Page 29 of Highland Renegade
A corner of Gavin’s mouth quirked up. “That should make life interesting.”
Ian made a sound, suspiciously like a growl. “Shall we all have a seat?”
“Of course.” Instead of joining her sisters by the fireplace, Emily moved toward the desk and took the same chair she’d sat in yesterday. If she was going to be recognized as the owner here, she needed to establish some authority. She’d also spent enough time in London Society—not to mention with her own husband—to understand that usurping a man directly never worked. Ian could have his chair behind the desk. She smoothed her skirts and smiled.
Ian shot her a look as he slid into his seat. She suspected they might be having words later about her actions and she found herself oddly looking forward to standing her ground with him. Over the past two weeks, she’d had time to observe him. He dealt with his quarrelsome brothers without a show of temper. As strong as he was, she had no fear that he would hit her if she spoke her mind. Unlike the earl. She gave him a sideways glance. He narrowed his eyes, but it was more a speculative look than anything. She managed to keep from grinning as she turned away.
“Well…” He refocused his attention to Gavin. “I asked ye to come here because two dozen of our sheep were stolen night before last.”
“And?” Gavin asked.
“Did ye ken about it?”
Gavin flicked an invisible piece of lint from his sleeve. “Do I look like a bloo…areiver?”
“I doona suspect ye had a direct hand in it,” Ian replied. “The question I asked was if ye kenned about it?”
“I do not. In case you’ve not noticed, we have plenty of sheep roaming our hills. We do not need to be stealing MacGregor sheep.”
“Actually, they aremysheep, too.” Emily ignored the look Ian was giving her. “King George—Parliament actually—deeded the Strae holdings to me. That includes the livestock.”
Gavin studied her as though she were some strange species he’d never seen. And perhaps she was. It was rare for a woman to own property in her own right, but it was a subject she didn’t want to discuss. “As I said earlier, I intend to make my home here. However, I have no intentions of putting the MacGregors out, so I see this…thievery…as an insult to me as well.”
“I see.” His expression changed slightly. “In that case, my lady, I will do some investigating.”
“Thank you, Mr. Campbell. I shall look forward to a report in the near future.”
“Perhaps sooner than you think,” he answered. “I do not get to London as often as I would like, so it has been a long time since I have had the pleasure of visiting with a lady of Society. May I have leave to call on you?”
“That would be lovely.”
Ian made that strange sound again, but Emily ignored it. What was he growling about? He’d wanted to use herEnglishnessfor his benefit with the Campbells, didn’t he? She was only complying.
She smiled and rose, causing both men to leap up. “If you will excuse me, gentlemen, I will leave you to the rest of your discussion.” Gesturing to her sisters, she made her way to the door.
A good general knew when to retreat. And this was war, after all.
Chapter Nine
The sooner the dust disappeared from Campbell’s horse, the better. Ian watched the animal cross the drawbridge, hooves clopping across the boards, before its rider nudged him to a trot. He turned from the steps to enter the castle, knowing his brothers and uncles would be waiting in the library.
As least they’d had the wherewithal to pour him a generous two drams of whisky that waited on the desk. He swallowed half of it in one gulp before setting the glass down.
“That bad, eh?” Alasdair asked.
“We didna get a confession, but I was nae expecting one.”
“’Tis nae what I meant.” His brother grinned at him. “Campbell seemed quite taken with the countess.”
Ian managed not to scowl. Gavin Campbell’s reputation as a rake had followed him from London to Argyll. Did Emily not recognize a scoundrel when she met one?
I would like leave to call on you,he’d said. He probably said that to every woman.
That would be lovely,she’d said. Lucifer’s horns! Did she actually think to entertain him?
“’Tis true,” Carr agreed. “I suspect we may be seeing more of young Campbell than we anticipated.”
He hadn’tanticipatedthe whelp coming over at all. Henry was the one who had been asked. Ian shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. “At least Campbell agreed to investigate the reiving.”
