She’d be glad to leave. She wouldn’t look back.
Abruptly, Ryder got to his feet, striding over to the fire. Resting one arm on the mantelpiece, he stared down into the flames. The heat was intense now, spilling out over him. His skin prickled underneath his clothes.
“Is there anythin’ else ye think I should ken?” he asked at last. “Somethin’ ye have discovered, somethin’ that Alaina might have told ye? Even the smallest tidbit of information can mean a lot.”
He paused, glancing over at her. Megan stared into the fire too, her expression troubled. Then she cleared her throat, and the expression disappeared.
“I cannae think of anythin’,” she said at last.
Ryder nodded. “Then ye had better go. Think about the freedom ye will have when this culprit is caught.”
Megan blinked, seeming to be taken aback. She got to her feet silently and moved over to the door. He heard the key click in the lock, but kept his eyes on the fire. In another moment, she’d be gone, and he could relax. He could go back to being Laird McCulloch, and Ryder Cairn could be forgotten about for a little while. The door creaked open, and a swirl of cold air shivered across the floor, chilling his ankles.
“Ye ken,” Megan said at last, standing in the doorway, “when I was young, me maither told me I should take care of me sisters. Even though I wasnae the eldest, she put me in charge. It was a heavy burden. It weighed on me day and night, like a heavy load I couldnae put down. One day, one of me sisters—Brigid—took me aside and said that I was carryin’ somethin’ that they all wanted to help me carry. She said I was sufferin’ needlessly, even though I had so many people around me who weredesperateto help me. And that’s when I realized that it was foolish to try to do such a thing alone. I realized that even if I had been left responsible for the people I love, that didnae mean I should hold the responsibility alone. Some people wanted to help.”
Ryder let out a long sigh. “And why are ye tellin’ me this?”
There was a brief silence.
“I think ye ken why,” Megan said at last.
Ryder clenched his jaw until his teeth squeaked. Then he straightened up and came striding across the room toward her. Megan watched him approach, her face giving away nothing. When he got close, she finally took the hint and hopped back over the threshold.
“Goodnight, Megan,” Ryder said firmly, and then closed the door in her face.
It was louder than he’d expected; theslamechoed through the room. Ryder flinched, but of course, it was too late to undo it now.
He heard Megan draw in a surprised, angry gasp on the other side of the door.
“Bloodybastard!” she enunciated clearly, then turned on her heel and stamped away down the stairs.
As always, Ryder was left alone.
CHAPTER 20
The Keep was in an uproar.There was so much to do, what with the cèilidh taking place tomorrow night. Megan picked her way carefully through the Great Hall, weaving past countless maids and servants. Every room had to be swept and thoroughly dusted. Brass had to be polished, cobwebs knocked down, tapestries shaken and dusted. The work, it seemed, was endless.
Tired-looking maids in gray aprons splashed full buckets of hot, soapy water onto the stone flags, then got to work with scrubbing brushes, scrubbing and scrubbing until they could see their reflections in the flagstones. Carts full of fresh rushes were being delivered, with armies of women sent out into the forest to fetch herb sprigs—lavender, sage, rosemary, and mint—to scatter amongst the rushes.
Megan hadn’t even dared gonearthe kitchens. There was so much food to be made. Endless spits of roast meat, vegetables boiled, roasted, and fried. There would be bread, plenty of bread, trenchers, and round gold loaves. The guests would expect puddings and pies, vats of gravy, and much more.
The Keep smelled irresistible. Megan was half-starved the entire time she was inside. Of course, none of the food was for them, not yet. The food was for tomorrow, after the cèilidh, when everyone would be starving after the dancing.
In short, it was a good idea to get out of the Keep, if possible.
“The air is full of dust,” Sophie complained, scurrying along beside Megan, clutching her hand. Alaina followed behind, muttering about her hair getting dust in it.
“Aye, they’re brushin’ down the tapestries and shaking the rug and hangings in our rooms now,” Megan answered. “There’s a good bit of dust in those things.”
“I wish they would give over,” Alaina muttered. “There cannae be an inch of the Keep that’s nae been scrubbed.”
Unwillingly, Megan found herself thinking of the dust in Ryder’s room, and the fingertip full of dust she’d scraped up. She was willing to bet that the aggressive cleaning hadn’t reached his room.Theirrooms were being cleaned for some reason. Alaina, who had been reading a new book from the library, had not been pleased to be turned out of her room. She’d brought her book with her, bouncing in a deep pocket of her skirts.
“Well, the cleanin’ must be done,” Megan said, as cheerfully as she could. “So, since it’s a fine day, we’ll go outside, eh? There’s a good bit of greenery around the back of the Keep.”
“The warriors do their training there,” Alaina objected.
“I have it on good authority that they’re trainin’ in the courtyard today, so the grass will be untouched.”
