"Where the devil is the money?" Alec demanded.
"I apologize for my lateness." The young guard's voice cracked as if he was nervous. "Here you are, sir."
The jingling sound of a leather coin pouch dropping into a palm reached Mairiana's ears, and then the tinkling of coins being stirred with fingers.
"Where's the rest of it?" Alec's voice was low but hard as steel.
"With all due respect, sir, you… you said I could keep half for doing such a risky job."
"You daft lad, this cannot be half," Alec growled. "How much did you sell it for?"
"The arms dealer refused to pay more than twenty pounds for it."
Alec quietly muttered a string of curses. "That damned dagger was worth a small fortune. The massive ruby in the hilt was genuine."
"Aye, but when I told him the price was two hundred pounds, he laughed and told me to get out. I tried to negotiate with him, but he would hear none of it. He said twenty pounds was his final offer. I took it because you told me to get rid of the dagger forthwith, before we were discovered."
"You imbecile," Alec hissed.
Saints! 'Twas true then. Tears burned Mairiana's eyes. Dugald had been right—Alec was a thief. She had trusted him. She had… loved him. But no more. If he'd lied about that, what else had he lied about? Her heart breaking, she held her breath for fear he would hear her. What would Alec do to her if he knew she eavesdropped and had learned he was behind the theft of her brother's priceless dagger?
"Give me the rest of it," Alec commanded in a low voice.
"What?" the guard asked.
"The rest of the money, you dimwit."
"I already spent my portion." The guard's voice trembled. "I owed a debt to the cobbler in the village. Shoes for my mother and sister."
"Liar," Alec growled.
"Sir? Wait… what…"
Mairiana could not identify the next sound until the guard gave a brief, gasping grunt. When she realized it had been the sound of a dirk stabbing through flesh and bone, icy terror paralyzed her.
"Bastard," Alec grated, sounding like a vile stranger. "No one betrays me."
More gasping and coughing.
The sound of a body slumping to the straw followed, then faint hints of pilfering and searching through a sporran and clothing. Straw rustled loudly, giving her an opportunity to lean over and peer through the crack. Alec was busy covering the body with straw. Saints! The guard was dead, surely. Fingers of revulsion crept over her and nausea welled in her stomach.
Alec hastened to the stall door, exited and latched it back, then his footsteps receded down the corridor.
Oh dear God in Heaven.Alec had murdered the poor guard. Her throat tightened and tears burned her eyes. 'Twas all she could do to hold back a retch. She covered her mouth. The man she thought she loved was a murderer, a thief and a liar.
She could never marry him. She had only known his façade. Not the real Alec.
Good lord, the wedding was to be in three days. How could she get out of it now? Alec would be furious if she left him standing at the altar. And if he knew she'd listened to him murder his own guard… he might even kill her, or threaten to, if she opened her mouth.
The wedding celebration would begin tomorrow, with feasting and dancing. The Lindsays' neighbors and friends from miles around would start arriving.
She would have to flee this place tonight and return home. Rornoch Castle was many miles away, several days' journey. She would have to travel alone—something she had never done. She knew no one here, beyond the Lindsays, and they certainly wouldn't help her escape. She had traveled to Lenor with Alec, his family and their guards. No one from her own clan had accompanied her.
The Lindsay clan would hate and revile her if she dared to break the betrothal now and call off the wedding. If one or both of her twin brothers were here, they would help her. Dugald orTòmaswould report Alec's crime to the authorities. Could Mairiana do that? She wanted to, but the local constable might be a beneficiary of the Lindsays' generosity. Besides, the clan would take their revenge against her. Even if he was a murderer, they would take his side. He was to be the future chief. He could do no wrong in their eyes.
How would she get through the portcullis and outside the curtain walls? The place was a fortress. Mayhap she could borrow a servant's clothes and slip out.
Someone walked by, outside the stall, leading a horse. She froze.
