"Sacrebleu, Angelique," Camillemuttered. "I do not wish him to know."
Lachlan raised a brow. "Why not? Who is thelucky man? And what has this to do with the dagger?"
"This dagger belonged to the man she loves,"Angelique said.
"Och. In truth?" Lachlan frowned. "Who ishe?"
"Dugald MacKerrick," Camille saidquietly.
"The bastard who kidnapped you?" hedemanded.
"Remain calm,mon coeur," Angeliquepurred. "He is not such a bad man."
"You will not convince me of that. If you askme, he should be in the tolbooth. Or, better yet, in mydungeon."
"The dagger is the reason he kidnapped me,"Camille explained. "It was stolen from him. He thought I was thewife of one of the possible thieves. He was merely going toexchange me for the dagger. He meant me no harm. And when herealized I was not who he thought I was, he treated me like a guestand said he would bring me home."
"This dagger was stolen from MacKerrick?"Lachlan asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Oui.The Lindsay clan had beenvisiting his castle because his sister became betrothed to ChiefLindsay's son. Someone in their party stole it and then evidentlysold it to the shop owner in Perth. One of Dugald's men tried tosteal it back and was arrested."
"I see."
"I will never see Dugald again and I simplywished something of his to keep," she admitted, sadness weighingher heart.
"Or…" Angelique's green eyes sparkled withmischief. "You could pay him a visit and give his dagger back tohim."
Camille shrugged, though her heartbeat spedalong. "Mayhap, one day."
"Non. Soon, before he marries somesilly lass. Lachlan would take you, would you not,moncher?"
He blew out an annoyed breath. "I don't trustMacKerrick in the least. He's a blackguard."
"He is not the first Highlander to kidnap awoman. It is done all the time," Angelique reminded him.
"Aye, but 'tis a loathsome practice."
"Are you saying you would not kidnap me forthe right reasons?" Angelique asked.
"Well…" He considered, raising a brow. "Notto use as leverage to trade for a weapon. If I had abducted youfrom your guardian, the king, because I wanted you for myself, thatcould've been a fatal mistake."
Angelique rolled her eyes. "I do not faultDugald for abducting Camille, nor does she. He treated her well. Hedid not hurt her."
Lachlan studied each of them for a longmoment. "You can have the dagger, Camille." He handed it to her."But I'll not be taking you back to that knave. If you decide to goyourself, with a large guard, that is your decision and I'll not beresponsible."
With reverence, Camille held the daggerwithin her hands, mesmerized by its sparkling beauty. It was wellworn and obviously ancient but also well preserved and taken careof. "How much did you give for it? I will pay you back."
"Don't fash yourself. I got it at a bargain.Consider it a gift." He sat down on the nearby settle.
Angelique joined him, snuggling into his armsand kissing him on the cheek.
"Merci. I thank you, my laird."Camille stood and curtsied.
"You're most welcome. Don’t get yourself intotrouble with it."
"I won't." Camille excused herself and leftthe two lovebirds alone.
She hurried to her chamber where the maidshad lit several candles. She closed the door, sat on a chair by thenewly kindled fire in the hearth and examined the dagger's hilt inthe flickering light. She stroked her thumb over the smooth rubystone. Carefully, she withdrew the dagger from the scabbard whichfit it perfectly. She had never seen a blade so curved. As theflames burned brighter, she noticed something in the blood grooveof the blade. A beautiful swirling design. She tilted it to bettersee the pattern.Non!Those were words engraved into themetal. She did not recognize them. A foreign language. She turnedthe blade over to examine the other side. More words engraved,almost hidden in that groove. Leaning closer, she started torecognize letters and then a French word…sang."Blood," shewhispered. "What?" She squinted, angling the dagger toward thefirelight. More French words, in thelangue d'oïl. She hadlearned a bit of it from a tutor many years ago, but she could notmake out every word. Not in this low light. But at the end…Coeur de Lion.
