“Youdo?” Leah demanded.
“You were almost kidnapped!”
“But I wasn’t. Magnus found me.”
“I have never been so terrified. That man might have slit your throat in front of me, and I could have done nothing to prevent it. Why do women never get taught how to fight? We are alwaysthe ones who are attacked or hurt. Why must we wait for men to save us? I should have struck him over the head with a rock, fetched the servants, screamed. But I did nothing.”
“You went to get Magnus,” Leah pointed out, taking her friend’s hand in hers.
“It was the only thing I could think of. I simply thought he must be aware who his enemies are, that he would know where you were being taken.” Katie scowled. “He knew there was a threat. He told you as much. Why has it taken this long for him to find out who hurt his first wife?”
“He feels guilty that he has not found out, I am sure of it,” Leah insisted. “But this solution of sending me away is ridiculous. If Magnus is faced with a problem, he distances himself from it. That appears to be the only solution he ever considers. Why should I run away when I have done nothing wrong? I do not wish to return to England. Part of me believes, if I go, I will never come back.”
Katie’s head shot up at that, and she looked at her with a startled expression. “What do you mean?”
Leah sighed, the same wave of uncertainty and unhappiness engulfing her.
“I believe he will use it as an excuse,” she muttered. “That he doesn’t really want me here now, and not having me here at all would be easier. Once I am gone from the island, all of his worries and concerns will go with me. He can annul the marriageand live as he did before—without the burden of a wife he was forced to take.”
She sniffed, feeling fresh tears welling up in her eyes.
“You do not know that, Leah. I may have joked with you about how you look at him, but I have seen the way he looks at you, too.”
“With frustration mostly.”
“He cares for you, I am sure of it,” Katie insisted.
“I do not know how you can be. I am not, and I have spent a great deal more time with him than you.”
Suddenly, a soft knock sounded at the door, and the women looked up as the same servant girl with the birthmark across her forehead opened it and curtseyed timidly.
“Laird MacWatt has sent me to gather yer things, M’Lady. He has said to pack as little as ye can. He will send anythin’ else ye need after ye.”
Leah scoffed loudly, going to stand by the window.
Katie cleared her throat. Leah heard her thank the girl, and there was some scuffling and scraping as they began to gather what she might need.
“None of that,” she said, turning around, a stubborn set to her jaw. “I will just need the pink dress I was wearing when I arrived. That is all I had with me when I came, and that is all I will need when I leave for good.”
“Leah,” Katie admonished, “you do not know that will happen.”
“Help me change,” Leah said harshly, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Magnus looked up from the maps he had thrown on his table as Kenneth walked in, closing the door behind him.
“Do ye have any reason to suspect yer staff of giving information away?” Kenneth asked, getting straight to the point.
“Nay. I have had the same staff for years, I trust them.”
Kenneth nodded. “I feel the same, but ye can never be too careful.”
“What have ye found?” Magnus asked, knowing that Kenneth had stayed behind to dispose of the body and try to find out anything about him.
“I think he is from Clan Thompson,” Kenneth said gravely.
“What makes ye so sure?”
“Location more than anythin’. I dinnae think he could have traveled from MacLeish so quickly, and the boat he used was small. It wouldnae have traveled well over such a stretch of water.”
