“A messenger arrived today. With a request.”
Her eyes flared open wide. “Ye promised to stay away from Stirling.”
He released his hold on her and eased a step back. “And I fully intend to keep that promise. However, Calder and I canna ignore the call for a meeting. To do so would bring our loyalties into question and endanger us all.”
“But ye advised them to lie low for a while. Sound advice, I might add.” She clasped her hands together and pressed them to her middle—a sure sign he had upset her. “Why can ye not wait until after Hogmanay to meet?” She turned away. “Or withdraw from the meetings completely. Have ye forgotten all I warned ye about?”
The visions she had shared about the coming years still pained him. He prayed she was wrong. “The Jacobite Cause canna be lost. I know ye believe it will be, but given time, I feel certain we can prevail.”
She bowed her head. “And what response did ye send back with today’s messenger?”
“They will meet here. Next month. At the full moon.”
“Here,” she repeated, lifting her head and eyeing him with a tight-jawed look. “Their names? If ye dinna mind.”
She was sorely displeased. The sharpness in her tone betrayed the depths of her unhappiness.
He widened his stance and clasped his hands behind his back. “Lairds Drummond, Devon, and Bellingham. Do their names mean anything to ye?”
“No. They do not.” She turned away and made her way back to the doors overlooking the garden. “How long have ye dealt with these men?” After a glance back at him, she added, “Are ye certain they can be trusted?”
“They have never crossed me before.”
“I find that less than reassuring.” With an abruptness that revealed her growing displeasure, she spun about and headed for the hallway door.
He caught her arm and stopped her. “I must do this, ye ken? Much hinges upon it.”
She stared at him for an uncomfortable moment. “I agree that much hinges upon it. I just wish ye realized it is more than mere loyalty at stake here. It is yer life, ye ken?” Her voice broke. She quickly swiped her hand across her eyes, then pecked a kiss to his cheek. “I will see ye at supper, aye?”
“Aye.” Disappointment filled him. He recognized the statement as a silent request to leave her alone for the rest of the day. If that was what she wished, he would honor it. “Dinna forget we must speak with Grissa about the ill wishes,” he called after her.
“Another time.” She didn’t look back, just exited the room and softly closed the door behind her.
*
Teague snorted afrustrated huff as he donned his best neckcloth for the meeting that had proven to be a pain in his arse before it even started. Things were still not right between himself and his precious dove. He had lost count of the times he caught her weeping in the darkness when she thought he was asleep. No matter what he said, no matter what he promised, she accepted no reassurances or granted either of them any relief. She even refused to visit Grandmother again, saying the two of them had nothing left to say. When he confronted the old, sly one, she said the same. Both women refused to reveal anything about their last visit after the meeting was announced.
Maybe once the lairds had their say and departed, peace would return to the keep. He only wished he knew of a way to convince his dear one to have faith and believe in him. He knew what he was doing.
Someone tapped on his bedchamber’s outer door. “A moment, aye?” He finished tying the neckcloth and went to answer it while buttoning his waistcoat.
Robbie waited on the other side, looking miserable. “Mi sent me.”
“From the looks of ye, this canna be good.” He ushered the boy in and pointed him toward the bench at the foot of the bed. “Is she still dressing?”
“She says to tell ye she isna coming down.” The lad cringed as if bracing for an outburst.
“I see.” Teague donned his best coat and tugged the ruffled cuffs of his shirt out past the edge of the coat’s sleeves. “She is still angry about our conversation with Grissa?”
Robbie shrugged. “I dinna think so. She said ye were an unrelenting arse about that, but she also said she understands why.” The lad made a face as if he tasted something bad. “She knows ye fear for her and gets all cow-eyed when she speaks about it.” His demeanor changed as he squared his shoulders and stretched to as tall as he could stand. “It is about this meeting with those men. She fears fate will find another way to steal ye away, since she warned ye about Stirling. She is afraid to lose ye.”
“I know she is afraid.” Teague frowned at his reflection in the mirror while securing his colors to his shoulder with the MacDonald crest. He turned back to the boy. “And how do ye feel about my going to this meeting?”
“I am afraid of the same things as Mi.” The youngling shook his head. “She is rarely wrong about such things. And Mama always said that Mi’s mother and grandmother had the second sight that was never wrong. If she feels uneasy about something, ye need to listen to her.”
Teague tucked an extra dagger into the sheath he wore strapped under his arm inside his coat. “That is why I agreed to stay away from Stirling and had these men come here.”
“Still.” The boy shrugged and backed toward the door. “She says she willna come down and be a part of yer execution.”
