Emelie swallowed as she nodded. She’d been thinking incessantly about the future, and the more she dwelled on the lingering threat, the more resolute she became that she would need to leave Kilchurn and the Campbells. Her heart felt like it was pinched in a vise whenever she considered leaving Dominic and repudiating the handfast. He was adamant that she didn’t leave Kilchurn, but she also knew he would honor his promise to release her if she wished. It was the last thing she wanted, but it felt like the ethical choice.
Waiting another four months seemed unrealistic. But as strongly as Emelie’s mind pulled her away from Dominic, the more she feared the consequences to her child if people considered the babe a bastard. He or she would live with that stigma for the rest of their life, and it would make it difficult for the child to marry and have a family of their own. It would be far worse if she had a son, since men would never let him forget as he trained to become a warrior. She didn’t know if a son would find a place among her father’s warriors. The potential rejection hurt as much as the thought of leaving Dominic.
Rather than respond to Laurel’s last comment, she cooed at Rick, who gurgled in his sleep. As if not to be outdone, her bairn rolled within her belly. She’d felt rhythmic hiccups on most days. It reassured Emelie that all was fine within her womb. Dominic often rubbed her belly in wonderment, and as she thought about that now, she wasn’t certain she could take that from him. Never had he made her worry that he wasn’t as committed to being a father as he swore. She didn’t want to imagine the heartbreak she would cause him if she left, and she wasn’t certain she could bear her own. It only left her conflicted and drained.
“Do you think we can venture to the gardens for a walk?” Emelie asked as Rick’s eyes fluttered open. “After you feed him, of course.” Emelie grinned as Laurel playfully sighed and rolled her eyes.
“I never imagined a bairn could eat so much. He’ll be swinging a sword before he can walk if he keeps growing as he is.”
“It just means you’re a wonderful mother.”
“It means I’ll never fit back into any of my clothes, since I have to eat nearly as much as him to keep up,” Laurel chuckled. “But aye. I think we can go for a walk if our guards come. Naught has happened in sennights. Mayhap something has drawn our nemesis away. Mayhap the men will relent and call off our guards.”
Brodie insisted Laurel have two guards, and he ordered two more for Rick’s personal detail. Emelie supposed she was luckier than Laurel, who had what felt like a small army trailing behind her. Both women felt safer, if a bit stifled, by the contingent. Neither dared complain to their husband because they could see the toll the men’s frustration and worry was taking on them.
“Not bluidy likely, but we can ask.” Emelie’s mouth twisted, and she didn’t appear hopeful. Laurel chuckled again.
“Just ask him at the right time.”
“Och, aye. When he’s nearly asleep. I tried your timing before. It led to another round, so I’m not complaining. But it did naught to convince him. He distracted me, not the other way around.” Emilie grinned ruefully. She rose and handed Rick to Laurel, who nursed the famished bairn before they left the solar. The six men milled around the passageway, waiting for the two ladies. The women’s shoulders slumped in unison, feeling guilty for the men’s unfortunate assignment.
“Ma ladies, we dinna mind. We would rather keep ye safe,” Garrett said, reading their body language. “It’s a point of pride that the laird and Dominic chose us. I can say with truth that the other men are jealous that the laird and Dominic trust us with yer safety.”
Laurel and Emelie smiled and thanked the men, but Garrett’s words didn’t convince Emelie. Three men led the way down the stairs as the other three followed behind the ladies. Laurel carried a plaid with her, and once they were in the garden, Emelie spread it on the ground. The late-autumn sun lacked the strength of a couple of months earlier, but it was pleasant as the women chatted together. Rick was once more asleep, swaddled in the blanket Emelie knitted. He lay between the women and blew bubbles in his sleep.
The women passed an hour in the garden until their husbands came in search of them. Dominic helped Emelie to her feet, but his eyes swept the garden and rested for a moment on each guard. Brodie picked up Rick after helping Laurel to stand. When Laurel bent to pick up the blanket, Brodie muttered, “Leave it.”
Emelie and Laurel looked at their husbands and understood something had happened. They walked with the men to Brodie’s solar, and he locked the door. Both husbands appeared shaken as they led their wives to chairs before the fireplace where a toasty blaze warmed them from the light autumn chill in the chamber.
“Our men captured an intruder approaching by raft on the river. We suspect he was meeting someone coming from Loch Awe. He kept looking toward the bay,” Dominic explained.
“Who is he?” Emelie asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Dominic answered. “He’s wearing breeks. We need you to see him. We need to know if you recognize him.”
Emelie and Laurel exchanged a brief glance, nodded, and rose. Brodie took Laurel’s hand and wrapped his arm around her and Rick. “It doesn’t have to be right this moment. He’s in the dungeon now, so he’s not going anywhere. We want to place you somewhere where you can see his face, but he won’t see you. Dominic will take you while I stay with Rick.”
“Can’t Aggie stay with him?” Laurel asked.
Brodie shook his head. “No one but the four of us is to mind our son, Laurie.”
“You don’t even trust Aggie? She practically raised you,” Laurel said in disbelief.
“Laurie, she’s much aulder now. If someone tried to take Rick from her, she wouldn’t be able to fight or run like she once did. I trust her when there is no threat. It’s not a slight against her,” Brodie explained. Laurel nodded, but she held Rick tighter, making the babe flail his arm in protest. But he never woke. Emelie marveled at how the child only ate and slept. She wondered if all newborns were the same.
“Mayhap only I should go,” Emelie suggested. “We would know the same people most likely.”
Laurel shook her head. “I was at court much longer than you were. There are plenty of people I met and saw years before you arrived. I don’t want to miss the chance to discover who this is.”
Brodie lifted Rick from Laurel’s arms and held him up so Laurel could kiss the bairn’s forehead. Dominic ushered the women to the door, and two of Laurel’s guards stepped inside to wait with Brodie. They heard the door lock behind them. Dominic led Emelie and Laurel to a second-floor arrow slit in the tower. It overlooked the exterior entrance to the dungeons.
“Wait here. Don’t stand directly in front of the slit. Position yourselves so you can see out, but no one can see you.” Dominic pressed a brief kiss to Emelie’s lips, then spun on his heels. Emelie watched as Dominic’s plaid swished against the back of his thighs. She could see his calves flex beneath his stockings and over the top of his boots. He set his shoulders back, and she knew the broad expanse of his chest would make even seasoned warriors think twice before engaging him. Standing beside Brodie, Dominic’s size didn’t seem unusual. But Emelie had seen him with the other guardsman. While he wasn’t the tallest among the Campbells, he was one of the most powerful looking men she’d ever seen. He’d never used his size to intimidate her, so it took her aback whenever she thought of him in a fight.
They didn’t have long before they watched Dominic drag a man through the doorway and into the bailey. He was wet and dirty, but it shocked Emelie to see he had no injuries. She realized no one had beaten the man, so Laurel and Emelie could examine his features without distortion. Emelie squinted as she studied the prisoner. There was something familiar about the man, but she couldn’t pull forth a memory.
“Do you recognize him?” Emelie whispered.
“No. Do you?” Laurel responded.
