Chapter 12
Adeep frown creased Daniel’s brow as he sat back in his chair, staring at the piece of parchment in his hand. The desk in his study was littered with papers and open books that held the annual profits of the castle and all the orders to merchants who supplied the food and goods.
The large shelves that stood on the walls had all been emptied, as stacks of books were on the floor and any available surface. The room seemed as if it had been turned upside down in search of some kind of hidden treasure that would reveal the truth.
“This disnae make any sense, Ewan,” Daniel began with a deep sigh. “How can it be that all of the merchants charged us extra with nae warning? I’ve been over all of the ledgers an’ even the papers. Naething explains the money that has been spent.”
“I dinnae ken the reason, Me Laird.” Ewan wrung his hands in his lap as he sat across from Daniel, a worried expression marring his features. “I’ve done everything just as I’ve always done.”
“Never in all of these years have any of the merchants ever charged the castle more than double for goods,” Daniel grunted in frustration, shaking his head, and tossing the page onto the desk with the rest.
“Forgive me, Me Laird.” Ewan squirmed in his seat. “Ye havenae been laird for very long. Yer faither always handled the books with care, there could be something that yer nae seeing correctly.”
A feeling of rage instantly shot through Daniel, making his jaw clench in anger. Interlacing his fingers and placing his hands on his lap, he continued to glare at the desk, avoiding eye contact with Ewan, knowing that he’d snap if he looked up and saw his suspicions confirmed.
“Nae that I meant ye have failed at being the Laird,” Ewan began to stutter as he realized what he had said.
“I’m grateful for everything that ye have done for me, Me Laird.
” Tiny beads of perspiration began to show on his brow as he tried his best to retract his words.
“Ye have been better than yer faither in many ways. Ye have always paid me handsomely enough.”
Daniel raised his hand to silence the man before pushing himself up from his chair and walking over to the fireplace.
He leaned on the mantle, taking a deep breath and staring into the crackling flames.
The last thing he wanted to do was accuse a man of stealing, not when the man in question had been a trusted friend.
Ewan McCollin had been the castle’s man at arms while Daniel’s father had been alive.
He’d been entrusted with the hiring and ordering of supplies since Daniel had taken over, a decision that Daniel was now regretting, as money had been leaking from his pockets.
The castle was far from being in trouble, yet the problem needed to be dealt with before anything got worse.
“Ye’ve kent me for a long time now, Me Laird,” Ewan said again. “Was there ever a time when ye felt that ye couldnae trust me or the decisions I made?”
Daniel listened to the man speak as he considered his words and the money that seemed to have been taken.
“I can go an’ speak to all of the merchants an’ ask for reasons why they charged us so much,” Ewan offered after taking a shaky breath. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all of this.”
“Me question is why did ye nae go an’ ask ‘afore giving the money?” Daniel crossed his ankles while leaning against the stones.
When he had been in London, he’d developed the habit of looking away from people as they spoke to hear their voice without being distracted by any of their misleading mannerisms. There was a lot a person could learn from someone’s voice, without having to read their body language.
Ewan stammered at first but quickly pulled himself together.
“I… I… Well, naturally, I had assumed that ye had approved the hike in prices,” he tried to defend himself.
“I didnae want to make sure with ye, given yer sudden engagement an’ marriage.
I wanted to respect the fact that ye needed some time to adjust, Me Laird. ”
Daniel’s mind quickly went over the timeline where more money had been given to merchants.
Straightening his spine, he walked back over to the desk and lifted the piece of parchment once again.
The first incident of a hike had been only a few days after he had written to say that he was engaged to be married and would be arriving back at the castle soon.
It was entirely possible that Ewan was telling the truth and that it was a hike from all of the merchants. What he didn’t like was the tone in the man’s voice. Ewan sounded like a man that had been asked if he’d hunted a dear while the blood was still on his hands.
“Would ye like me to go an’ ask the merchants for an’ explanation, Me Laird?” Ewan repeated, breaking the intense silence that had fallen over the room. “I could go an’ be back in less than two days.”
