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“It doesn’t surprise me. Even after two thousand years she still seems to dominate the Highlands and the MacDuff family. She wasn’t only colorful, but also the protectress. She’s always fascinated me.”
“Interesting. Maybe I’ll glance through it.”
“Careful. Cira’s never light reading. But you might be amused by some of the stories about her legendary treasure troves. However, you’d probably do better to check the more modern allusions in this book.” She made a face. “Those include any known references to railroads in the area at the time Fiona MacDuff was living near MacDuff’s Run.”
“It doesn’t surprise me you’d latch onto those rail tracks. Did it sting a little?”
“Of course it did. Now I have to know all about them.” She tilted her head. “And I’m getting there. The first railroads were built in England and Scotland between 1802 and 1826. From that time on it became the primary form of transportation in both areas. But I wasn’t interested in general history, I wanted to know why Fiona would have been intrigued by them.” She frowned thoughtfully. “And why she didn’t want anyone to know that she was.”
“Did you find out?”
“Not entirely. She won all those ribbons as a young girl, so we knew she was probably a sportswoman and not likely to be fascinated by the mechanics of a locomotive.” She frowned. “Of course, she might have been thinking of escape since Jamie was trying to sell her down the river. But it might have been more complicated than that.” She tapped her finger on a faded, vellum-covered book she was holding. “For instance, there was a railway service that operated from the Highlands to the coast that was used by both the farmers and lairds. It was past the time of the border reivers, but there was still an occasional robbery after the railroads were built. Actually, that particular railroad wasn’t located too far from where Jamie raised Fiona before he decided to become more respectable and move closer to his brother, Colin, at MacDuff’s Run. The builders got mega donations from both the rich landowners and some of the less-than-honest descendants of the reivers who ran the border before the law got tough on them. As a matter of fact, they called the railroad the Reiver after it was finished. But that didn’t last long. They changed it to the Great Exeter Transport later. It turned out to be quite a luxurious production and extended from the upper Highlands to the forests below the border. It’s still there, but now it’s become more of a historical tourist attraction.” She grinned. “I was so fascinated by the map that I spent most of last night going over it until I practically had it memorized. It was so convoluted I’ll bet that the reivers had more to do with the construction than those rich landowners. They were probably up to no good.”
“My, what a suspicious mind,” he said. “It must come from the company you keep. Everyone knows what kind of reputation Seth Caleb has.”
Jane’s smile disappeared. “Do they? You obviously don’t know very much about him,” she said curtly. “But you knew enough to let him save your life, didn’t you? You thought he was good enough for that.”
“Whoa.” He held up his hand defensively. “Don’t attack me. It was just a remark. If I’d wanted to insult Caleb, I would have done it to his face.” He added wryly, “And taken the consequences. I never asked Palik what your relationship was to Caleb, but he dropped enough hints that I knew you were special. That’s why I took the damn job. But I’m not going to pussyfoot around and pretend I don’t know who and what Caleb is.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “When I’ve made a study of him, and probably know his capabilities better than the director of MI6.”
She tensed. “Perhaps you know a little too much. I’m sure Bohdan would pay well.”
“No doubt. But you trust Seth Caleb and realize he would never be fool enough to risk you by sending in someone he’d have to clean up after. Think about it.”
She was thinking about it. She relaxed a little. “Then you said the wrong thing.”
“It happens.” He shrugged. “But I also thought that since you were possibly dragging me into hot water, we should get to be a little more familiar so that you could trust me.”
“For instance?”
“You could let me know what’s happening at Kilgoray,” he said coaxingly.
She shook her head.
“If you’re going to meet a lover, I’m not about to tell Caleb. That’s between the two of you. I’m supposed to keep you safe, not act as truant officer. But it would help to know more in case I need to execute my primary duty.”
She shook her head again.
“Okay, I could only try.” He added soberly, “But you need to know that even if I have to go at this blind, I’ll do what has to be done and keep you safe for Caleb. So don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m never stupid. I’ve been known to make occasional mistakes.” She stared at him coolly. “And you told me flat out you were working for Palik and had hardly spoken to Caleb when I asked you.”
“It’s true. But it’s still all about Caleb.” He was suddenly smiling. “And because you’re not stupid, you’d see right through anything I said and realize that he’s the center. Though in this instance he obviously gave that designation to you.”
“I could do without it. Why is it all about Caleb?” She was working it out. “You said he’d saved your life, but you were very casual about it. Then you took the job with Palik after you recovered…” Her gaze was fixed on his face. “So maybe you weren’t that casual. Just how did he save your life?”
“By taking my place after the Taliban had tied me to a tree and were in the process of whipping me to death. He was outnumbered, but he sent some of his men to get me away and let them take him instead.” He shrugged. “He escaped later that night, but they’d hurt him. I tried to thank him later, but he ignored me. He was impatient as hell. He said he didn’t want to hear it. I heard later that he was always like that, but I couldn’t let it go. It might not have meant much to him, but it did to me.”
“So, you decided to stick around and find a way to pay him back.” It was a statement. “You took the job with Palik.”
“It was a good job. Palik is fair.” He paused. “And everyone knows that Caleb is the Hunter and Palik works with him whenever he can. But I didn’t think it would take this long. I was about ready to move on.”
She shook her head. “You wouldn’t have done that.”
His brows rose. “Why not?”
“Because it’s Seth Caleb. It’s hard to move on from Caleb. He’s…special. You knew that.” Her lips indented at the corners. “I’m sure you have the wounds to prove it.”
He nodded. “And I’m doing my best to keep you from having any of your own wounds to worry him. Kilgoray?”
