Page 34 of Rescued By the Highland Warrior
“This is a fine study,” she said. “It might be the grandest room I’ve seen yet.”
The study was adorned with intricate tapestries and dark wood paneling, and the windows were draped with thick, crimson, velvet curtains.
Deep golden shelves lined the walls, filled with ancient books and artefacts, all sitting below a multitude of paintings. Moira gazed up at the grand maps and portraits, as Roderick watched her, glad to see her interest piqued.
“Me faither used tae spend a lot o’ time in here,” Roderick said fondly, “he loved it.”
“Aye,” Moira said, “I can see why. I feel as though I could spend days siftin’ through the secrets and artefacts that lie hidden here.”
Roderick nodded, before frowning as he thought of his father. “I believe he did just that,” he said. “Although fer some reason he didn’t spend as much time here as was customary in his final days.”
Moira remained silent, and Roderick watched as she turned her attention to a series of old maps that hung along one wall, their edges worn from years of handling. She traced the inked lines with her fingers, as though trying to decipher their secrets.
“The details are brilliant,” she said thoughtfully.
“Aye,” Roderick responded. “Me faither sometimes would spend such long nights in this study that I remember he’d return tae his chambers only in the early hours o’ the morning.”
“Aye,” Moira said, her voice tinged with awe as she continued to study the maps. “I suppose it must have been a nice getaway fer him, as it is fer ye, a space far from all the responsibilities and the noise.”
“It is something like that, I suppose,” Roderick said thoughtfully, coming behind Moira, “although ye can never really escape yer mind.”
“Nae,” Moira agreed, “as much as ye try, ye cannae escape that.”
Roderick stepped closer, their bodies almost touching, and the air between them thickened. It was as though there was an unspoken tension, something that needed to be said—at least some recognition of their argument before. But neither of them spoke.
Roderick felt protective of her, he wanted to apologize for upsetting her—but he couldn’t find the words. Instead, he stood still, breathing quietly, watching Moira as she continued to face the maps on the wall.Was she even still lookin’?He wasn’t sure.
“It took me a while tae find this place,” Moira said, clearing her throat, and breaking the tension between them with a casual candor to her tone. “It is almost on the other side o’ the castle from where the chambers are.”
“Aye,” Roderick said. “The castle is large. It is sometimes easy to forget, when everythin’ can feel so claustrophobic, an’ small.”
Moira turned her head slightly toward him. “Perhaps yer faither felt that way as well, because it is quite a journey it is tae get here. I suppose he found it tae be worth the trip.”
It’d be worth the trip if she was waitin’ fer me in me study each night.
He didn’t know where the thought came from and he dismissed it quickly, steadying his thoughts.
But that didn’t stop the slight shift in his expression.
And Moira, being who she was, appeared to notice it straight away with her own subtle look. He took a deep breath, feeling the weight of her gaze on him, “I shouldnae be telling ye this,” he said, standing tall, “but if it will lead tae avengin’ me faither, I believe I have nae choice.”
“Aye,” Moira agreed, her eyes sizing him up and down. “If there’s somethin’ ye believe will help this case, dinnae keep it from me o’ all people.”
Roderick stepped away, and he moved toward the far end of the study. His hand hovered over a shelf on the bookcase, brushing past the old titles, to an unassuming red book.
Without saying a word, he pressed the red book that was nestled on the far corner of the second shelf. A hidden lever clicked softly beneath his touch, and the bookcase gave way, sliding open with a low creak to reveal a narrow passageway.
The air beyond it was thick with dust, and the faint smell of old stone filled Roderick’s nose.
He looked back at Moira, who for the first time in a while, had a smile across her face.
“Now, Roderick,” she teased. “This is excitin’.”
Roderick's lips twitched into a reluctant smile at her enthusiasm. He knew better than to expect her to have apprehension or fear, but her reaction was amusing, and he liked her curiosity toward these things, more than he cared to admit.
“I thought ye might like it,” he said.
“I cannae believe ye were goin’ tae keep this from me,” she responded, walking toward him and the secret door.
