Page 86 of Highland Sword
She leaned toward him. Their lips were close, andAidan was sorely tempted to kiss her, but he didn’t want the entire Mackintosh clan giving him a beating tonight.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m not being difficult. I’m trying to get back to the proposal that you never allowed me to finish in the drawing room yesterday.”
“Mr. Grant, we’re done with that conversation.”
“We’re not. I’m certain.”
“I explained.”
“I didn’t have the opportunity to present vital evidence.”
“There’s nothing more to be said.”
“I’d like to repeat what I said to you yesterday. I love you, Miss Drummond. I love you.” He said it loud enough that a few heads at their table turned to them.
She took his hand and squeezed it, trying to hush him. Aidan didn’t think he’d seen this shade of red in her face before. Her dark eyes had become misty and shone like diamonds. He entwined their fingers under the table.
“I love you. I’m asking you to be my wife,” he whispered in her ear. “We can’t let him do this to us, Morrigan. We can’t let Burney win.”
Her chin sank to her chest. Behind them, the laird briefly welcomed everyone to this celebration. Cinaed stood to speak next.
Aidan’s attention remained on Morrigan. He studied her profile, the tilt of her chin, her parted lips, the rise and fall of her chest as she steadied her breathing. Her grip on his hand was as strong as his. She wasn’t letting him go.
Cheers rang out in the hall. Cinaed called out his name. This was the moment when he was supposed to stand and address the gathering.
He remained seated, calmly ignoring everyone, and Morrigan’s gaze flew to his face.
“I don’t want it if I can’t have you in my life,” he said quietly.
“But his threats?”
“I want you to trust me, as I trust you. He’ll not defeat us.”
Everyone around them was waiting for Aidan to stand. Silence had fallen across the hall.
“I need time to think it all through,” she said finally. “Now please, speak to the people. All of us trust you. All of us believe in you.”
Aidan didn’t let go of her hand as he stood to the cheers of the Highlanders. The case was reopened.
CHAPTER30
MORRIGAN
Sir Rupert had risen to the bait Morrigan cast last month.
The Mackintosh leaders were determined to beat him at his blackmail scheme. The warehouse of weapons had been the first lure. Next, she sent other information to keep him engaged. A prisoner transfer that needed to be deferred. A ship newly arrived from Hull that was carrying more cargo than had been reported to the exciseman. All the information came directly from Searc.
A weight had been lifted from Morrigan’s shoulders, though she was not completely free of it. Still, her new attitude had come about because of Aidan. She hadn’t agreed to marry him yet, but he wasn’t giving up. Working together with him gave her a feeling she’d never experienced before. She had a true partner, and he was as determined as Morrigan to beat Burney.
During the second week of January, Searc brought back new flyers that had been posted from Inverness.
Maisie and Fiona had become obsessed with gleaning every bit of information they could from the caricatures. And they were quite good at it. Immediately, the three ofthem decided that the work was new, which was a relief. It meant Madame Laborde was still alive.
After some time spent examining the images, they found two more things of great interest.
Morrigan went in search of Aidan. Since returning to Dalmigavie, he’d again taken to using the small library upstairs from the Great Hall for his daily correspondence. As she passed the drawing room next door, she saw Fiona’s children and a few others playing hide-and-seek. She knocked at the library door and entered.
