Page 35 of A Rogue in Moonlight
“You deliberately frightened the wee woman.” Resisting the urge to laugh, Dougal made sure to scowl.
“Bah, she was a timid thing,” Hamish said. “We did not like her much.”
Dougal twisted his mouth awry. “Do not think to do that with Miss MacCarran. She is not timid, this one.”
“Seems a bold lass with a curious mind and quick wit,” Fergus said. “That gauger’s sister will notice too much of what happens in the glen.”
“We have a fortnight at least before we must move that whisky,” Hamish said. “And a fortnight before the spring ball game in the glen. Which side will you join as a player, Dougal? Drumcairn or Garloch?”
“The laird of Kinloch keeps neutral for the ball game and takes no side in the long rivalry between the glen villages. I should not play,” Dougal said.
“You, lad, are one the best at the ba’!” Ranald protested.
“Declare a side and just play,” Fergus said. “With you there, everyone will come to watch. So that would be the time to move the whisky.”
“That day?” Dougal asked. “I am not sure I like that.”
“Fergus is right. It is a good plan,” Hamish agreed.
“True, all will be distracted by the ba’ game,” Ranald said.
“Huh. It could work,” Dougal admitted. “I suppose we could move some casks down to the loch.”
“Otherwise, it would take us several trips over several nights,” Fergus pointed out.
“You should send the teacher away before the game,” Hamishsaid. “If she discovers this, she could alert her brother, who would bring gaugers into the glen.”
“Though if she will not go, you could make her one of us instead,” Ranald said.
Dougal laughed. “I doubt she would join us at midnight with a pistol and a pony.”
“Ranald means that a woman of the glen will not speak of what goes on in these hills,” Fergus said. “Not even if her brother was a gauger.”
“But she is not a woman of the glen—oh, no!” Dougal raised a hand, seeing his uncles’ eyes brighten. “You want me to seduce the woman? I will not.”
“Seduce? Just marry the lass,” Fergus said. “That would do it.”
Ranald smiled. “It is a good idea, lad.”
“Marriage would be good for the lad, hey,” Hamish told his brothers.
“Would help him recover from his lovesickness.” Ranald grinned.
“You auld rascals,” Dougal growled.
“The dominie came to our glen at the wrong time,” Ranald said. “She is stubborn and will not leave easily. We can see that. Nor will you scare her off. But if she were bound to the glen and its laird, she would not talk.”
“A wife would be good for you,” Fergus said. “Hamish could use one too.”
“I have one. We do not suit,” Hamish growled.
“Lucy is growing fast, Kinloch,” Fergus said. “She needs a mother.”
“She has female relatives. And I do not need a wife just now. We must manage this lady for two weeks, not a lifetime. We only need to move that cargo through the glen soon without being seen.”
Hamish clapped Dougal on the shoulder. “Gain her loyalty and swear her to secrecy. Do it however you can.” The others chuckled.
Dougal folded his arms, shook his head. “You are mad, all of you.”
