Page 75 of The Highlander's Alluring Spy
“Worry not,” the Duke told Daniel, giving him a steely look of sympathy. “My friend, your daughter shall be retrieved, and this threat will be removed before our royal charge even knows of it. What would you have us do?”
Daniel’s eyes hardened, and he clenched his fists on the sides of the table. “I would use the powers given to me by Her Majesty to immediately employ an army,” he said in a harsh voice. “I would gather our best English soldiers, and march upon Clan MacFoihl before they can enact their awful deeds. Will you support me in this endeavor, Your Grace?”
The Duke nodded. “Of course. My Lord Conley?”
The Marquess, looking unusually severe, nodded too. “Indeed. Who will lead this army?”
Me, of course!
But no. Daniel had been a leader of men once, but he was old now, and upset, and he would be of no help to either Magnolia or the Crown in this state. “I move that Lord Kole takes the forefront of the attack. He is the most intimately familiar with my daughter’s letter, and his cunning mind will allow him to wrench victory from these demonic Scots.”
The Viscount looked surprised. “You’d trust me with this, My Lord? That is truly an honor, especially when your daughter faces part of the threat. Are you quite sure?”
Daniel knew he must be pale, but he put as much determination into his agreement as he could. “We are all of us the senior members of the Order of the Red Blossom. In this room stand four of the men most trusted by the Crown and the Country. We have all made our own sacrifices to get here. There is nobody else I would trust more.”
He held out his hand, and Peter clasped it. The two men shook, and then Daniel turned to the Duke.
“Your Grace,” he said. “Commission a regiment immediately, if you will.”
“As you say, so it shall be done,” the Duke promised.
As the men made their way out of the meeting, Daniel could only hope and pray that he wasn’t too late.
* * *
The carriage ride south held none of the joy of the travel north. Each little Scottish kirk Magnolia passed felt like another knife between her ribs. The Highland cows stared as she passed them, their round dark eyes shining with judgment. The clouds were dark and gray, no longer a blanket, but a storm trying to push her from the country as quickly as they could.
I have poisoned this place. I am a disease to Scotland, and she wants me to go.
The driver, this time, did not talk with her as the gentleman had on the way here. Did he know what she had done? Did he know what she was?
Either way, it was a quiet, lonely ride back home. She had left her pup at home with his brother. He had not come when she called this morning, and she had no time to look for him. Perhaps even Sir Spindrift knew the truth, now.
The further south she traveled, things changed more and more quickly. The grass helped her track her progress as the days wore on. The transformation from bright, healthy forest green to chartreuse and down to something olive-colored felt like life was being drawn from the world itself by her presence.
Would her father welcome her, or would he be disappointed to see her? She’d written him her personal note filled with hope and love, but now here she was, heading home alone with nothing to show for it.
Magnolia often cried, quietly and to herself. The rest of her time was spent staring in the middle distance, wondering how she had managed to get it all so wrong.
They did not stop in Edinburgh this time, instead taking back roads to circumvent the city entirely and shoot straight for the borders. She felt it like a shimmering veil as they crossed the line dividing Scotland from England, and it felt as though she left part of her soul behind her.
At least I protected them from war. At least Elaine is safe.
* * *
“Good mornin’, Dadaidh!” Elaine said brightly as her father shook her awake. Nathair’s eyes were red and swollen after the events of four nights before, but he could not help but smile at the cheer in the little one’s voice. “It’s a right surprise to see ye first thing in the mornin’ yet again!”
“Aye, well, yer Dadaidh wanted to see ye before he had to start his work today, me wee chook,” Nathair told her. She sat up in bed, and he leaned over to kiss her frizzy red hair, still tousled from sleep. “Did ye get a good rest?”
“Aye, I dreamed tha’ the pups were bigger, and we were their pets!” she giggled. “Have ye ever heard such a silly thing?”
He tickled under her chin. “Ye’ve always been me wee pet, chook,” he said.
Elaine smiled at him, but then she tilted her head. “Why are ye wakin’ me, though, instead o’ Betty? Where is Maggie? Is she still sick? It’s been days now, maybe we should fetch the healer.”
Nathair felt it like ice water poured over his head, drenching his whole body, removing the slight warmth that being with his daughter had brought for him. “Nay,” he said in a much more subdued voice.
“Oh.” Elaine was obviously confused. “Yer eyes are red, Dadaidh. Have ye been cryin’?”
