“They have not reported.” Quinn glared at those gathered in the hall, his jaw tightening as though he ground his teeth together.
“For Lady Evaline,” a servant explained as he placed a chair next to the chieftain’s.
“Thank you.” She smiled at the shy young man, then wondered if she shouldn’t have because of the furious red blush bedeviling the poor lad’s cheeks. “Am I not supposed to thank them?” she whispered to Quinn.
His mouth quirked to the side as he took her hand and led her to her seat. “Dinna fash yerself, m’love. It is yer way.” His gaze settled on the ring, and his smile grew. “Good. Back where it belongs.” He placed a lingering kiss across her knuckles, then waited for her to seat herself before he did the same.
A ruckus at the front of the hall grabbed her attention. The Munro men. All three of them. But one wore an ill-fitting tunic and a pair of trews made for someone half his height. He looked like a beggar instead of the stoic warrior from last night.
Quinn’s knuckles whitened on the arms of his chair. “This is how ye dress when ye are summoned to yer chieftain?”
All three from Clan Munro stared at Quinn as though they thought him addled. One of the two, still wearing the green and black uniform of their clan, stepped forward. “Summoned? We know of no summons.”
“Then why do ye stand before me, Fraser?” Quinn’s hold on his chair relaxed.
“To report yet another affront to us,” the man growled. He jabbed a thumb at the man dressed in the garb that didn’t fit. “Alec was robbed of his clothes.” He shifted and pointed at the man on his other side. “And Dorne’s bow and arrows are gone.” Standing taller, he threw out his chest. “We swore our fealty to Clan MacTaggart, and yet we are treated worse than lepers. What say ye, Chieftain? This is not the first time we have discussed this.”
Evie reached across and rested a hand on Quinn’s forearm. His muscles flexed and rippled beneath her touch. She leaned close and spoke behind the cover of her hand. “I’m sure you realize the assassin stole those things to make you think the Munros are the ones trying to kill you.” She paused, straining to keep her voice low. “If they really are innocent, you need these men as allies. Have they been slighted, as they say? Do you think they can be trusted?”
He cut his eyes over at her but didn’t answer. Instead, his focus slid back to Fraser. “Ye speak the truth. This isna the first time we have spoken about prejudices against ye. But this will be the last.”
All three of the men resettled their defensive stances as if preparing to fight their way out of the room. “Go on,” Fraser prompted.
Quinn swept a hard look around the hall, pausing on several men Evie assumed were members of his guard since they seemed to be doing just that. “From this day forward, the three of ye shall be the highest-ranking of my personal guard, reporting directly to myself. Should I be unavailable, Rosstan Corbett and War Chief Macwaters will be yer superiors.” He rose from his chair, and the hall went silent. “Fraser, Alec, and Dorne Munro will be honored with the respect their positions command. They are a valued part of this clan, and anyone who has an issue with that will be brought before me. Is that understood?”
Even though most in the room nodded and either clapped or thumped their fists to their chests, Evie noticed a few who did not. Those would be the ones to watch. She committed their faces to memory and added them to the list of suspects in her head.
“I would ask yer forgiveness for not doing this sooner,” he said to the Munro trio. “I turned a blind eye to the issues ye wished me to address. That makes me just as guilty as the ones mistreating ye.” He tipped his head to each of them. “Forgive me. It willna happen again.”
Fraser took the lead and dropped to one knee. Alec and Dorne followed. With his dagger held as though it were a cross, Fraser kept his focus locked on Quinn. “There is nothing to forgive, my chieftain. We pledge to serve ye well.”
“Aye!” echoed Alec and Dorne as they held their daggers the same.
Quinn touched each of the daggers and motioned for the men to rise. “Find yerself some better clothes, Alec. Ye look like a beggar.”
Alec grinned. “Aye, my chieftain.”
“And as soon as we discover who took yer things, ye can punish them as ye see fit,” Quinn added.
Alec’s grin became a broad smile as he thumped a fist to his chest, then strode from the room.
Fraser and Dorne moved to stand on either side of the dais. Their stern looks dared anyone to make the wrong move.
Quinn seated himself and turned to her. “How was that, m’love?”
“A promising start.” She kept her sights on the men who hadn’t seemed to agree. “Now all we have to do is narrow down who wasn’t in the keep today since it had to be an inside job… I mean someone within the clan who’s trying to kill you.”
“Aye,” Quinn agreed in a dry tone. “In other words, I’m right back where I started.”
“Not really.” She needed a pen and paper. Or more aptly, a quill and parchment. “Do you write?”
“I am an educated man,” he said in an insulted tone.
“Then let’s go to your library.” She headed toward the door without waiting to see if he followed. They would write everything down. Everything. It was the best way to hone in on the assassin.
*
“A light touch.Light, m’love. That is why they keep breaking.” Quinn cringed as Evie soused a third quill into the ink after splitting the nib of a second. “And not so deep into the well. Just touch the surface of the ink, ye ken?”
