Page 48 of Laird of Flint
Her first instinct was to hide, to retreat up the stairs and tuck back under her coverlet until they were gone.
Then she reminded herself they had no idea she was the cateran. In their minds, the laird’s daughter had likely spent a peaceful night slumbering in furs and dreaming of faeries.
So she glided forward with her usual serene smile and placed a hand upon her father’s sleeve.
“What’s happened, Da?”
“Naught to worry ye,” he said, patting her hand.
But Gilbert Boyle was eager to impress her. “Caterans stole a Dunlop coo, m’lady.”
“Sweet Mary!” Carenza exclaimed, pressing a hand to her bosom.
Herbert chimed in, “Lucky we were watchin’ o’er the fold, or it might have been more.”
“Ye were watching o’er the fold?” she asked.
“Aye,” Gilbert said, puffing out his chest to explain, “’Tis the neighborly thing to do.”
“We would have caught the filthy dastards too,” Herbert boasted. “But they outnumbered us.”
Carenza’s brows shot up.
“Aye,” Gilbert agreed. “And they had an arsenal o’ weapons.”
“Faith!” Carenza bit her twitching lip. “How…how many were there?”
“Dozens,” Gilbert said.
“At least,” said Herbert.
“And they took just one coo?” she asked with ingenuous wonder.
Her father cleared his throat. It was clear he didn’t believe the magnitude of their story. But he was a good diplomat who wouldn’t expose the Boyles’ penchant for exaggeration. Instead, he gave them a look of concern. “I’m just grateful they didn’t use their arsenal o’ weapons on the two o’ ye.”
Herbert gave Carenza a sidelong glance. “They did tie us up, though, and left us for dead.”
“How dreadful.” Carenza clucked her tongue in sympathy.
“But ne’er fear, my lady,” Gilbert announced. “We’ll find them. We’ll track the brazen scoundrels to the ends o’ the earth.”
“Anythin’ for the Dunlop clan,” Herbert added.
Her father nodded. “Your dedication is appreciated.”
Carenza, however, didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t want the Boyles poking around, looking for Hamish.
She clasped her hands under her chin and furrowed her brows in feigned worry. “I pray ye don’t endanger yourselves. Better the loss o’ one coo than two of our dear neighbors.”
The Boyle brothers beamed at that. But she feared it would only renew their determination to get to the bottom of the cattle theft.
Eventually they left, mollified by her father’s praise and Carenza’s attention.
When they’d gone, the laird murmured to her, “Do ye think they hired someone to do it—steal the coo and tie them up?”
“Why would they…” Then she realized what he was thinking. “Ah. So they could get the coo back and save the day.”
“Seems likely. Men will go to great lengths to impress a lady.” He gave her a wink.
