Page 91 of Highland Renegade
“Jamie is asking to talk to ye,” she said to Ian.
“I will be right there.” He turned to Emily and winked. “We will continue this…discussion…later.”
She smiled as he left. “I look forward to it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
He’d just proposed marriage—for the first time in his life—and he’d been turned down. Ian was still smarting a bit over that when he joined his brothers, uncles, and the ladies the next morning to break their fasts. Ifanyof his brothers found out, he’d be the butt of their jokes for months.
Emily was already seated at the round table, looking fully recovered from her fall. She glanced at him and he thought he saw a faint blush steal across her cheeks before she turned to speak to one of her sisters. Since none of the women were gawking at him, he assumed she hadn’t told them about his proposal.
Not that he had given up on the idea. MacGregors hadn’t survived as outlaws for nearly two centuries to simply accept rejections of any sort. And, damn it, Emily needed protection, whether she thought so or not. What Jamie had wanted to talk to him about yesterday was that the cinch on Muirne’s saddle had been replaced with an old one from a pile of discards. Which meant someone had deliberately changed it. And someone may have opened the gate that let the mares out so Jamie and the experienced grooms would not be around to saddle the horse.
He tried not to let those worrisome thoughts show as he helped himself to eggs, ham, and potatoes from the sideboard and took a seat, then turned to Emily. “How are ye feeling this morning?”
“A bit sore from the fall,” she answered, “but otherwise, I’m fine.”
He wanted to say more but held his peace. All of the incidents could have been committed to scare Emily away rather than actually murder her, but he hated thinking one of his kin, or even another clan member, was responsible.
But that was wishful thinking. He looked around the group.
“What are the plans for today?”
“Donovan and I are bringing the last of the barley sheaves in,” Broderick replied.
“We’ll be cutting peat,” Rory said, “if the bog’s dry enough.”
“It ought to be,” Devon added, “since the sun was out most of yesterday.”
“What about ye?” Carr asked.
“I’ll be taking the wagon over to Taynuilt to get some supplies.” Ian glanced at Fiona. “What will ye ladies be doing?”
His sister tucked her chin subtly in a semblance of a nod to acknowledge she understood his concern to stay near Emily. “We—all four of us—are going to Gwendolyn’s cottage to help pack herbs. She’s getting ready to take them around to the crofters, since cold weather will soon settle in.”
“And Glenda?”
“I have nae seen her this morning, but I will ask.”
Ian nodded. “’Twould be good if she went along.”
Fiona’s eyes widened fractionally, an indication that she realized the girl might be a suspect. “Aye. It would.”
He finished his food while covertly watching the others. Nobody seemed to be upset that Emily had recovered from the “accident.” Devon didn’t even appear angry after yesterday’s outburst when he’d stomped from the room. But then, Emily seemed to be convinced Devon was not the culprit. With all his heart, Ian hoped she was right. That his volatile brother was not involved in any of this. But if not him, who?
He sighed as he stood to leave. When he returned home this evening, he would have a long talk with Carr and decide on how to proceed. At least everyone’s whereabouts were accounted for today, and Emily would be safe with Fiona at the cottage.
For now, it was all he could do.
…
It was late afternoon when Emily and her sisters returned with Fiona from the healer’s cottage. She’d spent an enjoyable day helping pack the herbs into little packages that would be used for various ailments and winter fevers for the folks who lived around the area.
Glenda had arrived shortly after they did, and Emily had been impressed by how much the girl knew about the various plants and concoctions. She briefly wondered if Glenda had actually put the hemlock into the wine, but the more Emily listened to the interaction of Old Gwendolyn with the younger girl, the more she realized that the healer was training her to perhaps take her place.
That assumption was validated when Gwendolyn announced Glenda would be accompanying her on her trip this time, stopping overnight at one crofter’s hut or another. They’d both set off on the healer’s horse with Cedric, the wolfhound, bounding beside them.
Ian’s brothers and uncles had also returned to the castle, although there was at least two hours until sunset. Most of them were in the Great Hall, drinking ale. She met Broderick on the stairs as she made her way to the solar. He smiled quite genially as they passed and she smiled back, wondering if, perhaps, Ian had said something to his kin about their conversation after all.
