Page 27 of Sutherland's Secret
Brice sucked in a breath from between clenched teeth. Damnation, but MacLean could be a pain in his backside at times. “No.”
Both Eleanor and Colin raised their brows at him, but he was damned if he would say more. It was none of MacLean’s business.
Brice pushed past them and entered the great hall. The serving girls were back, preparing the tables for the afternoon meal. As good as it was to have the English out of his home, he felt like the entire hall needed a good washing.
Eleanor and Colin entered behind him; she drifted away, while Colin continued to watch her. “Interesting,” he said.
“Ye’ve said that already.”
“Because I find it interesting.”
Brice put his hands on his hips and faced his best friend. They’d fostered together many years ago and had formed a tight bond that had only strengthened in the intervening years but that didn’t mean that MacLean didn’t aggravate Brice from time to time. “And what do ye find so interesting, might I ask?”
“She doesn’t speak. Ye have to admit that’s interesting. She told ye her Christian name but not her family name. Seems to me she’s hiding something. Are ye certain she’s Scottish?”
Brice pulled in a breath. “And why would ye ask that?”
Colin looked toward where Eleanor had ascended the steps, a thoughtful look on his face. “I was out riding, per Graham’s instructions,” he began. “And heard that a large contingent of English officers was in the area and on Sutherland land. I also heard that the officer, a Colonel Blackwood, was looking for an English lady who had wandered away from her party and become lost.” Colin turned his thoughtful look to Brice. “Like I said, interesting.”
“Follow me,” Brice said.
Colin followed him to his solar. Brice closed the door and motioned for Colin to sit in the chair in front of his desk.
Colin made himself comfortable while Brice perched on the edge of his desk. They sat like that in silence for a long time, Colin looking at him expectantly and Brice contemplating what to tell his friend. It wasn’t that he was bad or irresponsible. Well, maybe a wee bit irresponsible. But Colin was also a quick thinker, and it shouldn’t have surprised Brice that he had put the pieces of the puzzle together. Colin could be useful to him at some point.
“Ye are correct. Blackwood is looking for her.”
Colin whistled low. “That’s a dangerous game ye’re playing,bràthair.”
“I’m aware.”
Colin eyed him speculatively. “She must be powerfully special if ye’re willing to risk everything for her.”
He put a slight emphasis on the word “everything,” and it made Brice wince. So much was at stake. So many lives that she couldn’t even begin to be aware of. More and more people were asking for his help. He was becoming overwhelmed. He didn’t have enough ships to help everyone, and it tore him up. It also angered him that it had come to this—his people fleeing their own homes in order to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
“Her name is Lady Eleanor Hirst, the Countess of Glendale.”
Colin was silent for a long moment, apparently unable to speak. Brice supposed there was a first time for anything.
“Damnation, Brice. When you finally find a woman, ye don’t hold back.”
“I haven’t found a woman,” he snapped. Of course Colin’s thoughts would go in that direction. What a ludicrous idea. He wasn’t the least interested…
He couldn’t even finish that thought, noting it for the lie it was. He was interested. Very interested. Far more interested than was safe or appropriate. He thought about holding her in his arms the night before, while the English soldiers were carousing below them. It had been a powerful feeling and a frightening one all at the same time.
No one had attracted his interest since Alisa. Occasionally he thought that he would have to choose another wife so he could produce an heir to pass all of this mess on to. But on the heels of that was the thought that he didn’t really want to pass it on. It wasn’t an honor. It was a stone that sat upon his shoulders, weighing him down, the stress of everything keeping him awake at night. He was responsible for so much—theStaranand all of the fugitives, those who gave the fugitives shelter at their own peril, the people who willingly harbored his secrets. He’d already lost his younger brother to this damnable covert operation, and there wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t feel guilty for it.
Colin waved a hand in front of his face. “Where did ye go off to?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Brice blinked his thoughts back to the present.
“Ye were saying that this Lady Eleanor is no’ yer woman,” Colin said.
“She’s not. I found her on the side of the road, unconscious and near death. She was supposed to die.”
Colin’s eyes widened. “What?”
Brice waved his hand in the air. “She was so near death that I would have bet money that she would no’ make it to the next sunrise, but she surprised me and rallied.” He spread his hands wide. “What was I supposed to do, leave her on the side of the road? She’d been misused, bruises covering her body. She has scars on her wrists.” He wrapped his fingers around his opposite wrist and looked at Colin meaningfully.
