Page 77 of The Highlander's Kilted Bride
“I was more interested in spiking my mother’s guns. But how did you know where I hid it and when I would retrieve it?” She shook her head. “I’m really quite annoyed with you, Mr. Kendrick. I was very careful.”
He grinned. “Sorry, lass. My suspicions were ratcheted up this morning at breakfast. You were startled when Lady Kinloch mentioned to me that the maids would be thoroughly cleaning the music room in the next day or so.”
Charlie grimaced. “Yes, that did startle me. I knew the girls would wish to dust the inside of the cabinet and my father’s boxes. I hid the brooch in a box on the bottom shelf. But was that all it took to crack the riddle?”
“What really tipped me off was how you reacted to your father’s harebrained announcement at dinner tonight. After you recovered from your initial shock, you were calmer than the rest of your family, and most of the other guests.”
He was a clever one, and fatally observant.
“Because I knew the brooch would be found only if I allowed it to be found.” She shook her head. “Who knew thatnotflying off the handle would prove to be my undoing?”
When Kade smiled at her, she felt almost lit within from its warmth, as if he’d set off a spark in the middle of her chest.
“If it’s any comfort, I only noticed because I was watching you,” he said. “And since I was also not flying off the handle, I was capable of rational thought.”
Charlie adopted a stern expression. “Well, you have thrown quite a spoke into my plans, sir, and I do not approve.”
He held up a hand, as if taking an oath. “Never fear, my lady. I would not betray your secret, even under the most hideous of tortures.”
“You’d best steer clear of Melissa, then. If I don’t think of some way out of this mess, the poor dear will descend into a permanent state of nervous excitement, and that will be torture for all of us.”
He laughed. Charlie could learn to be quite addicted to that laugh, given half a chance.
“What else led you to believe that the music room was my hiding place?” she asked. “Surely not just my reaction at breakfast this morning.”
“Well, you spend much of your time here, after all. Your bedroom would be the first place your mother and the servants would search, but you would still want to keep the brooch close by. Therefore, all that was left was to sit here and wait, and let you do the rest.”
Charlie shook her head. “That’s both impressive and annoying. Although I suppose I shouldn’t be annoyed, since you are an intelligence agent.”
“Is that what Angus told you?” He blew out an exasperated sigh. “No doubt highly exaggerated tales of my prowess.”
“He was rather mysterious, although he did say you were one of the king’s best spies.”
“No, that would be my brother Graeme.”
She blinked. “You’re joking.”
“No, and he used to be a spy,” he amended. “I’m obviously as bad as my grandfather for telling you that. But since the cat is now clearly out of the bag, I will admit to doing a spot of intelligence work for the Crown now and again. My work and my travels abroad allow me access to, shall we say, certain people.”
“Important people.”
He hesitated for a moment. “Yes, and others, too.”
Like the person who’d stabbed him. When Angus had first told her of Kade’s adventures, it had all seemed terribly exciting. But now the reality of it struck home. Someone had tried to hurt him, perhaps even kill him. And the idea of that, of a world without Kade, suddenly became too devastating to contemplate.
She grabbed his arm. “You mustn’t put yourself in danger, do you hear me? You’re not to do that again.”
He blinked, as if startled by her reaction.
“Sorry,” she muttered, feeling like an idiot.
Before she could unclench her fingers, his hand covered hers. “I promise I will be fine, Charlie. There’s no need to worry.”
His tone was so kind and tender that she found herself having to fight against the impulse to cry.
“It’s just that I don’t want you to get hurt,” she gruffly said, trying to compensate. “If you were injured, you might not be able to play anymore.”
There, that sounded like a reasonable explanation for her emotional outburst.
