Page 31 of Highland Sword
“Now you’re just being kind.”
“Not at all. I can see perfectly out of my other eye,” he told her.
Morrigan ordered him to sit on a nearby bench. He followed her directions. Luckily, Sebastian and Blair were still unaware of what happened. Aidan could only imagine the stories his brother would be inventing about this incident.
The numbness was quickly giving way to a stinging pain. Aidan tried to touch it, but she pushed his hand away and tilted his chin up.
Morrigan leaned closer to look at the wound. She produced a handkerchief from somewhere, and she used it to keep light pressure on his eye. Her soft breath teased his neck. Her free hand caressed his forehead as she brushed a lock of hair away.
Her skin was flawless, her dark eyes intense and unwavering. Aidan looked at her lips. The bruising was gone, and only a small cut remained, still healing.
His entire body became aware of her nearness. He’d thought her beautiful from the first moment he saw her in Inverness. But she had an aloofness that made her mysterious, an untamed fierceness that he found fascinating. Being near her was like standing by a loch at the onset of a summer storm. He wanted to be swept away.
She removed her handkerchief from his eye. “Blast. It’s still bleeding. I should get Isabella. She might need to stitch it.”
“I don’t need stitches for something so insignificant.”
“We can’t let a scar ruin your good looks.”
“Good looks? You think I’m handsome, Miss Drummond?”
“Passable.” She dabbed the handkerchief against his eyebrow.
Aidan took her hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Only passable?”
She froze, and a deep crimson blush spread upward from her neck into her face. For a moment, time stood still. Her lashes were long and dark. A dusting of freckles kissed the tip of her nose. Aidan’s gaze caressed her face, settled on her lips. He wondered what she would do if he tried to kiss her.
She wrenched her hand out of his grasp and leaped back. “I’ll… I’ll go and fetch Isabella.”
“There’s no need to trouble her.”
“There is!” she exclaimed. “I’ll fetch her.”
Before he could utter another word, she was gone.
CHAPTER11
MORRIGAN
Searc agreed to take Morrigan to Inverness for the day, but only conditionally. She needed to get Isabella’s approval. So the night before the trip, she gathered up the collection of caricatures and went to the medical room and found her brewing a purplish decoction of roots and leaves. The brew looked and smelled foul, to say the least, but Isabella didn’t seem to even notice.
“My intention is to speak to the women at Barn Hill. They might know the person responsible for these.” She showed her the caricatures. “Based on what we see, the artist is a woman and is somehow connected to that estate. There can’t be too many people who fit that description.”
“What happens if the people at Barn Hill do know who drew these? Suppose they give you a name? What will you do, then?”
Find her. Hold her feet to hot coals. Break her fingers.
Honestly, Morrigan didn’t know what she was going to do. After locating the artist, she fully intended to get some understanding of the woman’s circumstances. And there was only so much she could accomplish in the timeshe had. They were leaving at dawn and returning very late in the day.
“I’ll give the name to Searc,” she said instead, hoping that was a satisfactory answer.
The incredulous look Isabella gave her spoke volumes. She didn’t believe her. “I’m angry and I know you feel the same way. But I don’t trust you. You like to take matters into your own hands.”
“I admit I want to find her myself.”
“For the purpose of stopping her?”
“Exactly.” Morrigan had a feeling she knew where Isabella was going with this. “Once I locate her, I want to find out why she is doing it, who is paying her, and how we can make her stop.”
