“The big black one?”
“Aye, that’s the one—–by guards and a man the like I have nae seen before. Eyes as black as night, as was his hair.”
“For all that is high and mighty….” Erskine trailed off, picturing the face perfectly of the man who he had met in the gambling hall in London. “That’s Lord Moore.”
“The man she was supposed to marry?” At her words, Erskine did a double-take.
“Ye seem to ken an awful lot about Laura.”
“We got to ken each other over the last two weeks,” she waved the idea away. “Erskine, what is happenin’? Laura was forced into that carriage.”
“I daenae ken, but I’ve got to stop it,” he moved away from her.
“Ye mean ye are goin’ after her?” she stepped forward, with hope in her face, dropping the blood-stained cloth down to her side.
“Of course, I am!” Erskine said loudly. “Look after yerself. Go see Magret about that cut—–I’ll get Laura back.” He did not miss the smile of relief this gave Lennox as he ran away down the corridor.
He continued to bellow for his father and Dearg, eventually getting a reply from the great hall. He burst into the room to see Laird MacCallum sitting in a chair before the great tapestry of the hunt of the white stag. He was looking particularly morose with his chin resting in one hand.
“Erskine, I would dearly like to ken what is goin’ on,” Laird MacCallum said darkly as he crossed the room toward him.
“That makes two of us,” Erskine matched his tone. “Did ye see Laura?”
“Aye,” the Laird nodded. “She turned up this mornin’. Only a little after her betrothed, Lord Moore did. He is claimin’ thatyeabducted her, Erskine and thatyethen wrote to him tellin’ him of her whereabouts and askin’ for the reward money.”
“What!?” Erskine reeled, stepping back.
“I daenae think I have ever been so disappointed in ye,” Laird MacCallum shook his head. “Ye would play with a woman’s life like that? And all for what? Forthis?”He reached behind the chair and pulled out a sack that he dropped to the floor at his feet. It had to be full of coins as it chinked noisily.
“Those are all lies, faither!” at Erskine’s words, Laird MacCallum stilled.
“Ye best explain quickly, Erskine because I am in nay humor for this.”
“Ah, this is nae the way I pictured this conversation,” Erskine rubbed his eyes, trying to keep his head clear as he stepped toward his father. “Right, faither, listen to me, I lied to ye.”
“I gathered that much!”
“Nae in the way ye think,” Erskine pleaded and gestured with his hands for his father to be calm. Laird MacCallum sat back slowly in his chair. “Billie, the boy who asked to join our party on our journey back to Scotland, was nay boy at all.”
“Nay, she was Miss Laura Hamilton, daughter of Sir Hamilton. I ken all this now,” Laird MacCallum was restless and quick to anger. “Ye abducted her?”
“Nay! I dinnae ken she was a woman until we reached Scotland.”
“Ye dinnae?” A small smile crept through the Laird’s anger.
“None of us did. We were all fooled,” Erskine rushed to explain the rest. “She disguised herself as a boy to escape her betrothal to Lord Moore and to flee her faither. She had a friend in Scotland she was goin’ to stay with, so I agreed to escort her there. That’s when I thought she was a boy. When we got there, we found her friend dead, and that’s when I realized who she really was. What could I do?” Erskine asked with his hands outstretched. “I met Lord Moore when I was in London, a more despicable man I have yet to meet. He is foul to the women he kens. I was not goin’ to send her back to marry him.”
“Aye, I can see he has nay respect for her. I had to watch him strike her,” the Laird’s words made Erskine flinch.
“That bastard,” Erskine stood straight. “I promised to keep her safe here until I figured out a way to get her out of her betrothal.”
“And what was yer plan?”
“To marry her myself,” Erskine saw these words took his father even more by surprise. The Laird stood slowly to her feet.
“Ye want to marry this lady? Just to save her?”
“Nay, faither, nae just to save her.” Erskine shook his head. “I love her. That was the delicate matter I wanted to speak to ye of. I asked her to come here this mornin’, and I was goin’ to appeal to ye to let me marry her.” He turned and looked down at the sack. “This money I care nothin’ for. The only thing I care about is Laura, and Lennox has just told me that she has been dragged into a carriage by Lord Moore. Is that true?”
