Page 32 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
“Do you not think that if he knew anything, he would have told you? Or would at this moment be telling someone else? I don’t think he knows anything, but it makes it even more urgent that I leave as soon as possible. Truly, I am not worth the life you have here. You are comfortable, well-fed, and have a roof over your head. I will not risk you losing it all.”
He turned away and began to collect his few meager possessions.
“You are doing it again!” Kenna said furiously.
“What?” Maxwell asked, although he knew what she meant.
“Tearing yourself to pieces!” She walked over to him and poked a finger in his chest. “I am so tired of all this self-pity!
Maxwell bristled. “Then I will tell you why I hate myself so much!”
He sat down on the bed and put his hands over his face for a moment, then began.
“I was brought up in a privileged background, and I am the oldest son of a clan, so I acted like many of the young men of my class do. I treated my servants abominably. I beat one of the stable boys for spilling water on my new leather boots once.
“He was only twelve years old and a poor, skinny little thing. I was sixteen and built more or less as you see me now. I had been drinking. It was the first time I ever tried strong drink, and I think I was overcome by it, even though I only drank a little. It brought out the worst in me.
“Anyway, my sister Lindsey, who is two years older than I am, came to the stables on an errand of her own a moment later. When she saw the boy lying on the ground, she put her arms around him and wiped away his tears because that is the kind of worthy woman she is. Then she sent him to the kitchen for some little treats and promised to go and see him later.
“Then she had two of the biggest of the grooms hold me while she set about me with a riding crop. I have never seen her so furious, before or since. She had absolutely no mercy, and afterwards there was not an inch of my body that was notcovered in welts and bruises. I have never felt such pain before or since.
“‘There!’ she shouted. ‘How do you like the taste of your own medicine, you little bag of slime? Tomorrow you are going to that boy and you are going to say sorry, and if I find out you have not done it, I will make your life such a misery you will wish you had never been born!’”
He paused, then gave an exasperated sigh.
“And I did apologize, but I learned nothing from it. Are you happy now?”
15
Kenna stared at him in horrified silence. She was stupefied.
“You did something like that?” Her eyes were wide with horror, then she shook her head. “I don’t believe you. You are lying. I know many lairds and sons of lairds who would do such a thing, but you are not one of them. I am a good judge of character, and I know a good man when I see one.”
“And why would I lie about a thing like that?” His voice was bitter. “If I were a good man, why would I tell you I was not, Kenna?” He stood up, walked restlessly to the window, and looked out before turning back. “I am a bad man, Kenna. Even as I speak to you, I am committing a sin.”
She backed away from him fearfully, her heart racing. She was beginning to feel the first stirrings of alarm inside and swallowed nervously as she asked, “What do you mean?”
Maxwell turned and regarded her for a few moments but did not come close. Kenna could almost see the battle that was going on inside him as he moved restlessly in front of her, clenching hisfists and then running his fingers through his hair. If there had been room in the tiny chamber, she had no doubt that he would have been pacing from one side to the other.
Finally he stopped, looked her in the eye, then squared his shoulders and blew out a deep breath.
“My name is not Ewan Montgomery.”
At first, Kenna could not believe what she was hearing. She felt as though something huge and heavy had knocked the wind out of her, and she gulped in one almighty lungful of air before he spoke again.
“It is Maxwell Forbes.” The words seemed, like a physical thing, to hang in the air before thudding onto the floor. “You might have heard of me.”
“I-I don’t believe you.” Kenna could feel the blood draining from her face as she spoke. “Maxwell Forbes ran away. He is likely hundreds of miles away by now.”
Even as she said the words, she realized how foolish she sounded. Who in his right mind would volunteer to take on the identity of a murderer? It must be true.
Then her dire situation hit her full force, and she clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She was alone in a room with a killer, and she was helpless. She could not get past him; he was simply too big, and if he caught hold of her, she had no way of escaping. Once Ewan—or Maxwell—had her in his clutches, she was doomed.
Kenna looked around frantically for a weapon, but the only thing she could see was the poker, and she would somehow have to manage to get past Maxwell to reach it.
Maxwell, seeing the terror in her face, hastened to reassure her.
“I am not going to harm you, Kenna.” His voice was soft. “I know what everyone thinks of me, but they are all wrong.”
