Page 14 of The Curse of McMillan Castle
I shrugged, drowning in my effort to come up with some sort of believable lie.
When I glanced over to see Kenna pushing herself away from the table as she waved at Duncan, I practically knocked over my chair in my effort to get away from the table.
“Oh, look! I think Kenna is ready for you two to visit with Baodan about your new job. I’ll get out of the way so you three can talk.”
I could feel his frown boring into my back as I all but ran away from him.
Chapter 9
Duncan
“Ye needn’t escort me to the inn, lass. I am certain I could find me way there well enough.”
The poor lass looked dead on her feet. It was no wonder. Secrets added weight to one’s soul, and now they were both the bearers of a secret whether they wished to be or not.
He didn’t like lying to the laird, but he could see Kenna’s genuine desire to protect him—even if he didn’t understand all of the specifics of which she’d spoken.
And it wasn’t only their shared secret that must weigh on Madeline’s shoulders. The lass had more secrets, he was sure of it. She was not from London. None of them were. But why lie to him about it? Why would she not wish for him to know about her homeland?
“I’m sure you could find it, but I want to speak to Isobel and let her know that Kenna is going to see them taken care of, and explain that you might be staying with them for a while.”
Thinking of his newfound work pleased him. He could trust a laird to pay currency he could use. The income would be a welcome relief after far too many scarce months of work.
“Aye, fine, but someone else must come along. ’Twouldn’t be proper for the two of us to be out at night all alone.”
Madeline groaned and rolled her eyes as they stopped short in front of the grand entryway door.
“I promise you, it’s fine. No one in this territory will think anything of it.”
Duncan regarded her hesitantly but chose not to argue the point further as she plunged ahead of him into the darkness.
“Madeline, is there a messenger that ye trust? One I could use to send a letter back home?”
“Yes, of course. Bring the letter with you to the castle tomorrow, and I’ll make sure it gets to the man Baodan uses most. Do you have a wife and children back home you need to let know you’ll be away for longer than planned?”
“Nae. I’ve nae children nor wife. ’Tis me mother. She has promised to care for a stray cat that loves to call me home hers when the sun sets. I just wish to tell her how long she may have to continue doing so.”
“I’m not sure it’s a stray if it sleeps in your house, Duncan.”
Why did everyone insist on trying to make Tabitha his?
“Aye, ’tis most certainly a stray. I doona own a cat.”
She chuckled softly next to him, and he noticed for the first time how lovely her voice really was. Strange to be sure, but lovely.
“If you say so. Look, I hope you don’t feel like I pushed you into a job here. If you don’t want to be away from home that long, I promise you it is fine. Don’t feel obligated to stay here.”
“I need the work, lass. There is no’ a stone wall nor structure in my homeland that I havena built or fixed. I am glad for the work.”
“Oh. Good.”
They both turned toward the sound of footsteps coming toward them. The Laird of McMillan Castle approached.
“Madeline, just where do ye think ye are going? Do ye no’ see how dark ’tis outside? I ken where ye come from, ye lassies do whatever ye please whenever ye please, but I doona care for the idea of ye walking back to the castle alone in the dark after seeing Duncan to the inn. I will see him there. That way I can go ahead and settle arrangements with Isobel. Go inside and have one of the maids heat some water for a bath. Ye look as though ye could use one. I doona ken if I’ve ever seen ye look quite so ragged.”
Duncan’s eyes grew wide at the insult. While the lass looked tired to be sure, ragged would not be the word he would use to describe her. Beautiful, wild, mysterious mayhap, but certainly not ragged.
The reflexive knot in his gut that had built at Baodan’s words relaxed when Madeline snorted comically in response.
