Page 60 of Married to the Ruthless Highlander
“Thatis what I want to share with ye,” she added, gathering herself as she walked to the writing desk where she had left the slim green book. “I was hopin’ ye could explain what it might mean.”
Taking another moment to calm her racing heart, she pulled open the top drawer. The unusually colored book was exactly where she had hidden it—beneath a few pieces of paper and a handful of ribbons. As she drew it out of its spot, a familiar thrill of excitement rushed through her. There was nothing more exhilarating than the prospect of solving a puzzle.
There wasnae before I met him, at least.
She smiled secretly, holding the book to her chest. Once they had figured out the note, maybe a punishment for her behavior in the gardens would not be out of the question.
“I told ye I didnae care what it said,” Doughall said as she turned to face him, his tone as dark as his expression.
“I ken that, but then I read it, and… I think yewillwant to see it,” she replied in earnest, thrusting the book toward him. “It’s tucked inside the cover.”
He took the book reluctantly, his lips set in a grim line. Clasping her hands together, Freya struggled to hide her smile. He looked rather enchanting, standing there with the book in his masculine hands, as if he had emerged from one of her wildest fantasies.
Opening the book, his stern face clouded over entirely, becoming something harsh and sharp and severe. When he raised his gaze to hers, his lupine eyes glinted with a rage unlike any she had ever witnessed from him before.
“What is this?” he growled.
She had not expected such a visceral reaction, but it gave her some hope that he knew who had written the note and the meaning behind it.
“That’s what I thought ye might be able to help me figure out,” she replied, undeterred.
Moving to stand at his side, she looked down at the note that she already knew by heart—If I can’t have you, neither can he.Butshe had to blink, confused by what her eyes were seeing.
The small square of paper was fresher, whiter than the timeworn letter that should have been there, the words entirely new.
A lesson you should have learned: don’t talk about what doesn’t concern you.
A splotch of ink covered the small word that began the next sentence.
…you can’t keep your mouth shut, expect it to be shut for you.
She blinked again as if that might somehow turn the note back into the original one. But those new and threatening words did not go away, the handwriting more jagged and spidery than the previous one, as if every letter had been etched with pure fury. Tiny splatters of ink showed the force with which it had been written. Theviolence.
“Nay,” she whispered, taking the book from Doughall. “Nay, this cannae be right.”
She flipped frantically through the pages, trying to find the yellowed note, but it was nowhere to be found. Someone had come into her chambers, took the letter, and was now threatening to take her life.
“This isnae the note,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Someone took it.”
Her stomach churned, her head swimming suddenly. She had already had one brush with death—she did not want another. Butwhowould steal a note and leave another?Whywould someone do such a thing? Had she come too close to finding outsomething she should not, or was it merely a matter of scaring her?
“I… think someone is tryin’ to frighten me,” she murmured.
Doughall’s eyes narrowed. “In this castle?”
“I dinnae ken.” She swallowed thickly. “Maybe. Maybe nae.” A sudden, awful realization dawned on her. “Do ye think… it might be Lewis?”
“What makes ye say that?” Doughall asked intently, his gaze blazing with anger.
“The… words.” She gulped. “It’s because of me that… Adam found out about… Laura and James. If I’d kept me mouth shut, me braither wouldnae have run James through. Lewis must ken that. Ye said he was spotted nearby. What if he managed to get inside the castle? What if he has been watchin’ me, waitin’ for an opportunity? What if this is his way of tellin’ me that he can enter undetected at any time?”
She bent over at the waist, breathing hard as dizziness swept through her, blurring her vision. From what she remembered of Lewis Brown, he could crush her like a blackcurrant with his bare hands, he could snap her neck like a twig, and he could do a thousand, more terrible things if it was revenge that he sought.
Why else would he be near this castle if nae to exact revenge through me?
Laura herself was unaccounted for, Adam had ridden to town the previous day with no trouble whatsoever, and no one would be foolish enough to attack Doughall, which left her—Freya Kane, the mouse of the family. The easiest target… or the first target, at least. Maybe Lewis was trying to work his way through all those who had crossed James Stewart, beginning with her.
“Stay here,” Doughall snarled, picking her up and dropping her on the bed. “Dinnae move from this spot. Am I understood?”
