Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
After the visit from the village head, Anna spent the day trying to put together a plan. Callum had been unavailable, not in any of his usual spots. It only took her half an hour of searching before she decided that her time would be better used plotting.
All the evidence she had, none of which was tangible, pointed to Callum.
It was all speculation at best, though. Emelia had helped her compile his habits by interviewing the other servants.
There seemed to be periods of time where Callum and his personal servant were unaccounted for, and Callum was the treasurer.
Emelia had promised to try to speak with the servant, but the two were rarely separated. She'd also admitted that he was fiercely loyal to Callum. Even if she were able to speak with him, he likely wouldn't be of any help.
I'll just have to confront him myself.
Anna knew she wouldn't be able to outright ask if he had anything to do with the rumors that had been circulating.
If she did, the man would deny it. Instead, she'd ask about the financial issues directly.
They'd been going on longer than she'd been around, that much she was sure of. If she could catch him in a lie…
Well, she wasn't sure what exactly she'd do, but it would at least prove that he was trying to pin something on her. The reason why, though, she couldn't quite figure out.
As she left the great hall, she decided that she'd worry about that later. She just needed to know whether Callum was involved or simply an insufferable person. If it wasn't him, the only other people that had taken issue with her were Marcus and Aaron.
But in my heart, I know that Marcus wouldn't do something like this. Even if he did dislike me at first, he likes me now.
Even that, though, she couldn't be sure of. If she hadn't invited him to the village, he would never have seen his lover engaged in… those activities. In a way, her actions had directly caused the darkness he'd been lingering in ever since his return.
As Anna hurried down the corridor, she heard her name. She stopped, her feet nearly skidding on the stone. Quietly, she tucked herself away, straining to make out the conversation happening nearby.
"Again?" one of the guards scoffed. "That's the third time in several days that he's gotten money for her."
"Aye, Callum says that she keeps askin' for it," the other said, not bothering to hide his distaste. "He doesnae have a clue what she could be spendin' it on, but he's nae in the business of gettin' on the Laird's bad side."
"He's been coverin' it up for her if I had to guess," the first said. "Nay wonder they had a meetin' with the villagers about finances yesterday."
Anna couldn't bear to hear any more. She needed answers, and it was clear that these two had some. So, she stepped out of hiding, smoothing out her skirts and approaching the two men as casually as she could muster.
"Excuse me," she said, smiling at the two of them. "I must have misheard you. Did you say that Callum was withdrawing money for me?"
They stared back at her, unmoving. One of them still wore disgust on his features. It was as if, overnight, the staff was turning on her.
"Ye should ken about it, aye?" the other asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nay need to interrogate us. We daenae ken a thing about that."
Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to form a response. She hadn't felt such biting scorn in words since England. It washed over her like cold water, clouding her mind with that same familiar, unearned shame.
"Of course," she murmured, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I'm… looking for Callum currently. Would you be kind enough to point me in his direction?"
"He's either in his chambers or the council room," the first guard said. "Best ye check that wing of the castle."
Then, they turned and carried on. She watched them walk, trying to ignore the pangs of rejection in her chest. This was all temporary. Or at least, that's what she told herself as she went to find Callum.
She had only been to that part of the castle for the awful meeting she'd attended. It felt as if it were an unlivable place. The temperature dropped, and it seemed as though the candles here didn't give off as much light as they did in the rest of the building.
Timing was on her side, because as she turned down the corridor, Callum exited a room she hadn't been in. She had to assume it was his chambers. She almost felt bad for the man for being relegated to the darkest part of the castle.
"I'm so glad to have caught you," she called, her voice echoing off the stones.
Callum's head shot up, his eyes wide as though he'd been caught. When his gaze landed on her, it narrowed. In a faux-polite voice, he said, "Lady McDonald. What can I do for ye?"
"I'm glad to have caught you," she said, giving him no indication that she'd picked up on the oddity of his behavior. "The guards told me that you had something for me."
His jaw clenched tightly. "I have nay idea what they're talkin' about." He took a deep breath before adding, "Now, if ye'll excuse me, me Lady, I'm a bit busy at the moment."
"Of course," Anna said.
She turned and began to shuffle down the hall. When she heard him do the same, walking in an opposite direction, she tilted her head. He pulled out a key, letting himself into another room, disappearing inside.
I must see what he's doing.
As quietly as she could, she approached the room. Perhaps his servant would be there, and she could eavesdrop. If not, well… She had to try, had she not?
Her heart leapt in her chest as she drew closer. In his haste, he'd left the door ajar. A thin thread of light spilled into the corridor. His shadow flashed across it before stopping, his form dropping to one knee.
She waited. A beat. Two. Then she crept forward, her fingers curling around the door jamb. Slowly, she glanced around the corner.
At first, she couldn't make sense of what she was looking at. He was simply hunched over a chest. His hands were furiously running over the contents as though he were counting. Then, he plucked a bag from inside, and Anna nearly gasped.
She could see coins. So many of them. And, if she had to guess, that was what comprised the rest of the chest's inventory.
All of a sudden, it was clear to her. The thief was Callum.
Hugh had spent hours poring over the ledgers. It wasn't until the numbers began to blur before his eyes that he finally went to bed. Then, as if his body understood how important his task was, he woke an hour before sunrise.
Now, he was back in his study, back to going over years of the clan's financial records. The night before, he'd been able to pinpoint the exact date that the discrepancy began. It was four years before he became the Laird.
