Page 42 of Highlander's Caged Rose
“Who let them into the castle?” Niall asked, puzzled and furious. “Because I cannot believe my men would just let them walk in. Do you know?”
“The men said it was Gerald McNicholl,” Finn replied. “He told them they were friends o’ his an’ had come tae visit. They said they were a’ very friendly an’ polite.”
Finn felt a surge of fury erupt inside him. He thumped his desk and let out a roar that hurt Finn’s ears. At that moment, he could have put a gruesome end to Gerald’s miserable life and smiled while doing it. He tossed back the rest of his whisky and wrenched the door of his study open, then stopped short as he saw a very startled Beitris. She gave a little squeal of fright and took a hasty step backwards the second she saw him.
“What are you doing here?” Niall demanded furiously.
His face was a mask of rage, and Beitris cowered in fear as she slowly backed away from him.
“I-I was just coming to find you,” she stuttered. “Everyone is waiting for you to come to dinner.”
“No,” Niall countered. “You were not. You were eavesdropping, My Lady. You were being underhand and deceitful, and I will not stand for it!”
Beitris shook her head. “Niall—” she began, but he stopped her.
“It is ‘My Laird’ from now on,” he told her grimly.
Beitris nodded in acknowledgement. “My Laird,” she said, then took a deep breath. “You must think of your clan, and you need an heir to secure your position. Surely, you would rather its mother was a woman of quality like myself rather than a murderous peasant like Moira McDonnell?”
At the mention of Moira’s married name, Niall frowned even more deeply, and took another threatening step towards Beitris. “How do you know her name? And who told you she had murdered anyone?” he demanded.
By this time, Beitris’s back was almost touching the wall behind her, and she was visibly trembling with fear. However, she was not ready to give up yet.
“My Laird,” she began again, “you have so much to offer a lady of substance. Any noblewoman would be glad to marry you, and give you many babies. If they were sons and looked like you, they would be very fortunate indeed.”
Niall had never struck a woman, and never would, he despised men who did so, but at that moment he wished Beitris was a man so that they could have a fair fight.
“You trapped Moira, did you not?” he asked angrily. “You have taken her away from me, hoping I will never find her! Well, you are wrong, My Lady. I will search to the ends of the earth. Iwill move mountains because that is how much I love my Moira. Now tell me who told you this, and tell me where she is!”
He took one more step towards her so that they were separated by inches, and Beitris’s eyes were round with fear as she looked up at him. For a moment, Niall felt ashamed that he was frightening her so much and almost turned away, then Beitris blurted out, “My Uncle Gerald found Brody McDonnell and told him where Moira was.
Truly, My Laird, I had no idea he had anything criminal in mind. I just wanted to be rid of her so that you and I could marry and be happy. I-I care for you very much.”
“Ha!” Niall gave a scornful, derisive laugh. “Care for me? You hardly know me, My Lady! All you care for is my wealth and power, and I care nothing for you. Go back to your family and see if they can find you another suitor who is less choosy than I am. Goodbye.”
He strode away, leaving Beitris to follow him with her eyes until he was out of sight. Now he was about to confront her uncle, and she felt a savage stab of satisfaction. He had talked her into this plan, and now that it had fallen through, he was going to get his comeuppance. How she wished she were a fly on the wall!
Niall’s footsteps thundered through the castle as he strode along the corridors to find Gerald. Servants looked at his furious face and hastily jumped out of his way, since it looked as though he had murder on his mind.
They had never known their Laird to be violent towards them, but at that moment it looked as though someone would be on the receiving end of some dire punishment.
Baltyre Castle was vast, and Niall had no time to waste searching all its miles of corridors and hundreds of rooms.
Niall tried to put himself in Gerald’s place, wondering where he would be, but at that moment the man himself appeared.
His eyes widened with fear when he saw Niall’s ferocious expression, but he tried to school his face into a sickly and unconvincing smile.
Niall strode forward and caught Gerald by his collar, pulling him towards him so that they were almost nose to nose.
Gerald’s eyes were wide with fear, and Niall’s voice was dripping with disgust when he said, “I know what you did, you miserable swine. You brought Brody McDonnell here so that you could ruin my relationship with Moira!
Well, let me tell you, your plans have come to nothing. Beitris is on her way home to her family, but you are going to be enjoying some different and less comfortable accommodation in my dungeons. Brody McDonnell has kidnapped the woman I love!”
Gerald shook his head, and opened his mouth to say something, but Niall’s warning glare stopped him. Niall felt like giving him a hefty kick, but restrained himself. Instead, he grabbed his wrist so tightly that he begged to be let go.
“Did you know what they were going to do?” he asked, thrusting his face into Gerald’s so that they were almost nose to nose.
Gerald swallowed nervously, then nodded in resignation. “Yes, I did,” he replied.
