Page 68 of Tempting the Highland Devil
Arran remembered that time well. “I have a few clans whom I suspect, but I will need yer alliance to carry out my plan. Come with me, and we shall discuss it in my study.”
Arran sent for his man-at-arms before he led his friends to his study and closed the door behind them. After James arrived, they spent the next few hours deliberating on the best plan to figure out who was behind the recent attempts on Yvaine’s life.
“Yvaine tells me that the men who took her are always determined nay to hurt her. It means whoever sent them always gives orders to make sure she remains unharmed. I believe she is valuable to him in some way.”
Duncan seemed lost in thought while Arran relayed the little information he got from Yvaine upon her last return. “There is a lady who saved her the last time, and I believe she might be of help to lead us to me enemy. I suspected Laird Macmicking at first, but I went to his castle when Yvaine was taken and searched his village meself, and Yvaine was nay there.”
“I suggest we talk to this lady that ye think will be of help,” Duncan suggested, and they kept deliberating while James left the study and returned with Isabella.
She curtsied to all three of them then faced Arran. “My laird,” she greeted.
“Tell us what ye ken,” Arran said to her.
Isabella nodded softly then stared him right in the eye. “I get my orders through a messenger in the village. He delivers them in sealed letters with a red seal over it. I have never met him before or seen the messenger’s face, but I have sent word to him. This last time I joined in the mission because they needed me to keep giving my lady the potion that put her to sleep.”
“How do ye contact this messenger? Do ye ken where to find him?”
She nodded, and Arran rose to his feet. “Then I will need ye to send a message. I want to meet whoever uses this messenger in person. Tell him ye have information about the lady of the keep, and ye would like to meet in person because ye want somethin’ in return for yer loyalty.”
“Aye, my laird. I will do as you please.”
After Isabella left his study, Arran poured his friends each a quaich of whisky, and they settled down to discuss other clan matters.
* * *
By evening, Arran went in search of Yvaine and found her strolling the fields with Lily and Amelia. He watched her from a distance first then folded his arms across his chest and allowed a smile to creep up his lips.
Arran did not realize Elspeth joined him till she cleared her throat.
“She is bonnie, isnae she?” Elspeth asked when he glanced down at her and met her smile.
Arran only nodded before he turned to stare at Yvaine again. She was laughing at something Lily said to her, and the wind blew at her hair, fluttering it all over the place.
He longed to draw his fingers through the hair and enjoy the silky feel of her strands over his skin. Arran enjoyed making love to her more than anything else, and even though they hadn’t gotten the chance to talk since last night, he already anticipated spending time alone with her.
“She is,” he finally admitted to Elspeth then dipped his hands into his kilt’s pocket. Arran could not imagine his life without Yvaine in this moment. Somehow, she crept past his defenses and made his heart long for her.
“When I first met her faither, I thought our marriage was prison. I dinnae love him and neither did he care for me. He simply needed my dowry and a bonnie woman to bear his bairns. With time, I fell in love with him, and ours was a great love that lasted us a lifetime. I still miss him till this day.”
Her words reached Arran’s heart but caused an ache there still because he was different from Yvaine’s father. Unlike Elspeth’s husband, Arran was a man with demons, and those demons could make him exactly like his father.
“Ye are a good man, Arran, and ye care for Yvaine. I can tell from the way ye look at her…from the way ye have always looked at her.”
When he faced Elspeth again, she flattened one hand over his cheek and smiled at him. “Ye will learn to love.”
Arran swallowed hard to push down the lump that formed in his throat then he watched Elspeth walk away to join the ladies on the field. Yvaine spotted him when her mother got to them, and she waved her hand at him.
He smiled and waited till she got to where he stood.
“Me laird,” she greeted and curtsied, but he took her wrist and stopped her. Arran moved closer to her as he linked their fingers.
“Take a walk with me,” he whispered to her when they came close enough for him to feel her warmth and inhale her scent.
Their fingers stayed linked as they walked down the fields, and they stayed quiet for a long time before Yvaine finally whispered, “Ye were nay longer in the chamber when I woke up this mornin’.”
Arran saw her flush when he glanced at her, and he loved how it made him feel. He sucked in a deep breath before saying to her. “I had to prepare for yer braither’s arrival, and I wanted ye to get more rest. After last night, ye needed it.”
Arran looked around and found that no one was looking at them, so he moved quickly, swooped his hands around her waist, and drew her to him for a kiss.
