Page 37 of Highland Renegade
Ian sighed. Originally, the passageway had been a means of escape should the castle be besieged. Their father had shown it to them after the murder and after he’d searched it for any clue of the intruder. “Ye have nae hidden your feelings about the Sassenachs. We had discussed nae making life pleasant here for them, so I thought ye might want to frighten them a bit.”
“Ye ken Devon doesna like the passageway,” Carr said quietly.
Damn it. Hehadforgotten. His brother had been only eight when it happened and one day had decided to explore the passage after the midday meal. The panel had snapped shut and the candle he’d taken with him had snuffed out, leaving him in pitch black. No one had realized he was missing until suppertime.
“I am sorry,” he said.
Devon strode to the door, still furious. “Ye should be.” Not waiting for a response, he opened it and then slammed it behind him.
“I will follow him,” Rory said and left.
Ian looked at Carr and Alasdair. “I shouldna have brought this up.”
Carr shook his head. “Ye had to ask.”
“Aye, better than to doubt,” Alasdair added.
Ian didn’t want to admit he still had doubt. Devon had, after all, matured and was no longer afraid of the dark. He’d also endured torture at the hands of the English, and his temper was explosive. But would he truly want to harm the women?
Ian prayed not, but there was one thing he could do to ensure no more “dreams,” real or imagined, intruded in that room again. He would move Emily to the new part of the castle whether she liked it or not.
…
Emily walked to the stables shortly after the noon meal, wondering why Ian had offered to show her more of the property. She hoped he wasn’t going to continue to question her about the dream, but she didn’t want to turn down a chance to see more of his—her—holdings, either.
To her pleased surprise, Muirne was saddled and waiting for her. She hadn’t been sure if Ian would continue to let her ride the filly, even though she’d shown him she could hand the young horse. Jamie led the animal to the mounting block as Ian exited a stall with Paden.
“Allow me,” he said, dropping the stallion’s reins. Before she could fathom what he was up to, his hands had circled her waist and he’d lifted her into the saddle as though she weighed no more than a sack of feathers. The feel of those strong hands, even though momentary, seared through her jacket like fire, causing an odd sensation to flare throughout. The filly must have sensed her unsettled emotion for she sidestepped and tossed her head.
Ian grabbed a rein. “Are ye sure ye want to ride this one? She has nae had exercise lately.”
“That is all the more reason I should.” Emily gently tugged the rein loose. “I am quite looking forward to a ride.”
He hesitated a moment, then swung up on Paden’s back. Soon they crossed the drawbridge and put the horses to a brisk trot. They rode in silence for a few minutes before he glanced her way.
“I was thinking ye should take a chamber in the newer section of the castle.”
Ah. So hewasgoing to go on about that dream. “I like being in the old part. I try to imagine your ancestors building it and living there before they… Well, before the proclamation was made.”
Ian grimaced slightly. “Which proclamation would that be? The original one from Mary, Queen of Scots, the one by James VI, Charles I, or William III?”
Perhaps not the best question to have asked, but it did divert the conversation. “I had no idea there were so many.”
He shrugged. “And those doona take into account the feud with the Duke of Montrose or the ’15 Rebellion.”
“Did your clansmen ever try to negotiate a peace treaty?”
Ian looked at her as though she had suddenly sprung a Medusa head. “We areMacGregors.”
“Yes, but—”
“We were the ones who were wronged, lass.” He waved his arm in a far-flung gesture. “We held lands far beyond what ye can see here. Nae only was Glen Strae ours but Glenorchy, Glenartney, and also Glen Fruin for a time. Some of the lands extended west into Perthshire as well.” His hand settled on a muscled thigh. “We were the ones robbed.”
“I had no idea,” Emily said quietly. “I guess that explains why my sisters and I are resented.”
He gave her a quick glance. “Did ye really expect to be welcomed?”
The words stung, but at least he was being truthful. “I suppose not.” She flicked a fly from Muirne’s mane. “Though I had hoped we could coexist peacefully.”
