Page 23 of Forever My Lass

“I sent my stable hand to Aberdeen yesterday to see if any of the hotels had you registered as a guest. No one had heard of you.”

“Well, that’s not a…good.”

As she stumbled over her words, Iain narrowed his gaze at her, and color filled her cheeks once more. This time, the flush was accompanied by an expression of guilt. Madeline shrugged slightly and bit down on her lip once more. Again, he was forced to suppress his physical reaction. What in God’s name was wrong with him? Narrowing his gaze at her, he leaned back against the edge of his desk, folding his arms across his chest.

“Why do I have the impression you really meant to say you aren’t surprised?” The observation made her jump slightly before she nodded.

“I’m not actually. Surprised that is.”

“Why?” At his clipped, single word question, the color vanished from her cheeks as she bowed her head.

“I can’t explain it.”

“What, can’t you explain?”

“How I got here.”

The resignation in her voice was accompanied by a helpless look that flitted across her face as she met his gaze for a split second, then looked away. Frustrated by her vague answers, he shook his head, and a twinge of pain tugged at his temples.

“Ye are nae making any sense.”

“Do you honestly think I don’t know that,” she snapped as her eyes flashed with frustration and a hint of fear. “It’s not like I asked to come here.”

“Ye said ye were on holiday.” Iain scowled with irritation at the way she changed her story from one minute to the next.

“I am. I was,” she said emphatically as she glared at him. A second later, her anger vanished and the helpless look returned to darken her features. “It’s complicated.”

“So ye said last night.”

“If you’re going to call me a liar again, I suggest you think twice about it.” Madeline’s mouth thinned with defiance as she glared at him. Frustrated, he scowled back.

“It is difficult nae tae think such a thing with the Destiny’s Dream on her way from Rotterdam to Aberdeen as we speak,” he bit out between clenched teeth.

The burr in his voice had thickened, which meant his anger was close to besting his self-restraint. Worst of all, his head was beginning to ache again. A slight pain, but an unpleasant one. Why did the woman insist she’d been on the Destiny’s Dream when the damned ship had just set sail from Rotterdam this morning?

It was not his imagination that he’d faced an old terror to pull her out of the angry sea. Deep in the back of his brain, a voice tried to convince him to accept her evasive explanations. He swatted the foolish notion aside and winced at the twinge of discomfort it caused. When she didn’t respond to his comment, he glared at her.

“Damn it, woman. Tell me the truth. How did ye come tae be in the water if ye weren’t on the Phoenix Rising?” He immediately regretted raising his voice as his head protested. The throbbing had escalated quickly and was now a full-on assault inside his head.

“I don’t know,” she said in a voice that pleaded with him to accept her at her word. “I wish I had an explanation. I really do. But I don’t.”

“And yet your lack of explanation leads me tae believe you’re lying or hiding something.”

“I am not lying.” Madeline spat out the words in bitter objection as she sprang to her feet with suppressed outrage. She took a step forward, then quickly retreated as her anger evaporated, and a silent plea for understanding darkened her expressive eyes. “I don’t expect you to believe me. I’m having a hard time believing what’s happening myself.”

Her last comment was barely above a whisper as she met his gaze. It was rare for him to forgive a lie, but damn if he wasn’t close to doing so with this woman. The fear, confusion, and bleak despair on her lovely face said her protests were sincere.

Iain turn away from her and moved to stand in front of the fireplace. Perhaps if she wasn’t facing him, it would be easier for her to answer his next question. As he studied the flames licking their way across the logs, he considered his words carefully. Iain cleared his throat, but kept his back to her.

“Do ye remember what ye were saying when I reached ye on the beach yesterday morning?”

The question was met with an uneasy silence, but he remained still. The stillness was suddenly broken by the chime of the mantle clock. It echoed in his head as if he were standing next to a church bell. Iain stretched out his hand to touch the timepiece’s smooth wood casing, silently commanding the normally quiet ring to stop. When the clock finished sounding the hour of three, Iain drew in a deep breath of relief. A moment later, her soft voice filled the air between them.

“Yes, I remember.”

Startled that she’d actually answered him, Iain almost spun around on his heel to face her. He managed to prevent himself at the last moment.

“Tell me why ye questioned the year.”