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“I’m sure it will,” Jane said. “But Caleb will probably be too busy to let it bother him. He’ll be going after Bohdan. The mission isn’t quite finished.”
“And you’ll be worried.” MacDuff paused. “I don’t have to tell you that no one is more able to take care of himself than Caleb. He’s…remarkable.”
“No, you don’t have to tell me.” And right now, she couldn’t talk any more about what might wait for Caleb when he returned to that monster Bohdan. “I’ve seen what he can do.” Her gaze went back to the painting of Fiona on the wall. “But evidently I’m not going to be able to do anything about it, any more than I can help Fergus or any of your men here at the Run.” Her voice held a tinge of bitterness. “According to both Caleb and you, I’m not equipped for anything more demanding than sitting here and waiting in case, God forbid, someone has to rescue me. And because I’ve been put in a position where you or your men could be hurt if they’d have to do that, I’ll play your game.”
He gave a low whistle. “You’re very pissed off, and now I’m being thrown in with Caleb. I think I resent that, Jane.”
“Tough. That’s because you’re behaving like Caleb, and you should know better.” She added through set teeth, “We’ve been so close through the years. I first came here to trace Cira, the founder of your family, when she fled here from Herculaneum. I helped you find your family treasure and deliver it to the Bank of Scotland. You were there when Eve and Joe were married. There were so many other times we’ve been there for each other. You know damn well I can take care of myself.”
“Sometimes logic doesn’t enter into it,” MacDuff said. “And I can almost sympathize with Caleb in this moment. Unfortunately, you’ve had an even more colorful history with him than with me. I hope you were equally venomous to him last night. It would only be fair.”
“He knew I wasn’t pleased.”
MacDuff shook his head. “But he’s your lover, and you were afraid that it might be the last time you heard from him.” He sighed. “So you stored it up and attacked me.”
She stared at him in frustration. Damn, he was smart. “I didn’t mean…It wasn’t like that. It was just that neither of you will let me—” She broke off as she saw him smile. “I didn’t realize it. I’m sorry. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
“I’m sure you will,” MacDuff said gently. “You always do. As I said, sometimes logic doesn’t enter into it.”
“Well, I can start with Fiona.” She took a step closer to the portrait. “That’s why I’ve decided not to make my presence here any more difficult than I have to for all of you. I’ll stay inside the castle for the most part instead of moving freely around the grounds.”
His brows rose. “No moreMist Child?”
“If I choose, I can finish the painting here inside the castle.” She smiled. “Or I can give the sketch to you for being so kind as to shelter me. But, as I said, I’ll be spending most of my time with your Fiona until I solve her puzzle. It will give me something to do if I need the distraction.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’ll want to know more about her. Do you have any family literature about Fiona? If there’s such a mystery, there must have been some kind of historical data to document it.”
“There are a few books about her.” He made a face. “Actually, I have to admit that I haven’t been entirely honest about Fiona. I guess it’s time I cleared up the small discrepancies I might have made regarding her history. Come along to the library and we’ll talk and I’ll give the books to you. You may know more about her than you think. I’m sure I’ve mentioned her now and then. Fiona made her mark on this place. It was one of the reasons I could detect a resemblance between the two of you.” He smiled. “I’ll even give you a cup of tea while I tell you all that I personally know about her. She’s one of my favorite ancestresses, and I’ve been studying her in-depth since I thought I discovered the connection with you.”
“Which didn’t exist,” Jane said firmly.
“We’ll see.” His eyes were twinkling. “But now I’m at last getting to lure you into my parlor.” He waved his hand toward the hall. “Or in this case, my library. That’s true progress after all this time.”
***
“Only two books?” Jane gazed down at the two slim volumes on her lap that MacDuff had handed her. “You weren’t exaggerating. I thought she’d get a bit more attention from your august family.”
“August family?” MacDuff repeated. “You have to remember that the MacDuffs had fallen into hard times before Fiona appeared on the scene.” He paused. “Which happened about 1852.”
Jane was frowning. “No, that can’t be correct. The time span wouldn’t be right. I remember when you showed me her portrait that I was impressed by the story you told me about her marrying a MacGuire and having five children. You said two of them moved out of her house in the Lowlands to go to America in 1872.”
“You have an excellent memory.” His eyes were twinkling. “There’s only one problem with it.”
“What’s that?”
“It was a lie.” He chuckled when she opened her lips. “That slight discrepancy I mentioned. I thought I reeled off that false family history with amazing detail.”
“Youliedto me? Why would you do that, dammit?”
“I had to have time to search for my family’s treasure. I was poor as a church mouse back then, remember?” He shrugged. “I hadn’t found it yet, and I was worried that the castle grounds would be swamped by fortune hunters. The treasure wasmine; you knew that.”
“Of course. I helped you search for it later. But why on earth lie to me about it?”
“I thought that if I could make you believe you had ties to the Run, you’d not only want to keep any fortune hunters from pouncing but might want to stay yourself.” He grimaced. “All you wanted to do, though, was go back to your Eve and Joe and forget all about the Run. I could have let you go.” He added quietly, “But I couldn’t do that, because it wasn’t only the treasure that was mine. I was head of the family, Earl of Cranought, the laird. After I saw the portrait, I knew you were mine, too. Part of my family, my kin, and I had to have time to convince you that you belonged here.” He shook his head and sighed. “But you’re extremely stubborn, Jane. It’s taken years and you’re still fighting it.”
“I’mstubborn, MacDuff? You tried to manipulate me.”
“Nonsense. I never did anything that I thought was against your best interests. I helped you whenever I could, didn’t I? We became good friends.”
She couldn’t deny it. “There was still something shady about you lying to me.”
