Page 42 of Kilty Until Proven Innocent
Drum stiffened. “What?”
She giggled. “Dinnae get me wrong, I love the way ye always…carefor me.” Their lovemaking had, up until now, been almost reverent, and he’d made certain she found her pleasure multiple times. “But today…I think we both needed this release.”
His arms tightened briefly before he pressed his cheek into the crown of her head. “I’ll take that into consideration in the future.”
The future.
Her heart leapt at the words.
It meant…
It meant that Drum thought theremight bea future, and that was the most wonderful news she could’ve hoped for. Her arms snaked around his middle as her mind jumped from one thought to another.
If they had a future, mayhap ‘twould mean working together again!
Working together…as they’d done in the past. As they’d done today, briefly, when she’d showed him the secrets the Angels had kept and he’d understood what they’d meant. Drum had even told her of his own investigations…
She stiffened.
“What is it?” he murmured against her hair.
“The poison!” she pulled from his hold far enough to look up at him. “Ye said ‘twasnae really poison.”
His lips twitched. “Ye finally remember that?”
“Aye, well, I was distracted.” She poked his side teasingly. “But if ‘twasnae dangerous…”
“Charles said ‘twould no’ be pleasant, but the King wouldnae die from it.”
Nodding, she craned her head to see around him. “And the line of the crossbow bolt…”
He hummed, loosening his hold so he could step back, giving her a better line of sight. “Ye noticed that?” He pointed to a torch holder further down. “Placing it there would’ve given the bolt a better chance at hitting the target.”
She was already shaking her head as she frowned in thought. “The ambush was clumsy from the beginning. The trip wire being too high, the corridor a servantmighthurry down. ‘twas as if…”
Trailing off, Brigit met Drum’s eyes, and they spoke together.
“He wasnae trying to kill the King.”
Brigit sucked in a breath, excitement blooming to fill her chest, the coil of energy she always experienced as a mission took a turn. “Is it possible his target was someone else?”
Drum shrugged. “Yer fellow Angel, mayhap, the one who pushed him out of the way?”
A suspicion had her eyes widening. “The ambush, what if ithadto have been set off mechanically, as asort of trigger, because the assassin couldnae be there to pull the trigger?”
“Aye, that is logical.” He held out his hand to help her from the deep window ledge. “So he could be far away?”
That suspicion, the one she dared not name yet, made Brigit squeeze her eyes shut. “Something like that,” she groaned.
“And the wine that wasnae poisoned, but appeared to be?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but continued, “Merely for show?”
Oh God.
Suddenly his fingers tightened around hers. “Brigit, did ye send me a note today?”
The question was so unexpected, she blinked up at him. “What? Nay, I came to find ye in person.”
His gaze was serious, thoughtful. “So ye didnae want me to meet ye in the chapel at midnight?”
