Chapter 22
It had been three days since Margaret had sent the letter to her family. According to Ryan, a response could come any day now. He’d sent word into the village to ensure that it was sent quickly and that the response was received before the carrier departed.
Surely their response will arrive soon. It took me only a day to arrive in the village. Perhaps I’ll receive their letter today. If not today, then tomorrow.
Margaret had done her best to distract herself from her nervous energy, but she couldn’t quite keep still.
She’d tried to paint but couldn’t keep her mind on it.
Every brush stroke she’d made was imprecise and messy.
When she’d wandered into the library, she hadn’t been able to find a book that captured her attention.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Margaret said as she walked out of the library and spotted Cali making her way down the corridor. “Cali, would you like to take a walk with me?”
Cali grinned, nodding as she said, “Aye, that sounds lovely, Me Lady. Have ye heard from yer family yet?”
The two began to walk through the halls toward the front of the castle, their footsteps echoing on the stone. Margaret replied, “Not yet, though I should get a response soon. It’s been a few days since I sent the letter, and my family doesn’t live all that far away.”
“Then I’m sure they’ll reply soon,” Cali said, nodding at Colby as they passed by him. “I cannae wait to meet them.”
As soon as they passed him and emerged into the open air, Margaret poked Cali’s side playfully. Her maid yelped, knocking her fingertip away. She gave Margaret an exaggerated frown, but her face and the tips of her ears were pink.
“Ach, what was that for?” Cali asked, putting a bit of distance between the two of them so Margaret couldn’t get her again. “I didnae do a thing to ye.”
“When were you going to tell me about your relationship with Colby?” Margaret asked, giving Cali a knowing look. “Or were you going to continue sneaking around without letting me know? I thought we were friends, Cali.”
Cali shushed her, glancing at the guards in the tower as they walked past with wide eyes.
When the two of them were out of earshot, she leaned in close to Margaret and whispered, “Me and Colby havenae told anyone just yet. Please, daenae speak of it where the others can hear. Ye ken how they talk. We’re nae ready for all of that. ”
“I won’t, I promise,” Margaret agreed, raising her palms in surrender, still smiling. “But I did see you two, so you can’t pretend that nothing’s going on between the two of you with me.”
“Aye, I suppose I cannae. Ye did see us, after all,” she replied, her tone a little dreamy. “And it is nice to have someone else who kens.”
Margaret nodded as they approached the tree line. Her eyes scanned the foliage. She’d yet to see another deer, but she was keen on having a repeat encounter. Perhaps today would be the day. It would certainly calm her nerves about waiting for her family’s reply.
“So when did it start?” Margaret asked, stepping over a fallen branch gracefully. “I didn’t realize that there was an attraction between the two of you until I saw you in the gardens a few days ago.”
“We’ve been careful nae to let anyone ken,” Cali admitted, the brush rustling beneath her feet.
“And I couldnae tell ye exactly when everythin’ started between me and Colby.
He annoyed me to nay end when I first came to Castle McGhee.
If ye had asked me back then, I would have told ye I didnae care for him one bit. ”
“Truthfully, I assumed that he did nothing but get on your nerves,” Margaret hummed, her eyes flitting toward a cluster of leaves moving in the wind. There was nothing solid there, no chance of there being a darling creature waiting for her. “You never shy away from putting him in his place.”
“Ach, well he does get on me nerves!” Cali said with a laugh though there was fondness underneath it all. “That’s nae to say I daenae enjoy his company, but he enjoys gettin’ under me skin.”
Margaret giggled as she said, “I think you like having a reason to get onto him.”
“Ye might be right about that,” Cali agreed, something like resignation coloring her tone. “But sometime along the line, we realized that we got along quite well. I daenae ken what the future holds for us, but I do look forward to findin’ out—even if he does irritate me to nay end sometimes.”
“And I look forward to hearing more about it,” Margaret said, stopping abruptly when she saw movement deep within the trees.
It could have just been the wind, though. Her mind may have been playing tricks on her and showing her what she wanted to see. She wasn’t going to go storming into the woods for no reason. If she made too much noise, she could scare them away if they were there.
