Page 55 of Highlander Unraveled
“There’s a man here…” Ewan glanced behind himself. The warrior was positively skittish. “From, ye know…”
“Really?” I gasped, peering around him. “Someone new?”
Ewan’s brows drew so low, they almost connected. “Aye. Appeared out of blasted nowhere. Scared the shite out of me. Pardon my language, Moira.”
“’Tis no bother, I’ve heard worse,” I murmured, thinking of all the heinous things Dickie, my ex-boyfriend, had said. And more recently, the vile things Ranulf had spewed.
“He is waiting in the entryway. Guards are with him,” Ewan said.
“Who is he? Who is he asking for?” Rory asked.
“He’s asking for Logan. Said his name was McAlister.”
“I dinna know any McAlisters,” Rory said.
“Neither do I,” Ewan replied.
Well,theymight not know a McAlister, but I did. The blood drained from my face, and I swayed slightly on my feet, clutching onto Saor a little tighter.
Both men looked my way, alarmed.
“McAlister?” I said, faintly.
“Aye.” Ewan stepped forward, as did the nursemaid who’d been hovering nearby.
She took Saor from my grasp; thank the heavens, as I was feeling so faint… I touched the back of my hand to my forehead.
“’Tis familiar to ye?” Rory slid an arm around my back, steadying me, and I leaned against his solid form.
I nodded. “Where is Shona?” I pressed my hands to my temple. “I need my sister. She needs to be here.”
The truth was, I did know a McAlister. He was our solicitor in Edinburgh. The one in charge of our estate, our finances, our well-being. He’d been around since we were babies. He was like a grandfather to us. The one who set up the various foster homes, and saved us from the very same ones. Though he never took us in himself, something about that not being what was written in their parents’ directive.
I instructed the nursemaid to take Saor upstairs while we waited for Ewan and Shona.
Once she was gone, I tried to gather my thoughts. “Rory, if he’s who I think he is, then he is welcome, but the reason he’s here cannot be good.”
And just how had he come to be here? Was this a result of Logan having traveled to the future? It did seem as though if one went, another came and vice versa.
Ewan rushed away in search of Shona, while I tried to steady the rapid beat of my heart.
“Moira, tell me what’s going on,” Rory murmured against my ear, soft and comforting. A pillar of strength, always.
I explained who I thought McAlister could be.
“But… how would he know ye’re here?”
“I can only imagine that he must have spoken with Emma.”
“That means she was in Edinburgh.”
I nodded. “We’ll only know for certain if we talk to him.”
“We canna speak with him here.” Rory went to the grand trestle table and poured me a glass of watered wine.
“Nor Logan’s library,” I said, knowing how well the Guardian of Scotland protected his documents. I took a sip, feeling both relieved and guilty. If I were pregnant, would the wine harm a child? Then again, it was very watered down. And how many of the women here only drank ale or wine? Ugh! I couldn’t be worrying over this now, when an even more potential disaster was on our hands. I pressed my hand to my belly, unable to stop myself. Didn’t matter the disaster, I was still curious.
“Ewan will know where to go,” Rory said softly. “Are ye all right? Are ye feeling better?”
