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“It all sounds very…pleasant and amusing. But perhaps I should let you get back to the castle. I’m glad you’re keeping busy.” He was silent again. “Tell Rodland that he should spend more time taking care of you and less with MacDuff’s games.”
“You’re the one who sent him. Do you want to tell him yourself?”
“Not now. I don’t believe it’s come to that yet. I’ll keep an eye on the situation and call you soon. Good night, Jane.” He cut the connection.
“Whew,” Rodland said. “Am I in trouble?”
“Why should you be? All I did was tell him the truth.”
“Not quite all the truth. Are you going to tell him about Kilgoray?”
“Eventually. Now isn’t the time.”
“I believe that’s what I said. You took the call anyway.”
“That was different. It would be like ignoring Caleb himself. I’d never do that.” She made a face. “It’s not possible. We have problems but we’re way past lies or games. We just have to get past this patch to the other side.”
“Really?” he asked curiously. “And what is on the other side?”
She smiled brilliantly. “I can’t wait to see. Something wonderful and challenging and splendid. Because we’ll make it that way.”
Rodland’s gaze was still on her face as he nodded slowly. “I believe you mean it. I’m relieved. You do care about him. I admit I didn’t feel I could entirely accept that you weren’t meeting a lover at Kilgoray. It was the logical conclusion. I wasn’t sure how I was going to have to handle that complication.”
Jane’s jaw dropped. “You weren’t going to handle it at all. I wouldn’t have let you. Not your business.”
“Wrong,” he said quietly. “You became my business the minute I found out Caleb was moving heaven and earth to keep you safe. I owe him my life, and it’s going to be hard as hell to clear that debt. So, this is payback. I just have to make sure that nothing gets in the way of me giving him what he needs.”
“Not even if I’d choose to not go along?” she asked sarcastically.
“A complication.” He smiled. “One I don’t have to face now. You were very eloquent. Whatever you were doing at the village, it didn’t have anything to do with any relationship that would hurt Seth Caleb.”
“And what would you do if it had?”
“Anything I had to do,” he said simply. “But why worry? I would have tried to work it out. And now it’s not necessary. We can start fresh. So just consider me your good angel who’s standing by to sweep all the demons from your path.” He was suddenly beside her at the stable door. “Stay here while I take a look around the courtyard. I’ll have you tucked back in the castle in another ten minutes.”
She watched him move across the courtyard.Good angel?she thought in bewildered frustration. He was more like an Irish leprechaun, and the demons he’d spoken about fighting would have been in service to Caleb.
Well, what was wrong with that? Her annoyance was suddenly gone. Caleb was usually alone in his battles. She liked the idea of someone who cared enough about him to watch his back. As far as being guardian to her, she couldn’t afford to reject that, either. Independence was all very well, but she would take all the help she could get.
Because everything had changed during that hour spent in Kilgoray…
***
“Kilgoray,” Bohdan repeated when Chiswick called him later that night. “What the hell does this Kilgoray have to do with anything? I thought you were monitoring that earl’s property at MacDuff’s Run. You told me that your team had sighted the woman at the castle earlier today.”
“They did, and it was definitely Jane MacGuire. But somehow she managed to leave the property in a speedboat with one of MacDuff’s men and was taken to a village down the coast.”
“Why?” Bohdan swore viciously. “Did she meet with Caleb there? Did you follow her?”
“Of course I did. But by the time I got the message, she’d left the castle and all we could do was keep watch on her from the yacht. I told you how well MacDuff’s property was guarded. We have to remain out of sight and maintain our distance or have MI6 agents on top of us. I knew that wasn’t what you’d want to happen. They’d get in our way.” He added quickly, “She only stayed a short time at the village and then they were on their way back to the castle. I’m about to take a team to Kilgoray and ask a few casual questions to see if Caleb has been seen there. He’s not someone who is easy to forget.”
“No, he’s not,” Bohdan said curtly. “And he’ll be even more memorable once I get my hands on him. Don’t blow this, Chiswick. If he’s there in the village, find him. If he’s not, comb the area, but try to be subtle, dammit. We don’t want to tip our hands before we can get hold of him. Dealing directly with MI6 and the British aristocracy could be awkward.”
Awkward? Chiswick almost had to laugh. No one was less subtle than the Bohdan he had come to know over the years. He thrived on brutality and power, and his position as second in command to the general had only exaggerated that arrogance. “Naturally, I’ll do as you say. We also got photos of the man who was with the MacGuire woman. If Kilgoray doesn’t pan out, maybe I can deliver him to you. He might be able to give us the information we need about Caleb.”
“Perhaps. But you’ve convinced me Jane MacGuire almost certainly could. Which means I need to know everything about her. Phone, close relatives or friends. Anything I can use to make her come to heel. I want her scared and shivering whenever I come near her.” He added with soft sarcasm, “And if you hadn’t let her slip through your fingers tonight, I would have had her. I wouldn’t have needed anything but a few hours and my own skill to make her give me Caleb. Remember that when you’re searching Kilgoray for him.”
“I’ll remember. But we’re getting closer all the time. Are you on your way?”
