"That's quite all right," Eilidh assured her before continuing on her way.
What could possibly be going on?
Anna watched as Eilidh disappeared, then she finished her trip to the great hall. When she walked inside, she was inundated with the savory smells of countless meals she'd yet to try. She only took two steps inside before Emelia spotted her and came running forward.
"There ye are," she said brightly. "I was wonderin' if I'd have to come get ye."
"I had a bit of a… slow start," Anna offered. Then, she dropped her voice and said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," Emelia said, guiding Anna toward the head table. "I'll do me best to answer ye."
"Right," Anna murmured as she stopped walking, looking around to ensure there wasn't anyone sitting at the tables around them. "I just… there's something going on here, isn't there? Something hidden from the public?"
Emelia's eyes widened, and she leaned in close as she whispered, "Ye mean the missin' money?"
"Missing money?"
"Aye," Emelia said, moving in closer. "It's been goin' on for nearly five years, but people have been talkin' about it more lately. Nay one kens where it might be goin', but some have their theories."
"Do you?" Anna pressed. "Do you have any theories?"
"I daenae think any of me theories are true," she admitted. "Perhaps I'll tell ye about them after ye have yer breakfast."
Hugh was unimpressed by his mother's pleas. With a groan, he said, "I daenae care if Marcus has locked himself in his room. Ye cannae expect him to be fine. Ye ken that he's a bit… emotional."
"Aye, but he willnae listen to me," Eilidh insisted, putting herself in front of Hugh to stop him from advancing forward. "I ken he needs time to be alone, but he cannae go on starving himself. I need ye to make him eat."
Hugh didn't have time for his mother's fussing. He wasn't heartless; he knew that his brother was hurting badly. But the internal workings of the castle were demanding his full attention.
"The most ye and I can do for him is deliverin' him food and monitorin' for signs of life," Hugh said after he collected himself, knowing that there was no reason to snap at his mother. "He justhad his world shattered. I daenae think we'll be seein' much of him for a while."
Hugh wondered if it wasn't a coincidence that his council had apparently been concerned with an intruder today. Despite his love for his brother and his own guilt at thinking it, Hugh couldn't shake the suspicion Callum had planted. The timing of the two events felt connected, though why his brother would be acting from within his room, Hugh couldn't tell. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. All of this suspicion wasn't fair to Marcus.
"I just worry about him," Eilidh admitted, folding her arms across her chest. "He's been in such an awful state since we asked him to break things off with Helena. Ach, and now he's seen with his own eyes that we were right."
Hugh stepped around her, walking out of the library and toward his study. "I ken ye daenae want to hear it, but Marcus wouldnae have believed us if he hadnae come to the village with Anna and me. He would have gone on thinkin' that we forced him to leave Helena for nay reason."
Eilidh followed him, keeping pace easily. "I ken ye're right, but I'm yer maither. I worry about both of ye. I daenae want either of ye to be in any pain."
"Heartache is part of life," Hugh said without inflection. "Ye may want to shield us from it, but that doesnae mean ye should. We're adults now. We cannae come runnin' back to ye every time things get tough."
"Aye? Who says that?" Eilidh asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I havenae stopped bein' yer maither just because ye got older. If ye want to come to me with yer problems, I will always help ye."
Hugh turned toward his study a little faster than necessary. "Sometimes the problems we have arenae problems ye can help us with. It's best we learn to do things on our own."
"Ye simply willnae understand me until ye have a bairn or two of yer own," she sighed, putting her hands on her hips as she watched him unlock the door. "It doesnae matter if I cannae help with yer problems. I still want to."
He didn't have a good argument nor way to dismiss that thought. Perhaps hewouldfeel different. That possibility felt as though it were too far in the future for consideration.
I ken I told Anna that I'd give her a month to get used to the idea, but I willnae push her.
"I have work that needs to be done, Maither," Hugh said after a pause. "I wish that I could help ye with Marcus, but he has to help himself. We'll make sure he's got food comin' to him, but we cannae do more than that."
"Ach, I suppose ye're right," she said with a poorly concealed sigh. "But I'm nae happy about it. Ye get to work. I'll deal with yer brother on me own."
Hugh grunted and sent her on her way. As soon as she began her trek back to wherever Marcus was hiding, Hugh stepped into his study. The ledger still lay open on his desk, its pages silently reminding him that the question of where the money had gone remained unanswered.
He sat, going through the numbers again. There was a clear spike in the disappearance of the castle's reserves that happened shortly after he left for England. It was unaccounted for, the numbers simply not lining up. Whoever was taking the money had gotten sloppy in his absence. They were acting as though they were given no oversight while Hugh was gone.
