"'Twasthe wolves,m'laird," one of the guards said, his face a grimace of disgust. "We came upon them in the wood. Had to scare the depraved beasts off the poor bastard."
"Damnation." Rebbie ground his teeth. What a horrible fate for the man. Aye, he was a traitor and caused Calla to be captured and hurt, but Rebbie had never wished this sort of gruesome death on him. And of course, now he couldn't question MacFadden aboutClaybourne'splans.
"We also found this lying a few feet from the body." The guard handed him a heavy sack of coins.
Rebbie frowned.'Twasa lot of coin for a man such as MacFadden to be carrying about. He opened it and found large gold and silver coins, along with a small piece of folded parchment. He took it out and read it, rage crawling through his veins. A note in which Claybourne promised to pay MacFadden ten-thousand pounds if he rescued Lady Stanbury,his betrothed.
Bastards.A lot of good this scheming had done either of them.
"Does MacFadden have family hereabouts?" Rebbie asked.
"Aye, a cousin in the village. We sent a man to tell her."
Rebbie nodded. He would use this pouch of coins to pay for any burial expenses required, then he would divide the rest between the family of the guard MacFadden had killed, the guards who had brought MacFadden in, and his cousin.
The guards wrapped the plaid tightly aboutMacFadden'sbody and carried him through the gates, toward the village.
"Hell," Rebbie muttered, wishing he could dispel the sense of grisly dread hanging over the place along with the gray morning mist.
***
Mistress Hillman bustled into Calla's bedchamber carrying a tray of food. "A good morn to you, m'lady," she said in a somber tone.
"Good morn. Is everything all right?" She'd wondered at the housekeeper's distressed tone earlier just before Rebbie had rushed out.
"Well, I suppose I can tell you since he was the cause of you being kidnapped and injured. MacFadden is dead."
"In truth? Who killed him?"
The housekeeper frowned, looking worried. "I'd best let the laird tell you what happened."
"Very well." Calla was unsure how she felt about MacFadden being dead. He was an odd man, to be sure, and he'd tricked her into going outside soClaybourne'smen could snatch her. But she hadn't imagined someone would kill him for it.
"And how are you feeling this morn?"
"Better." Calla pushed herself up and sat back against the pillows.'Twastrue, her head didn't pain her as much.
Mistress Hillman placed the tray containing a wooden bowl of porridge, bread, and a cup of ale before her. "Do you think you can manage it?"
"Aye. I thank you."
"Oh, no thanks necessary, my dear." The housekeeper's kind and affectionate tone touched Calla. "We're glad to have a lady in the castle again and we're hoping the laird makes you theofficiallady of the castle very soon."
Calla's face heated. Instead of commenting, she took a bite of the porridge.'Twasindeed bland, but she supposed 'twas for the best considering her stomach was not in the best condition after her head injury and the dizziness.
Mistress Hillman straightened the items on the bedside table. "'Tisclear to me he cares for you a great deal."
Calla shrugged, though the very thought that Rebbie might care for her near made her giddy.
"And you care for him, do you not?"
She could not lie. "Aye. He is a good man."
"That he is. And he's in need of a lady wife. You two make a fine looking pair."
Unsure how to respond to that, she kept silent and ate faster.
"I think I'll speak to his father about it."
