Page 46 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
“Ye need to go huntin’, it is a good way to relive stress,” Callum said and raised his head.
“How often do ye hunt?” Lyall asked.
“Not very often, My Laird,” Callum replied, and a smug smile crossed Lyall’s lips.
“Then ye are perfect for my plan.”
“I will announce a huntin’ trip, and in that trip, there is goin’ to be nothin’ but disaster. In a land full of Lairds loyal to me, my dear nephew will be unable to keep his mind off tryin’ to keep his wife’s safe, and to do that he would risk his life.
“It is the perfect opportunity to end his rebellion at once, and have the Lairdship for myself with no interference.”
Callum was silent, and Lyall stood up from his chair and walked over to him. “I will have yer wife and daughter killed if ye fail to do the right thing this time.”
Lyall smiled when Callum’s jaw tightened. “What do ye need me to do?”
“It is simple… I need ye to kill my nephew.”
Minutes after Callum left the hall, Lyall dropped back to his chair and dismissed everyone. That was not the entirety of his plan, he thought as he drank deeply from quaich.
His spies had brought news to him concerning Ian’s secret activities in his wing of the Castle, and he got to find out that his brother had a lover before a died. A lover he had shared secrets with.
His plan to kill Ian was merely a distraction, and he knew it would fail because he wanted it to fail. The goal was to get his hands on the woman his brother had bedded, and find out all she knew about the Treasure of Galloway.
With the power that much gold would give him, not even his nephew’s righteous heart could stop him.
* * *
“A hunting trip,” Ian repeated after his uncle, and Lyall’s smug smile made him angry.
“Aye, and many Lairds would be there, including my dear friend, Laird Drummond who happens to be yer wife’s faither.”
Lyall shifted his gaze to Hope, and Ian held her hand tighter. They were walking into the Castle when he stopped them, and asked to speak with Ian for a few minutes. Ian had vowed not to let Lyall get his hands on Hope again, so anywhere he went, Hope went with him.
If he ever had to leave her, then his sister was the only one he could trust to keep her safe. He didn’t trust anyone else, not after what Callum had done.
“We leave in a fortnight, and I hope ye will grace the trip with yer presence, Lady Hope.”
Ian saw Hope force a smile, and he nodded, then turned and walked away. He turned to Hope when they made it into their chamber, and the pale look on her face concerned him. “Are ye all right?”
“Aye,” she replied, and blinked. “I just get breathless whenever I see him.”
Ian hugged her, and they stayed like that for minutes. She looked better when he finally pulled back, and she sucked in a deep breath to steady herself. “When they took me, my faither was there,” she whispered. “He wanted me to go to Lyall.”
“I ken yer faither would do somethin’ to stop our marriage soon, but I dinnae think it will get to the point of kidnappin’ his daughter and riskin’ her life,” Ian stated and paced around the room.
Hope touched his shoulder. “It pains me to say this, but it is the truth. My faither doesnae care for my feelin’s. In a way he is just like yer uncle, and he would do anythin’ to get his way.”
Ian nodded. “If we would go on that huntin’ trip, then we need a plan. Callum used to be the one I trusted to handle every plan, but now I cannae trust him, nay after what he did to ye.”
Hope hugged him this time, and he enjoyed the warmth of her embrace for a while. He had told Hope about his discussion with Callum, and his claims that Lyall threatened to kill his family if he didn’t help, but he could not tell if he could trust him or not.
A soft knock on the door made Ian leave her embrace, and he opened the door. “I have served yer meal,” the servant standing on the other end said to him when he opened the door, and he allowed her inside.
Hope and Ian ate the porridge with boiled gigot. After their meal they spent the rest of the day together inside the chamber. Ian didn’t want these past few days of bliss to end, but the next morning he had to get to the field early and train with his men.
He was halfway into the training when he saw Callum ride toward him on his stallion. He could recognize the horse anywhere. News of Callum’s betrayal had spread among his men, and they were all on alert the minute they saw him ride toward them.
Ian asked them to stand down, and he waited for Callum to reach him. “What do ye want?” he asked in a harsh tone.
