Chapter Fifteen
Derek was seething. He sat with a smile fixed on his face, looking for all the world like he was glad to see Andrew and Beth were back in the castle.
The two of them sat together at the top table, eating dinner on that first night back in the great hall, the sounds of the clan echoing around the walls. Everyone was relieved the laird had survived. Derek cursed his misfortune. Three times he had arranged a foolproof plan to kill Andrew and thrice fate had stepped in his way.
He had been careful with his questions, gradually piecing together what had happened on this latest occasion. Take her into the woods. That part went as planned. With her out of the way he could easily get Andrew alone in the wood. Then help Rufus kill him. It should have been easy but he had to go and get himself killed.
Rufus had let him down for the third and last time. Dead he might be and with no way of confessing Derek’s part in things but that still left the problem of Andrew to resolve. How to kill him?
One thing was for sure, he would not rely on anyone else again. He would find a way to do it himself. But how?
When they made jokes he laughed with the crowd but he offered none of his own. Instead, he sat silently making plans to solve his problems once and for all. He needed something that could not fail, something that didn’t involve men like Rufus.
Andrew called for more ale, nodding a greeting to Derek when he saw him looking over at him. It was bad enough that all his plans had failed so far, to see that failure right in front of him was more than he could bear.
He stood up, excusing himself quietly before leaving, heading down to the courtyard to think alone in the cool night air.
He heard footsteps behind him in the mud less than a minute later. Turning he saw Andrew walking toward him. He managed to get the smile back on his face though it took all of his internal effort. “Not hungry, my friend?” Andrew asked, walking over to him.
“Stomach pain,” he replied. “I was going to see James, see if he had some mint or chamomile.”
“Before you go, do you have a moment?”
“Of course, my laird.”
“Beth mentioned a couple of things to me today.”
“I was so shocked to hear what happened to her. It sounded awful. How is she?”
The distraction didn’t work. Andrew spoke quietly with no hint of emotion to his voice. Derek didn’t like hearing him like that. Was he suspicious? “She said you helped her leave. Why was that?”
Derek had his answer already prepared. “She was desperate to go see the old hall. She told me she wanted to see how the building work was going on. I couldn’t see the harm in it.”
“Even though I told you to keep her safe here.”
“Aye but I thought she’d be there and back before your return. She wouldn’t keep blathering on about it and you’d be none the wiser. How could I have known what would happen?”
“You provided her guide, she said. Who was he?”
“You’ll think me foolish but I showed pity on the villain. Said he was a beggar down on his luck. I offered him a groat to take her to the hall.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t want charity, he wanted work. I thought that was the best way to help them both. He seemed a decent enough man, I thought he’d keep her safe on the way there.”
“I see. Well I won’t keep you if you’re stomach is bothering you. Off you go to James.”
Derek could have laughed as he walked away. Andrew was so stupid. A few well placed words and it was all back to normal. He had gotten away with it.
The joy he felt was soon replaced by anger again. If he was to get hold of the castle he needed rid of that man but how best to do it?
He was no closer to a solution a fortnight later. In that time he had been forced to watch as the last of the work was completed on the chapel. All efforts had been focused on it, the battlements and the keep too big a job to get done before the winter. They had been covered over with cloth weighed down with stone to protect the mortar from frost over winter.
Beth had brought all the laborers together to get the roof of the chapel completed in time for the visit from the bishop. She was hoping to have the last of the work done in time for a service of blessing on the coming Sunday.
He stood in the courtyard watching the carpenters at work on the lengths of wood needed to support the roof. How had she become such an integral part of the clan in such a short space of time? He had been here fifteen years and still felt like an interloper.
All he wanted was to be welcomed back into the MacLeishes, accepted by his father. It would happen if only he could come up with a foolproof plan for getting rid of Andrew or taking over the castle. Or better still, achieving both at once.