That, at least, was definitive proof that the issues predated his marriage to Anna.
He knew that it wouldn't be enough to protect himself from scrutiny, though, as the disparities deepened after he took over.
While he wasn't the one who began pilfering money, an argument could be made that he saw someone else lining their own pockets and joined in.
"I just daenae ken where the damn money is goin'," he muttered under his breath.
He flipped the page at the same time that someone knocked on his door. Without looking away from his work, he grunted, "Ye may enter, but it's better be important."
"Ach, I think ye'll find it important, me Laird," Callum's grating voice drawled from the doorway. "I'd hate to see ye ousted, so I've come up with a solution that'll help ye out."
Hugh glanced up for a brief moment before turning his eyes to the ledger again. "Unless ye can tell me precisely where the money is goin', I daenae want yer solution."
"I cannae tell ye that," Callum said as he stepped closer to Hugh. "But I'm willin' to give ye a loan. Somethin' to help cover yer tracks and give ye more time to find where—"
"Hugh!"
Anna's voice cut through Callum's offer. She barreled into the room, not bothering to knock. Her chest rose and fell, her cheeks slightly pink from exertion. It was clear that she must have run here, abandoned whatever task she'd been doing prior to this.
"My apologies," she said, her eyes flitting from Hugh to Callum. They lingered on the other man for a beat too long. "Hugh, I must speak with you privately. It's urgent."
"Surely it can wait just a few minutes, me Lady," Callum said, voice clipped. He turned back to Hugh. "Ye must understand how important the discussion ye and I were havin', me Laird."
"I daenae think I'm goin' to give yer suggestion any consideration," Hugh said with a wave of his hand. "Ye're dismissed Callum. Thank ye for yer offer, but I'd rather get to the bottom of this than create another problem for meself."
"It willnae be a—"
"I already said I didnae want yer help, Callum," Hugh said sharply. "Me wife is here askin' for me opinion. If it's urgent, it's likely somethin' to do with her duties. Unless I request yer guidance with this matter, it's best if ye leave me to find the discrepancy meself."
"Ye'll realize ye're makin' a mistake soon enough," Callum said, all vitriol and flames. "Ye ken where to find me if ye want to make the right decision."
He stormed out of the room, not giving Anna or Hugh a second glance. The door slammed shut behind him with a dull, resounding thud. Anna jumped slightly at the sound, then stepped up to the front of Hugh's desk.
"Are ye well?" Hugh asked, his focus immediately on the shaking woman before him. "Ye're lookin' a bit pale."
"I'm quite all right," Anna said, shaking her head as if to dislodge the prior interaction. "I… there are rumors that are going around. About me."
"What rumors?" Hugh growled, a protective spark igniting in his chest.
"I overheard some guards saying that Callum had been getting money from the vault to give to me," she said, the words coming out in a hurried rush. "But I've not asked for any money, nor have I seen it."
So that's where the money's goin'. Callum's the last to touch it before it disappears entirely.
"Ye said the guards were discussin' it?" Hugh pressed, forcing himself to push down the fury. He needed a direction to point it, a task that would ensure that Anna wasn't drawn any further into this mess. "Where were they?"
"They were just outside the corridor near the great hall," she said, her face becoming even more pale. "They were… Hugh, I think that they're starting to dislike me. They didn't even hide how upset they were with me."
Hugh stood then, rounding the corner of his desk easily. His hands came to rest on her shoulders. He held her gaze, the cloudiness of her anxiety making her look small. It reminded him of the way she'd begun to shut down when they ran into those vile women in England.
"Ye should sit," he instructed, softening his voice to bring her back to the present. As he helped her into a chair, he said, "They've just been influenced by a nasty rumor, Anna. They daenae really feel that way. They'll realize their anger was misdirected as soon as we uncover the truth."
She stared up at him, the color slowly coming back to her face. Her pink lips parted as she sucked in a breath. Then, she murmured, "I know… I'm just afraid." She looked to the side for a moment, almost as if she was debating sharing something before thinking better of it.
"Ye daenae need to be afraid," Hugh said, surprised at the threads of gentleness that colored his words. "I will keep ye safe, Anna. I just need to figure out where these rumors are comin' from and what sparked them."
Anna nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly.
He could tell there was still something on her mind, but it was obvious that she'd decided not to share it.
He just hoped, for her sake, that if it were pertinent to his investigation, she'd tell him sooner rather than later.
While he was quite sure that Callum was involved now, he didn't know if there were others helping him.
He didn't want to imagine what might happen to her if she didn't have his protection looming over her.
"Now," he said, his voice gruff as he leaned forward to connect their lips in a brief kiss, "would ye like to help go over these ledgers? A fresh set of eyes may catch somethin' that I'm overlookin'."
"I'd be glad to," Anna said, sounding breathless from the short contact.
As she began to stand, there was a knock at the door. Hugh barked, "What?"
"Ye have another meetin' in a bit." Callum's voice was muffled by the thick wood. "It's about time ye get ready."
Then, his footsteps retreated. It seemed as though he'd taken Hugh's earlier advice to heart. At least he wasn't lingering.
"That man's a pain in me side," Hugh growled as he straightened out. He gave Anna the most apologetic look he could muster. "I'll check on ye later. It's probably best if ye retire to yer chambers."
He didn't say that he worried for her well-being. He didn't tell her that he was worried about how deeply this corruption ran. Instead, he just hoped that she took his advice and kept herself safe.