Chapter 9 #2
"Come in," Elsea said, her heart skipping a beat.
Brodie stuck his head in, his gorgeous presence not helping in the matter of her wild and speeding pulse. His gaze darted from Elsea to his mother. "Ma? What are you doing here?" His tone was deeply suspicious.
She sent him a sweet smile. "Only having a wee chat with Lady Elsea, my dear. You know I was always fond of her."
"Finnian needs to see her in his workroom." Brodie glared at his mother in warning. "He has a remedy for her head."
"Oh, Finnian is so helpful, is he not?" Agatha gushed.
Elsea studied the two, curious about their suppressed conflict.
Agatha wanted to enlighten her, while Brodie preferred to keep her in the dark.
Mayhap she should leave the room before they started shouting at each other.
She rose and approached the door. "I'll return forthwith, m'lady...
eh... Agatha, and we'll continue our talk.
" She strode past Brodie and headed toward Finnian's room where he had first examined her head.
"I'll be there in a minute," Brodie called after her.
***
WHEN ELSEA WAS OUT of earshot, Brodie entered the room and closed the door.
"Agatha?" he mimicked, scowling at his mother. Hardly anyone called her by her first name.
"Of course, dear. Elsea used to call me Agatha. Why not now?" Her lips quirked up. "I would ask her to call me Ma or Mother, but that might be overstepping."
"You think?" he growled.
She tilted her head, her smile widening.
"Do nay tell her anything about the past," he said in a low tone.
"Why? She deserves to know the truth. It might help her remember something."
He blew out a breath, imagining all the things his mother might enlighten Elsea about. "If you tell her I'm cursed, she might try to escape in the night and put herself in danger. She believes shapeshifters are evil. Wilona MacRae has already visited her in a dream and threatened to kill her."
His mother blanched and crossed herself, amusement fading. "Saints preserve us."
"Aye. 'Tis precarious. I prefer to let her remember in her own time. She was near traumatized earlier when she learned of her father's death."
"Oh. I hadn't considered that. Is she well?"
Brodie shrugged. "I suppose, though she wept as if it had just happened." And he'd hated that for her. "Cease your manipulations for a while. I must find out about the galley she fell from and who was on board."
His ma's brow furrowed. "That sounds dangerous, darling. Would it not be best if Torr and Gavin returned and helped you with it?"
"Nay. I refuse to put them in danger. They're both recently wed and enjoying life. 'Tis their honeymoon."
The smug amusement returned to his mother's eyes. "Well... you could be enjoying a honeymoon if only—"
"Nay! Hold your tongue."
Hiding a smile, she rolled her lips between her teeth.
"The lass needs to sleep. She's going to drink an elixir. So, do nay be upsetting her further." Brodie motioned for his ma to exit the room.
She smiled. "Oh, alright, dear. I'll talk to her tomorrow. By the way, she's just as lovely as ever, don't you think? Or maybe even more beautiful."
"Cease your maneuvering," he muttered. "'Twill nay work."
His mother chuckled and hurried away.
Blast her. He blew out a breath, slammed the door on his way out, and strode back toward Finnian's workroom.
When he entered, Elsea sat by the hearth, sipping the tisane while Finnian explained about the rowan cross and how it could protect her from the witch's evil.
She glanced at Brodie. Because of the dimness of the room, her eyes were a darker blue.
Or was she sending him an interested look?
Regardless, her expression brought the past back to life.
If she truly didn't remember him, why was she looking at him as she used to?
To her, was it like they were meeting for the first time... all over again?
Hellfire.
He turned away and stared out the window into the gloaming, trying to forget the past.
Focusing on the issue at hand, he grew curious about how the elixir would affect her. What if she remembered something in the middle of the night or had another nightmare in which Wilona visited or attacked her?
***
TALNAROCH AND HIS GARRISON rode through the open portcullis of Kincreag Castle that evening.
Chief William MacAuley waited in the bailey, his glare fierce. "Where's my sister?"
"You tell me!" Detesting the lowly chief's disrespectful tone, Talnaroch held his tongue, lest the chief rip up the betrothal contract.
Talnaroch dismounted, then motioned the guard who led Lady Elsea's mare forward. Having ridden all day and seen neither hide nor hair of the wayward wench, he suppressed the fury simmering in his blood.
"Where did you find her horse?" William demanded.
"The willful lady followed me north to one of my castles on the coast, a full day's ride from here. Can you not control your sister?"
William's face reddened, and his jaw clenched.
"I went there to buy horses," Talnaroch added, wanting no suspicions raised about the true purpose.
"Lady Elsea said she came along to tell me she was ready to sign the betrothal contract.
I was glad for that, at least. I allowed her to eat and rest in one of the bedchambers while I went to look at the horses.
When I returned, she was nowhere to be found.
Vanished, I tell you! None of my men saw her leave.
We found her horse grazing on the moor."
His face blanching, William scowled. "Did someone abduct her?"
"My guards saw no one."
"Mayhap 'twas one of your own guards." William's irate gaze scanned Talnaroch's men.
"Nay, they're all accounted for," he snapped.
"We must find her!"
"Indeed, and I need your help with that. We're all spent from searching for her all night and all day. We're going to Glenhaish to rest."
William gave a sharp nod. "We'll start looking for her immediately."
"I appreciate it. I want my future wife back." Talnaroch mounted. "I'll come by again soon to see if you've found her. If I find her, I'll bring her here."
He and his men rode an hour farther east. Glenhaish Castle sat by a freshwater loch that connected to the ocean, a useful position.
Tired of riding all day, he was glad to dismount in the bailey of Glenhaish.
'Twas another castle in need of repair, but he would soon remedy that, once his fortunes improved.
He strode outside the damaged curtain wall, pondering the cost of stonemasons.
He ventured down to the dock to inspect the five new galleys he'd recently had built.
Walking alongside one, he slid his fingertips over the sleek hull, admiring the craftsmanship.
These would allow him to seize more plunder.
Ten selkie wenches were secured in the dungeon here. He would check on them and see if they were being fed and cared for. He must keep them in prime condition.