‘Watch the lower roads. I do not underestimate Caelan’s response to this insult. And tell the others to have a care. There will be more men watching and searching in the woods.’
Ranald nodded and went off to spread the warning, leaving Brodie to figure out what to do with Arabella’s horse. His presence with the other horses would cause problems. Just as his owner’s would. He handed the stallion off to one of the lads with instructions on his care and walked off to see to tasks undone because of his absence these last days.
Mayhap that would help relieve the restless tension within him before he had to deal with his prisoner?
* * *
Caelan waited in his chambers for his man to return from the latest search. He paced from door to window though it did no good in hastening his wishes and orders. Finally, the heavy tread down the hallway outside his room foretold of results. A sharp knock heralded Gavin’s arrival. He offered no hospitality before speaking.
‘Have they been found?’ he demanded.
‘Nay, my lord,’ Gavin began, but Caelan had no patience for prevarication right now. Days had passed with no sign of either his outlaw cousin or his missing betrothed.
‘Has Euan returned yet?’ The Cameron laird had been relentless in searching for his daughter. A great help, since it kept him busy and out of the way.
‘He has been sighted on the road, my lord. He should arrive momentarily.’ He’d hoped the old man would stay on the road, following the signs of his daughter’s abductors and keeping out of his way.
‘Do any of my cousin’s friends yet remain here or in the village?’ he asked. In a manner of thinking, his cousin had made things easier for him by staying alive. Until this escapade at least.
Over the past months, while Brodie had been on the run, Caelan had weeded out those who had supported him in the past, by either pressuring them to leave or evicting them. And all of it done discreetly so blame did not come to him. His uncle’sunfortunatebut timely passing had given him the position and power to accomplish that and more. Now, though, Brodie’s return and his taking of the Cameron heiress threatened his goal.
‘I canna think of any, my lord,’ Gavin replied.
‘Go and seek out any of those who were known to be his friends. Or their families, Gavin,’ he said. Grabbing the man and dragging him closer, Caelan finished his warning. ‘You do not want me to suspect your loyalty in this. Find someone and find my cousin!’ He flung the lackey back towards the door and turned away, waiting for him to leave.
In slow and measured steps, Caelan had put his plan into play and stood to gain all he desired. The Camerons cowed and conquered, their heiress his, their gold his, their lives his. Chieftain of the Mackintosh Clan and head of the Chattan Confederation. Complete control over a large part of the Highlands and the esteem and power that came from that.
As he’d watched the Camerons arrive for the wedding, he’d reminded himself that he could keep up the charade before them until the dowry was transferred into his control. He could play the pleasant, interested, magnanimous laird and make people believe it. He had been doing that and doing it well most of his life. With his objective so very close, he could continue.
Even if his cousin now interfered.
When there had been no outcry at Brodie’s exile and Euan Cameron had been convinced to keep to their bargain with his uncle’s sweetening of the pot with concessions, Caelan had been pleased and had inched forward. When his uncle’s death had brought no suspicion on him, another step forward. Now, all he needed was Arabella Cameron in his grasp to finish.
And he would.
Not even Brodie Mackintosh—damn him!—would stop him.
The sounds out in the yard spoke of Euan’s return, so Caelan curbed his temper and prepared to greet the man. By the time he reached the yard, the older man had dismounted and walked towards him.
‘No sign of them past the river,’ he said, pointing off in the distance. ‘Your man Magnus thinks we are being led far afield from their real direction.’
‘Magnus? He said that?’
Magnus had trained under Brodie though he held no liking for his cousin. Some woman or another had got in between them, breaking whatever friendship or bond they’d had. But he knew Brodie’s ways.
‘Gavin, summon Magnus to the hall,’ he called out. ‘Come, Euan. I found the other maps that may help us.’
He hated the man next to him and it took all his will to keep from plunging his blade into the man’s chest. For in his uncle’s attempts to mediate their feud, Lachlan had never known that Euan was the one who had tortured and killed Caelan’s parents after losing a battle. His mother had been first, her throat cut, in front of her husband...
And her son.
Euan had forced him to watch then and did not even remember it now. Today, he acted the wise leader, seeking peace.
Though so many, too many, thought to forget the past and forgive the trespasses of those on both sides in an effort to gain peace for the future, Caelan would never forget. And he would never forgive. He would seek revenge for those who had died at the hands of the thieving Cameron bastards. He would make them pay so dearly that no one would ever claim the name of Clan Cameron again.
First, he needed to retrieve his betrothed and kill his cousin. Then he would see to the rest.
* * *
