Page 62 of Highland Renegade
Rory returned with Devon as they were sitting down to the evening meal a day later, again in the small dining room, since Ian and his other brothers hadn’t come in until well after the clansmen had eaten in the Great Hall.
Emily watched covertly as the two took their seats. Devon hadn’t spared her a glance, but he didn’t seem angry. Perhaps Rory had been able to calm him down, or maybe just being away had served its purpose. Ian had said Devon was given to disappearing for several days at a time. She just hoped she would be able to break through those barriers he’d erected against everyone English.
“What were ye able to find out?” Ian asked.
“The dragoons did go all the way to Inveraray,” Rory said.
“’Tis good then,” Ian replied. “We doona need dragoons spying on how abundant our harvest is.”
“We doona need them around to steal the peat we cut after the harvest, either,” Alasdair said. “But I wonder why they went to Inveraray?”
Rory shook his head. “We didna want to breach the castle—”
“Speak for yerself, brother,” Devon growled. “I was nae afraid to try.”
“It would have been foolish of ye,” Ian said sharply, causing Devon to glare at him.
“I dinna say ye were afraid.” Rory gave his brother an empathetic look. “But taking the chance of getting caught was nae worth it.”
A muscle clenched in Devon’s jaw, and Emily wondered if he really would have tried to sneak into the Campbell castle or if part of his defiance was trying to prove something to himself. She suspected the latter and filed it away for future reflection.
“Were ye able to find out anything?” Carr asked.
Rory shrugged. “We saw the ducal carriage in the driveway, so Argyll was home from London. I suspect the dragoons were delivering a message from Kilchurn Castle or receiving one from Inveraray.”
“Kilchurn Castle?” Emily asked. “Where Gavin Campbell and his father live?”
“Aye,” Rory answered. “Chances are, neither are up to any good. I still think they stole MacGregor sheep.”
Juliana narrowed her eyes. “Would those not be Emily’s sheep?”
He gave her an annoyed glance, but to ward off an ensuing argument—Devon’s face was already looking like a thundercloud—Emily intervened.
“Those wereoursheep.” She smiled at the brothers. “We are united now.”
Devon snorted. Ian gave him a warning look.
“Back to the matter at hand,” Carr said. “Did ye discover anything else?”
“Aye,” Rory answered. “They dinna stay long. Half of them rode back toward Kilchurn—”
“We followed to make sure they dinna detour toward us,” Devon added.
Ian nodded. “And the other half?”
Rory frowned. “They rode south.”
“South?” Carr knit his brow. “Ye think they were delivering a message to somewhere else as well as Kilchurn?”
“I wanted to follow them.” Devon cast Rory a baleful look. “But my brother threatened to bash my head in and tie me to a tree.”
Rory shrugged. “Only until the riders were gone.”
Emily felt her eyes widen. Rory sounded so nonchalant as though he’d actuallydothat. None of the other brothers looked overly concerned, though. “You really would not hurt your own brother, would you?”
Devon gave her a quick glance before he looked away. Rory grinned. “Och, aye. ’Tis nae like we have nae sparred before.”
Sparred? Is that what they called bashing someone’s head in here in Scotland?
