Hugh nodded before flagging down a servant. When she approached, he said, "Will ye fetch Emelia? Lady McDonald needs to be taken to her chambers and attended to."
"Aye," the staff member said politely before ducking away to find Anna's maid.
"Ye willnae be alone for long," Hugh promised her. "I will come by to check on ye soon."
"Thank you," Anna said, finally letting the exhaustion bleed into her voice. "I do hope that Marcus doesn't take this too hard. It troubles me knowing he's so upset."
"He's goin' to be fine," Hugh assured her, grabbing both of her hands and squeezing them once before letting go. "I'm goin' to check on him now."
Without waiting for her response, Hugh ventured deeper into the castle. Marcus could have gone anywhere. His brother had a penchant for keeping his movements unpredictable. It was just as likely that he was in his chambers as it was that he had found his way to the great hall.
The first place Hugh checked was the library. Each nook and cranny was empty, showing absolutely no signs of Marcus having been here. Had there been another soul in the room, Hugh would have asked after his brother.
Back in the corridor, he spotted his mother. She was coming toward him, a sense of urgency in each of her movements. With her voice raised enough that Hugh could hear her from a distance, she said, "Have ye found Marcus? Anna told me that he ran into Helena."
"Nay, I havenae found him," Hugh said as he fell into step with her. "And aye. Seems he saw somethin' he wasnae supposed to see. Upset him terribly. Anna seems to think it's her fault."
"Ach, I told ye she had a good heart," Eilidh said, stopping to open a door. As she scanned the interior of the room for Marcus, she said, "She's worried about him even though he's been a dobber and treated her poorly. Ye got a good one with her." She glanced back at Hugh. "But I'm still disappointed ye didnae marry her for love."
"And I already told ye that I like her well enough," Hugh said. He wasn't willing to admit to anyone, not even himself, how deep his feelings truly ran. "Enough chattin'; we need to find Marcus."
Eilidh, thankfully, didn't pry. Hugh wasn't blind to the way her energy seemed to shift. She'd picked up on something, Hugh was sure of it. For once, he was glad that Marcus was a mess. It meant her sharp focus was turned on him rather than on Hugh.
That doesnae mean I willnae have to deal with her later. She's relentless when she puts her mind to it.
They searched the castle for Marcus in silence. As Hugh was beginning to accept that his brother wouldn't be found because he didn't want to be, a servant passed by. And, when Hugh asked about Marcus, they were pointed toward Hugh's study.
"What's he doin' in there?" Eilidh wondered aloud. "Did ye leave the door unlocked?"
"I've nay idea why he'd be there," Hugh admitted, Callum's accusation flashing in his mind again. "But he kens where I keep the extra key. If he wanted to get in, he could."
Hugh didn't have time to fully process the revelation. It was a piece of information he'd shared with Marcus when they first moved into the castle. If he thought too long about it in this new light…
It didn't matter. They needed to check on Marcus. Hugh could entertain his suspicions after he found out exactly what his brother had seen when they were in the village earlier today.
As soon as Hugh pushed the door open, he was greeted by the bottom of Marcus's boots resting on top of his desk. Marcus, to his credit, had the decency to look surprised at being discovered. He shifted, settling in the chair properly.
"I didnae think ye'd find me," Marcus said, his eyes shifting from Hugh to Eilidh. "Ye brought our maither?"
"Nay, he didnaebringme," Eilidh said, crossing her arms as she stepped closer to the desk. "I was comin' to find ye anyway. Anna said that ye were upset. I wanted to make sure ye didnae need anythin'."
"What I need is to be left alone," Marcus huffed. "I daenae need the two of ye botherin' me."
"Is that why ye're hidin' in me study, then?" Hugh stated, raising an eyebrow. "Ye were thinkin' we wouldnae look for ye amongst the areas that belong to the Laird?"
Marcus chuckled and said, "If I ever really need to hide, I willnae do so in the castle. The staff is far too eager to reveal my position." His gaze fell on Hugh as he said, "Though I'm sure that if it were the Laird someone was lookin' for, they'd do everythin' they could to keep him hidden."
"Ye ken their answers will change dependin' on who's askin'," Hugh said. "They wouldnae give either of us up to strangers. And I'm sure that Maither wouldnae let them deny her access to either of us, no matter what instructions we gave."
Eilidh made a triumphant noise then said, "Ye're right. But we werenae lookin' for ye to discuss whether or not the servants can keep a secret. We need to ken what happened in the village earlier."
The study fell silent as Hugh and Eilidh waited for his reply. For nearly a minute, it seemed as though Marcus was trying to wait them out. When it became clear they wouldn't be giving him an escape, Marcus cleared his throat.
"I daenae want to think about it any longer," he said defensively. "She was seein' three other men. At the same time." He shifted uncomfortably, staring at a chip in the varnish on the desk. "And I ken this because I saw the four of them together when I went into her house."
"Oh, Marcus," Eilidh said, rounding the corner of the desk to put an arm on his shoulder.
At the same time, Hugh said, "Well, ye probably shouldnae have walked into her house without knockin'."
