Page 20 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
“I saw a man the day me castle burned. He was one of yer people,” he started, casting a glance at Hudson. “I recognized the tartan, and I kenned it was from this clan. Did ye ken anything at all about the fire?”
Hudson stared off into the distance for a few moments, as if he were racking his brain for a memory. After a brief pause, he shook his head. “I never gave any order to burn a castle. And Lady Blythe never did such a thing either. I am certain of that.”
“Are ye with her all the time?” Evander asked.
“Nay. But she willnae make any decision about attacking another clan without consulting me first. Believe me when I say that none of our men did that.”
Evander loosened his grip on the reins, letting Hudson’s words sink in, which only stirred more questions. If Hudson truly gave no such order and Keira didn’t know about it either, then where had it come from? Who was the man he had killed in the woods?
He tried to shove down the memory of him driving his sword into the man’s chest, but something gnawed at him. Something that told him that he should have asked questions first before springing into action. If he’d done that, he would have more context than he did now.
The castle loomed in the distance as they drew closer, the sun shining on their faces.
“What if he acted independently?” Rory asked, gently breaking the silence.
Evander considered the possibility for a moment. Was his man-at-arms right? Maybe someone did act out of order.
“Why would they do that?” Hudson asked. It was clear from his tone that he had also been considering the possibility.
Rory shrugged. “To show off? ‘Tis nae the first time this has happened.”
“Aye,” Evander agreed.
Again, that brought even more questions to mind. Did this mean that Lady Blythe had less control over her men than he had initially thought? Or was this just a one-off incident and a repeat wasn’t eminent?
“Och, well, whoever it was, he is dead,” he declared with finality. As if one way or another, he had at least solved that part of the mystery.
They drew closer to the castle, the animals in the courtyard and the ones who had managed to stray beyond the fence coming into view. Evander could also see a few children in the courtyard, running around and playing with each other while some maids did their chores. And then he sawher.
Keira.
She was seated on a bench in the garden, laughing with a blonde-haired woman. That must be the same woman who had knocked on his door the previous night. The one who handed Keira a teapot.
“Who is she?” he asked, gesturing toward her.
Hudson did not need to see where he was pointing before responding.
“That is Lesley. She runs the apothecary. She’s also Lady Blythe’s closest friend,” he revealed, barely missing a beat.
Evander listened attentively, the mystery haunting him temporarily pushed to the side as he stared at her from afar.
The horses drew closer to the gates—they would all become visible any moment now. His mind drifted to what had happened between them the previous night. To the feel of her hands against his chest.
A shudder ran down his spine at the thought. This was not temporary, that much he was certain of. This would all pass as soon as he found her a husband and got her out of his castle. Yet the thought of her with another man made his stomach churn.
What was this feeling, and why did he let it come to this?
He kept staring at her as she spoke to her friend, not taking his eyes off her even when a black-and-white baby goat approached them and her friend gently reached out and rubbed its coat.
“What do ye say?”
The question brought him back to the present, to his horse, cantering toward the gates.
Hudson and Rory stared at him, and he could see the utter confusion on their faces. One he was not exactly ready to challenge.
“Huh?” he croaked, before clearing his throat.
“Do ye want us to keep searching for the person who gave the order?” Hudson asked.