“What are ye lookin’ at?” Cali asked, her own footsteps coming to a halt. “Is there somethin’ out there?”
“I don’t know,” Margaret said as she crept a little closer. “I think there might be a deer.”
“Really?” Cali murmured, creeping closer to Margaret as she tried to see what had caught her attention.
Margaret nodded, not looking away from the spot where she’d seen movement. Then, it happened again. Something dark shifted through the leaves. It was graceful and quick, perhaps an animal that didn’t want to alert the two women on the other side of the tree line.
Exhilaration rushed through Margaret as she rushed forward.
She was careful to keep her footsteps light, raising a hand to keep Cali from following.
She was worried that the noise from the two of them would be enough to scare the creature away.
If the deer didn’t run from her, Margaret would call for Cali after greeting it.
Perhaps the clearing that the deer enjoy is through here. Ryan hasn’t told me where it is yet, but he did say it was close. That would be such a nice surprise.
As she got closer, she lost sight of the creature. It must have sensed her quick approach and fled. With a huff, she glanced around the area. There weren’t any signs of the deer nor any signs that anything had been here.
She ventured further in, the woods getting denser.
The animal could be hiding anywhere, shielded by the old growth of the lush Highland forest. When she turned back, she was unable to see Cali any longer; her maid was concealed by the sheer number of trees and bushes growing.
Still, Margaret was determined to find what she saw.
She remembered the path she’d taken to get here.
Before she was able to continue on, something gripped onto her upper arm tight enough to hurt. Unyielding fingertips dug into her flesh. It was enough to bruise and enough to frighten her.
She opened her mouth to scream in terror, the need to alert Cali that something was terribly wrong driving her.
Margaret wasn’t able to get any sound out though.
Her captor, whoever it was, acted quickly.
A hand covered her mouth, pulling her back against a firm, thin chest. Something cold and sharp rested against her throat, a threat against any further action.
“If you know what’s good for you,” the man who had hold of her said, his tone making her stomach turn violently, “you’ll stay quiet.”
Margaret knew that voice. She’d heard it before and had always made a point to avoid it.
It didn’t matter where she heard it, at balls or on the street, she’d always turn on her heel and walk the other way as quickly as she could.
Avoiding that voice was the entire reason she’d come to the Highlands in the first place.
Duke Cunningham.
“It was bold of you to send two letters so close together,” he said, his mouth next to her ear.
Her chest ached with fear, and her body went cold as she struggled against his grip.
“You were smart with that first one, I’ll give you that.
But wouldn’t you know it? All I had to do was come to the area, and you sent another one, letting me know exactly where I’d find you. ”
Tears pricked at the back of Margaret’s eyes as she kicked out wildly.
The Duke skirted her attempts to break free, pressing the edge of his dagger more firmly against her neck.
Despite the threat, she still struggled against him.
She refused to let him destroy what she was building here.
She refused to let herself be taken away without putting up some sort of fight.
“You’re just making things worse for yourself,” he growled, starting to force her deeper into the forest. It felt as though he were struggling to keep them both upright, but Margaret wasn’t able to knock him off his balance.
“I’m already going to teach you a lesson for running away like you did.
If you cooperate now, I won’t be so harsh. ”
She let out a scream against Duke Cunningham’s palm. It was muffled, and she knew that it didn’t reach anyone’s ears but her own. Still, she did it again as she thrashed in his hold, desperate for anyone to come to her aid. She couldn’t get away from him on her own.
“Keep struggling if you please,” he said, unfazed by her attempts to break free, still pulling her further away from Cali and Castle McGhee, “but when I’m done with you, you’ll never disobey me again.”
“Ye’ve got a visitor, Me Laird,” Colby said, walking into Ryan’s study without knocking. “Ye might want to put aside whatever it is ye’re fussin’ over.”
“Who is it?” Ryan asked without looking up, not bothering to conceal his irritation at being interrupted. “I’m a wee bit occupied at the moment.”
Another voice chimed in saying, “Ach, are ye really too busy to greet me and me wife?”
“Aaron?” Ryan said, pushing aside the page he’d been reading and rising to his feet. He was caught between disbelief and boyish excitement. “Ye didnae tell me ye were comin’ to visit.”