Page 62 of The Last Debutante
“I sold it!” she snapped. “I sold it to a peddler for food! I don’t live in a castle, Mr. Campbell; I am forced to barter clocks for food!”
“But, Mamie, Papa sent you ample—”
Mrs. Moss suddenly whirled about and glared at both of them. “You obviously do not wish to have tea. I ask you, Campbell, do you intend to leave my granddaughter with me?”
“No’ till the ransom is paid,” he said curtly.
“Well, I don’t have it. And I should like to be on my way to Nairn, if you please, so if you don’t mind?”
Daria looked shocked and wounded, and Jamie could scarcely blame her. He put his hand on her elbow, but Daria shook him off.
“Mamie,pleaselet mehelpyou.”
And just like that, Mrs. Moss suddenly softened. She smiled sadly and cupped Daria’s face in her hand. “My lovely girl,” she said fondly. “I do so want you home; you must know that I do. But what I need from you now is to keep yourself well and chaste until the ransom is come. I have every faith that your father will arrive shortly and we will end this ugly business, and perhaps then, perhaps... well. In the meantime, I will not have you fretting about your old grandmother. I am quite all right.” She smiled as she patted Daria’s cheek, then picked up a canvas bag.
“That’s it?” Daria asked incredulously. “That’s all you will say?”
“I’ve said all there is to say, darling.” Looking much older, Mrs. Moss smiled sadly at Daria and left the cottage.
Daria was speechless. She stood staring at the open door. When she couldn’t see her grandmother anymore, she turned big brown eyes to Jamie, blinking back tears. It pained him to see her hurt, and he put his arm around her shoulders. “Donna cry.”
She sagged into his side, burying her face in his chest. “She’s lost her mind, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Aye, she has,” he agreed. “Or she is trying very hard to hide something. Here now,” he said, slipping two fingers under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Let her go to Nairn, and let us think on how we might discover what she is hiding.”
She nodded, then stepped back and wiped her eyes. “Iwilldiscover what she is about,” she said determinedly. Then she peeked up at him. “How will I do that?”
Jamie smiled. “First, I’ll have a man watch her, aye? Second, I’ll have another man find the gentleman she spoke to this morn. Perhaps he might shed some light.”
“Yes. Thank you, Jamie,” Daria said. “That was no casual encounter. Did you recognize him?”
“No.” It surprised him. He knew most men around here, and if he didn’t know them, he could identify them by their plaids. But that man was not wearing a plaid. “I’ll find him, Daria. And I will see that your grandmamma doesna come to harm.”
She smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”
He offered his hand to her. “Come, lass.”
She slipped her hand into his, allowing him to lead her out of the cottage.
Nineteen
SOMEWHERE ON THEroad to Dundavie, the dogs disappeared, racing into the forest after prey only they could smell. Their progress was slow, and Jamie had to turn about from time to time to reassure himself that Daria followed. The young woman who had nattered on this morning was silent, lost in thought this afternoon.
At the top of the hill, near the cairn, he drew Niall to a halt and dismounted. Only then did Daria seem to notice him. “I am famished,” he said, and took the bundle Young John had given him from the back of his horse. “Are you hungry?”
“A little,” she agreed, and slid off her horse.
She followed him up the hill to a flat, grassy hollow between two large, rocky knolls. A lone rowan tree provided a bit of shade, and Jamie spread the cloth open there to find cheese, dried meats, bread, and berries that had stained the cloth blue.
Daria stood looking out over the hills below them. Tendrils of rich gold hair danced around her face on the afternoon breeze. He could picture her looking out over this vista every day, taking stock of the changing landscape. The thought startled him—he’d not thought of her at all past the ransom.
“I think you are right,” she said, as if they had been talking. “She is hiding something.”
“Aye.”
“I am determined not to mope, Jamie. My parents will soon arrive, and together, we will discover what it is she hides.” She dropped her arms and looked at him as if she expected him to argue.
He did not. “Come and eat something.”
