“Yes, why, wasn’t it supposed to be?”
The man began to choke and it took Daisy several seconds of panic to realize he wasn’t choking, he was laughing, a wheezing dry laugh that bent him double. When he stood up again, there was a hint of color to his cheeks for the first time. “Well, up ye go then, go get your signature.”
“Why are you laughing at me?”
“No reason.” Then he was gone and Daisy was alone once more.
She walked through the gatehouse and into the courtyard, passing straight up the steps, ignoring the heavy feeling in her legs. She went through the door that led into the keep.
There was no sound of swords clashing this time but she felt once again that strange sense of unease as she approached the laird’s bedroom. Wind gusted past her as she stopped and knocked on the door. Then she waited, trying to keep her hands from shaking.
She didn’t manage it so instead she held them behind her back, pen and form ready.
She waited but nothing happened. She was about to knock for a second time when an enormous gust of wind blew up from nowhere and at the same moment, the door creaked open.
Jock MacGregor was looking right at her, somehow taller and more handsome than last time, his face lit by flaming torches on the interior wall. Just how old fashioned was he?
“You again,” he said, his voice deeper than she remembered. Why was he looking so angry with her. “You’ve only been gone a couple of hours and now you’re back despite me doubling the guard. Well, get on with it. See if you can kill me.”
She opened her mouth and tried to speak but nothing came out. He was wearing the same outfit as last time and her knees felt weak. She coughed too loudly and then squeaked, “I need you to sign this.”
Something was bothering her at the back of her mind but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
She thrust the form toward him, hoping he couldn’t see how much her hands were shaking.
“What is this?” he asked, taking the pen from her and holding it in front of his eyes. “I have never seen its like.”
“You’ve never seen a pen?”
“A pen. What is its purpose?”
“For signing that.” She pointed at the blank space on the form.
“This writing,” he replied, his voice lower, running his fingers along the text. “So neat. Did you write this?”
“Yeah, very funny,” she said, sure he was teasing her. “Could you just sign it.”
“With what?”
“Here,” she said, no longer so sure he was teasing. She took the pen from him, her fingers brushing the back of his hand as she did so, feeling a jolt of electricity pass through her from his touch.
She ran her hand above the paper, miming the signing of it. “Like this.”
He took the pen back, examining it again before laughing. “This is a trick. You use it like a quill yet you do not dip it first?”
“I promise it’s not a trick.” Tabby had called him eccentric but had he really never seen a pen before? “Just sign and I’ll be off.”
He leaned the form against the wall, signing with a flourish, laughing out loud as he did so, the sound so alien compared to his angry tone that it made Daisy jump to hear it. “It is a magical device, this. I shall keep it.”
Daisy shrugged. “Sure, why not. It’s not like the laird of a castle couldn’t afford to buy his own pen.”
He handed back the form, looking her in the eyes as he did so. “If you return here again, I will not let you leave. You have had your chance to kill me. Consider your good fortune that I let you walk away. I shall not be so kind if you ever come back. The abbot spoke of demons and I have my doubts about you.”
He vanished inside, the door slamming shut and leaving Daisy alone. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end for a moment and then slowly went down as her heart rate stubbornly failed to return to normal.
What on earth had he meant by that?
She refused to think about it. He was clearly mad.
