d not considered that one. “What do ye mean, nothing?”
“I couldna find the girl.”
“Ye couldna find—” Naill changed to a question. “How could ye nae find her? She was nae that far ahead of ye.”
Simon scowled at him. “When I got to the corner and turned, she was gone.”
