Page 102 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
They reached Callum’s study and walked inside. Callum headed to the rolls of parchment in a barrel behind his desk.
He would review McCarthy’s castle and the lay of his lands, plan the best approach, and set off at first light. If he could take them by surprise, he was more likely to be able to find the girls without bloodshed.
Callum Lawson did not act rashly. He thought things through and made sure he was prepared before walking into a fight.
He pulled the parchment from the barrel, turning to find Alexander standing opposite his desk, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
“What are ye lookin’ like thunder for?” Callum asked him.
Alexander’s only response was to shrug a shoulder. “Are ye plannin’ to go to McCarthy’s tomorrow?”
“Aye. We need the element of surprise. If we go before dawn, we’ll arrive at the changin’ of the watch. I’ll kill every man on the watch if I have to, to get those girls back.”
“Aye, M’Laird.”
Callum laid the map of McCarthy’s lands over the desk. He focused on the pathways that would lead him back to the girls, on the best direction to approach from.
But all he could see as he looked at it was the wrong road to London, and Lydia driving away from him.
I will never be able to hold her again.
Callum scowled, pushing the thought away. Placing a finger on the east side of the castle, he looked to Alexander again.
“I have been to the castle before. The main entrance is heavily guarded, but there is a rear door here where the guards come and go. We can make our way inside from there.”
“And then?”
Callum paused.“And then I take the girls and bring them back with me.”
Alexander shifted his weight. “And then?”
Callum blinked, staring into his friend’s eyes.
And what will happen then? If McCarthy doesnae retaliate, things will go back to the way they were before.
Before Lydia came. Before he had a confidante and companion to tuck them in at night.
The more he thought through the plan, the more dissatisfied he became with it.
Nothing about this situation was satisfactory. He did not like that Lydia had taken her departure into her own hands, that she had not listened to reason, that she was gone.
Everything was in disarray, the castle too quiet, the future too uncertain.
He wanted the girls back now, not tomorrow, not in a few hours—this instant.
Callum wanted to believe that the reason behind that desire was his loyalty to his brother. His brother had trusted no one else with the care of the girls. It was Callum’s responsibility to ensure they were safe.
But that was not the only reason. He wanted them back so that Lydia would return. He wanted them back so that they could finally be a family again.
Family.
Callum stepped back from the table, meeting Alexander’s eye as shock rippled through him. That word had not meant anything to him for years. Family had meant betrayal for so long that he had forgotten what it meant.
But it was no longer simply about his blood relatives, about duty and responsibility.
Lydia was part of it all. Since her arrival, her presence had become essential to him in a way he had never expected. It was as if she were sewn into the very fabric of the castle, and now that she was gone, nothing felt whole.
I want her back. I have to get her back.
