“The coins are false,” her husband gritted out. “Hardly worth the stones at our feet.”
A rushing noise filled her ears, and Nairna forced herself to sit down. False? What did he mean?
Bram loosened the ties of the bag and withdrew a handful of silver pennies. He poured them into her palm, and she could feel, from the light weight, that they were indeed false. At the bottom of the sack she found useless bits of iron.
It made her sick to think of the priests trying to cheat Laren’s artistry. Her beautiful glass was now gone and Dougal’s efforts were for nothing at all. Nairna wanted to lash out at the unfairness, but what good would it do?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I thought it would help you.”
Her husband’s grim expression made her feel even worse. She lowered her gaze, not knowing what else to say.
“We found Dougal a few miles east of the abbey,” Bram said. “He was getting ready to set up camp for the night.”
“He wasn’t hurt, was he?”
Bram shook his head. “No. But you never should have sent him. I ordered you not to get involved.”
His arrogance and refusal to listen was starting to wear down her patience. “I don’t regret sending the goods to be sold. I only wish they hadn’t cheated him.”
“There was no need for the ransom,” Bram continued. “We’ll fight for Callum.” He leaned against the wall beside the door, his hand reaching back to unstrap the claymore from his shoulders.
“Do you know where he is now?” Nairna asked, noticing the change in his face.
“Aye. The last messenger returned an hour ago, and told us where he was taken. We’re going after him at dawn.”
“Where?” she managed. “Who took him?”
“Robert Fitzroy, the Baron of Harkirk.”
Nairna clamped her mouth shut, unable to believe it. Harkirk’s fortress was one of the strongest in the Highlands, thanks to her father’s bribery. “Then we have a common enemy.” She explained what her father had done to avoid bloodshed. “They’re bleeding the MacPhersons dry to fund their soldiers.”
Bram stared at her, with no mercy in his eyes. “Not for long.”
He pushed the door open, stepping past the sleeping dog, and returned to the outdoor hearth the men had built earlier. The fire had died down to hot coals and Bram picked up a staff the width of his wrist. He used it to push several of the hearth stones inside their home, and when he closed the door behind him, Nairna could feel the radiant heat rising from the stones.
Even so, it did nothing to ward off the coldness surrounding Bram’s demeanour. She doubted if an apology would change his anger, but she had to try. “I never meant for anything to happen to Dougal.”
Bram seemed to be holding his temper back with the greatest effort. “It’s not as safe around Glen Arrin as you might believe, Nairna. We’re lucky to have found him.”
She gave a nod, but it seemed he was trying to press down even more guilt upon her. Aye, she’d made a mistake, believing it was a simple matter of taking the glass to be sold. But now that they possessed a sack full of false coins, she realized that they had a different sort of opportunity. It was a chance to ransom Callum and lose little, from a monetary standpoint.
“Take the coins with you in the morning,” she advised. “Lord Harkirk might not notice that they’re false until it’s too late.”
“Why do you insist upon offering a ransom, Nairna?” he demanded. “Don’t you believe us capable of bringing him back?”
Nairna heard the stiff pride in his tone and suddenly, she was tired of arguing about whether or not he was strong enough to fight. “It doesn’t matter if you are or not,” she answered honestly. “If there’s another way to rescue Callum, why wouldn’t you try it?” She moved toward him and his cheek twitched when she stood before him. “Would it threaten your honor so much?”
He didn’t answer and she realized she’d struck a nerve. Though she didn’t know whether or not he could fight, she’d just as soon avoid it when possible. “If we ransom Callum with false coins, I’d consider that justice. Harkirk deserves to be cheated.” To her mind, it would help Bram get his brother back and keep the men out of harm’s way.
“I don’t play games with men’s lives.” Bram’s dark eyes narrowed. “The risk is too great.”
Nairna wished he would stop being so stubborn and consider a way of freeing Callum without bloodshed. “And you don’t think about the risk of death? Someone will get hurt or killed if you try to fight them. Why wouldn’t you want to try it?”
He moved past her, ignoring her suggestion. “Because we’re not like your father, paying for men’s lives.”
Nairna had no answer for that. She’d once blamed her father for surrendering without a fight. She’d hated the thought of paying the English, arguing with him constantly about his loose way with coins. Had she changed her opinion so much, in these past few weeks?
Aye, she had. And it had everything to do with the man standing before her.
