Page 33 of Highlander's Rebellious Affair
The crowd of men cheered as Ian drank again, and his gaze scanned the crowd of men. Callum sat opposite him on the table, and he could see that Lyall was constantly looking at both him and Callum. Ian knew he hosted this feast to stop his men from riding out to the mountains for the search. He knew this because he was aware of Lyall’s spy among his men.
He let them remain because he didn’t want to give his uncle any reason to become more cautious than he already was. Ian enjoyed letting him have the satisfaction of thinking he was on top of every situation and the smartest man in the chamber. His men rode out for the mountains in the middle of the night, and he had chosen men from outside the Castle that Callum knew and trusted.
There was no way Lyall could tell that the mission was still on, and he relaxed in his chair and watched the dancers perform in the middle of the hall as the doors opened and the servants strolled in with more food. Ian had had his fill, but Lyall who had two women on each of his arm continued to drink and eat.
This was all he knew how to do, host the grandest of feasts, have different women from the Clan warm his bed every night, and prey on the weaker men in the Clan. Ian could not wait for his reign of tyranny to end and he knew it was going to be sooner than anyone expected.
Later that night after he retired to his bedchamber with Hope, he waited until he heard the soft knock on the door, and Callum walked into the bedchamber and bowed to him.
Hope was sitting on the bed, her hand on her lap and Callum bowed to her too, before taking the seat Ian offered him. His bedchamber was the most private place they could meet, and Ian intended for no one to hear what they discussed.
“How are ye?” Callum asked first, and Ian nodded. He reached for Hope’s hand on her lap and squeezed it. “The men who left for the mountain will send word as soon as they arrive and the search begins.”
“Ye are certain nay one kens of this? Lyall has men all over the village and the Castle, and I dinnae want him to get a hint of this mission goin’ on.”
“Lyall is a smart man. I cannae assure ye that he willnae find out about this, but I can assure ye that even if he does, he willnae be able to stop us because we would have the treasure.”
“Whoever gets it first has the most power. He kens this, and if he is smart enough then he must have started a search himself too.”
Callum nodded. “Any word on the goldsmith?” Ian asked.
Callum shook his head. “I have men searchin’ the village, and as soon as they find him, they will bring him to me. I believe if he is a goldsmith that worked for yer faither I would ken him.”
Ian nodded and sighed, Callum smiled at him and rose to his feet. “I have to retire to my bedchambers now, I will return home by dawn.”
“Thank ye for yer support, Callum,” Ian said and stood too. They shook hands and Ian added. “Yer are a loyal friend.”
After Callum left, he took off his clothes and got into bed with Hope. In his arms, she sighed and whispered to him, “When ye find proof of Lyall’s wrongdoings, what will ye do?”
It was the first time she had asked him anything relating to Lyall, and he placed his hand on her stomach and pulled her closer to him as she backed into him. He sucked in a deep breath, and closed his eyes as he whispered, “I will have him punished, I dinnae ken how yet, but I will.”
Hope fell silent, and he placed a kiss on the side of her neck when she said, “Be careful, I dinnae want ye to get hurt again.”
“I will be, I promise.”
* * *
Ian was on the field practicing his sword skill with his sister while Hope sat on a log by a far end and watched. It had been a while since he practiced with Rhea, and that was because he had been too busy trying to attend to Lyall’s court matters while working on finding evidence against his uncle.
As adviser to the court, Ian did very little work than what he was supposed to do. This was because his uncle preferred to have his trusted men do his bidding rather than put Ian in the position to do them. His position was merely a title, and Ian didn’t mind because it gave him time to attend to other matters, and now that he had a wife, he got to spend a lot of time with her.
Two days ago, they had gone riding out in the village again, and this time Hope rode alone on her horse. She was a fast learner, and just one day’s lesson had helped her. She still was not able to go in a full gallop, and he couldn’t let her yet because he feared she might lose her grip on the reins and take a nasty fall.
She was delicate, her hands so soft and smooth that whenever she touched him, it instantly made his insides melt. Ian was used to having her ride with him, enjoyed the closeness when she sat astride the horse in front of him, the soft brush of her brown curly hair against his face as the strong wind ruffled it.
Ian struck his sword forward, but Rhea dodged quickly and landed a half blow to his gut. In a real fight, that would have meant death, and he stepped back and laughed. “Ye are getting’ better at this,” he complimented and Rhea smiled and dropped her sword by sticking it into the ground.
She didn’t point at Hope as she said, “Does she ken about Lyall?”
“Aye, she does, she has ken this entire time,” he replied her and she nodded and let out a deep breath. “We are very close, Rhea,” he said. “It is only a matter of time before we find somethin’ to pin Lyall down.”
“He is more calculated than I expected,” Rhea admitted. “When we were younger, he visited the Castle a lot and I ken faither was weary of him, but I never understood why. To me he was just an uncle who visited once in a long time.”
Ian felt the same way too. It was only after his father’s death, as he grew, he came to understand who Lyall really was. Lyall made no attempt to hide his contempt for Ian and Rhea the moment he was Laird. Then, Ian had been younger and he could not form an opposition against his guardian, but the moment he was older and wiser, he had started to do just that.
Rhea and Ian continued their discussion for a short while before they rounded up their training and walked over to where Hope sat watching them. He kissed Hope the moment he came to stand beside her, and then turned to Rhea.
“We should ride into town today,” Ian suggested. “So ye could spend some time with yer aunt.”