“Nae.” Daniel took a deep breath and placed the piece of parchment back on the desk, trying his best to remain cool until he was absolutely certain about what had happened. “I will be seeing the merchants meself. I have an extensive list here of everyone I need to see.”
“But, Me Laird—” Ewan began to protest and stood.
“Is there a reason I cannae visit the merchants on me own?” Daniel snapped and looked the man in the eye for the first time since the meeting had begun. “If so, tell me now, ‘afore I go an’ see for meself.”
“Nae, Me Laird,” Ewan answered quietly and scratched the back of his neck, averting his panic-filled gaze and brushing his dirty blonde hair to the side. “There is nae reason.” He swallowed hard.
“Good,” Daniel said, staring him down. “I hope there’s a reasonable explanation for all of this. I dinnae look kindly on having me trust broken.”
“I’ll leave ye to it, then.” Ewan turned to leave, pausing with his hand on the doorknob when Daniel spoke again.
“I dinnae want to be looking for ye, Ewan,” Daniel said coolly, an underlying threat in his voice. “Dinnae leave the castle, I’d hate to have to send the men looking for ye if I need ye again.”
“Aye, Me Laird,” Ewan answered and shut the door behind him as he left the room.
Daniel kept his eyes on the door, wondering about the man he had entrusted the running of the castle to in his absence.
Ewan had always been an honest man that could be trusted with just about anything, yet something had changed since the engagement.
There was a shifty look in his eyes, a hunger and ambition for something more that hadn’t been there before.
The look of panic in Ewan’s eyes reminded Daniel of a deer looking down the wrong end of an arrow.
Shaking his head, he walked over to the window and looked at the quickly fading sun.
He’d spent the bulk of the afternoon going over all the documents with Ewan and hadn’t had a chance to check up on Melissa again.
The stress of the situation with Ewan left his body as he remembered how furious she had been when she’d spotted him with Beitris under the trees.
He found Melissa to be utterly adorable and irresistible whenever she was angry with him.
He would have gone all the way with her in the orchard if Ewan hadn’t come along and interrupted them.
A frown creased his brow once again when he realized that he’d completely forgotten about his vow to never sire an heir. Melissa was doing things to him that no other woman had ever made him feel. He’d have to watch himself around her and not allow their flirtations to get the better of him.
Shaking his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose.
He’d have to put that aside for now, the next few days would take him away from the castle as he visited all of the merchants.
There had to be a reasonable explanation as to why there had been a hike in all of the prices.
He would accept any other explanation, but not Ewan stealing from him, not until he was absolutely certain of what had happened.
The break would do him good as he got a safe distance from Melissa and all the ways she confused his feelings and thoughts.
Melissa sat on a bench overlooking the small lake behind the castle with a book in her hands. Her mind had wandered away from the pages almost as soon as she’d sat, unable to focus on anything else besides what had transpired between her and Daniel beneath the trees.
The way he had touched her had made her long for more, more of his lips, more of his touch, and more of the heat that had awoken in her innermost being. There was an insatiable hunger in her soul that couldn’t be quenched by anything other than Daniel and his caresses.
“Ye dinnae seem to be very productive.” Daniel’s voice drew her attention away from the lake, instantly making her irritable again. He still maintained his uncanny capacity to annoy her with a single sentence, despite the attraction that now existed between them.
“That’s because you don’t know what being productive means.” She snapped the book shut and glared at him as he came to sit beside her on the stone bench. “I could have been thinking over all the ways I could improve the running of your household,” she threw in. “You should learn to not assume.”
The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk as he looked at her. “An’ what are all of the ways that ye’ve come up with to improve me household?” he asked with a smirk as he placed his arm behind her.
“That’s…” She struggled for words when she realized that she hadn’t expected him to call her bluff. “That’s not something you should concern yourself with. Don’t you have better things to do with your time?” She quickly recovered. “Like working in the orchards, for instance?”
“I see yer still angry about the woman ye saw me with.” His eyes twinkled as he teased her. He lightly brushed her shoulder with his fingers as he shifted a little closer.
“You mean your cousin Beitris?” she said confidently, reveling in the surprise that spread across his face.