Page 61 of Marry the Highland Villain
Brigid nodded, her eyes downcast.
It was the answer she had been expecting, after all. Her sisters were cautious by nature, and uprooting themselves from everything they’d ever known was, as Lily said, a difficult decision. She understood their reticence. However, she couldn’t help but wish they would stay. It was the only thing she needed to complete her happiness.
“Ye ken, even if we dinnae join the clan, ye can still come back and visit us whenever ye wish,” Valerie said, smiling at her reassuringly. “Now that ye’re a married lass and a lady of a clan,there’s nay one in the village who would dare insult or harass ye—or us, for that matter. Why dinnae ye come back wit’ us when we leave? It would give ye a chance to say goodbye to the place, seein’ as ye left in such a hurry.”
Brigid sighed, torn between her wish to return home with her family and the equally pressing need to be here with her husband.
“I might be married,” she said quietly, “but I dinnae ken where my husband is. And he wouldnae wish me to travel without him—he doesnae think it safe. We’d already argued about that when I wanted to come to tell ye I was betrothed.”
“Och, I didnae like it at the time,” Megan said with a scowl. “But I’ll confess, yer husband was showin’ good sense on that matter. I wouldnae have wanted ye to travel those roads alone, Brigid. There might have been bandits.”
“Aye.” Valerie made a disgruntled expression. “Even the brutes who carried ye off were better than bravin’ the roads with nay protection at all. Yer husband’s right, Brigid. ‘Tis nae safe for a woman on her own.”
Brigid scowled, briefly looking just like Megan. “The three of ye came alone,” she pointed out. “So it cannae be that dangerous, can it?”
“The three of us are better trained in fightin’ than ye—and better than most men,” Valerie replied. “And three together is different than one alone, Brigid. Ye ken that. Besides…” Her hand shiftedto toy with a crimson and black braided ribbon in her hair. “Some of Father’s crew agreed to watch over us on the road. They didnae want to come to the castle, but they stood guard for us, and they will do so again on the way back, so long as we dinnae linger longer than a fortnight. We’ll be perfectly safe, thanks to them.”
“Ye’ll nae be lingerin’ for another candlemark.”
The angry, snarling voice made the four of them turn around in shock.
Oliver stalked over to the table, guards on each side of him. The warriors spread out, surrounding all four of the women. Brigid’s skin prickled with unease as she and her elder sisters rose, for this was no way to treat the lady of the castle and her kin, surely?
“What’s the meanin’ of this, Oliver?” she demanded, sounding braver than she felt. “Why d’ye speak so rudely?”
“Where is my brother?” Oliver snapped, ignoring the question as if she hadn’t spoken. “What have ye done to him?”
Brigid frowned. “What have I done to him? What do ye mean? I havenae done anything to him, Oliver.”
She looked up at the man beseechingly, but the fury in his eyes made any further questions die on her lips.
“Aye? Is that so? Well, where is he, then?” he spat, his face white with anger. “He’s nae in his study. He’s nae in his chambers. Nay one has seen him since last night, after he left the wedding celebrations with ye.” Oliver’s eyes were blazing with rage, but the rest of his expression was as cold as ice. “Ye were the last one to see him. So, where is he?”
Brigid tried hard to slow her breathing, knowing she must remain calm in order to manage this situation, but beside her, she could feel Valerie stiffen with anger that someone should dare speak to her sister in this manner.
“I dinnae ken any more than ye do, Oliver,” she replied, shooting her sister a warning glance. “He was gone by the time I awoke this morning. He didnae wake me to tell me where he was goin’—I assumed he must have urgent clan business to attend to.”
She spoke calmly enough, but underneath her dress, her heart hammered as if it might break through her chest.
WherewasConall, then, if he was not off somewhere with his brother? And why hadn’t he told her?
“I dinnae believe ye.” Oliver shoved his left hand into his belt pouch and withdrew a vial, which he placed on the table before her. “I found this on the floor of my brother’s chambers when I went there to look for him this morn. Emily told me what these plants are. She told me what they’re used for.”
Brigid frowned down at the vial, not recognizing it at first. Then, her heart leaped into her throat as she realized it was the vial ofmonkshood Laird Auchter had given her the night before. She’d shoved it into the folds of her dress, not knowing what else to do with the wretched thing, and she supposed it must have fallen to the floor when Conall had so unceremoniously removed her clothes last night.
“That’s nothing,” she said quickly, her mouth suddenly dry. “I mean, I forgot I had it. I meant to dispose of it, but I?—”
“Ye meant to put it in my brother’s drink and then toss the vial in the midden.” Oliver’s jaw clenched.
“Nay. Never.” Brigid shook her head frantically, blood pounding in her ears. “I would never. I?—”
“Then why were ye carryin’ it around wit’ ye?” Oliver picked up the vial and held it up accusingly.
All around her, Brigid was aware that the hall had fallen silent, everyone’s eyes fixed on the spectacle of the Laird’s new wife being accused of conspiring to murder him.
This is bad. This is very, very bad.
Where are ye, Conall? Why dinnae ye come?
