He rolled his eyes. “It’s fine. I promise to take it easy.”
She held him to that.
It was a perfect afternoon. They rode to the north end of the island and sat on an outcrop of rock for a while watching the fishing boats pass on their way out to sea. For the first time, she saw the prettiness of the isle. Whenever they passed someone on the road, Eoin made a point of stopping and introducing her as his wife. With the tender look in his eye and the tucking of her hand into his elbow, he was making sure there was no doubt about her importance to him.
They were laughing as they climbed the stairs to their tower chamber to change for the evening meal—Margaret was teasing him about the suddenly sore knee that was to blame for his losing the race back to the castle.
It was Margaret who pushed open the door, and thus it was she who let out a cry with what she saw on the bed.
26
EOIN’S BLOODhad run cold when he’d heard Margaret’s cry, but it turned to ice when he saw the reason why.
His jaw locked in wintry rage as he quickly removed the plaid—and the dead bird that had been resting on it—from the chamber. He called for one of the servants to dispose of both. He would question them all later, but first he needed to attend to his wife.
She was still pale as he entered the room. He went to the sideboard and poured her a cup of whisky. Handing it to her, he said, “Here, drink this.”
She didn’t argue and did as he bade. He was rewarded by a flush of color to her cheeks.
Handing the cup back to him, she laughed nervously. “At least we don’t need to guess for whom it was meant.”
Eoin’s mouth tightened furiously. No, there wasn’t any doubt. It hadn’t been just any dead bird, it had been a dead raven—the symbol of the MacDowells. “I will find out who was responsible.”
The menace in his voice must have worried her. She put a quelling hand on his arm, her golden eyes wide with worry. “I’m sure there is no real threat. It was probably someone’s bad idea of a jest, or a way of encouraging me to go back home. But this is my home, Eoin, and I won’t let them intimidate me this time. I was merely startled. No real harm was done. It might only make things more difficult.”
“God’s bones, Maggie. You can’t think I will ignore this? Call it what you will, but someone wanted to scare you.”
“Maybe so, but I am not so easily frightened.” A wry smile turned her pretty mouth. “I know you too well to think you will do nothing. I’m just asking you not to overreact. You’ll not gain me any friends by subjecting all your clansmen to an inquisition.”
His mouth fell in a grim line. “I know where to start.”
It was obvious to whom he referred. “I doubt Fin would do something so blatant.”
He didn’t think so either, but no one had been more discontented to hear of Margaret’s return.
The incident cast a pall over the rest of the evening. Eoin explained to his parents what had happened, and they seemed nearly as outraged as he—especially his mother, who pointed out how easily it could have been Eachann who found the dead bird. Indeed, she seemed to have taken the “message” personally, and insisted on questioning the servants herself after he had finished.
His father sent for Fin and his other household guardsmen. One by one, Eoin questioned them, but most of his father’s men—including Fin—had been away all afternoon patrolling the seas to the north and west. They hadn’t returned until the first course of the meal.
The questioning was to no avail; no one had seen anything.
Eoin kept a close eye on Margaret and Eachann (fortunately, the boy wasn’t aware of what had happened) over the next few days, rarely leaving them alone, but nothing appeared amiss. No doubt the coward had been alerted and scurried back into his foxhole.
Margaret was probably right. Eoin doubted it was a real threat as much as something to make her feel unwelcome, but he wouldn’t take any chances. Knowing he couldn’t delay his trip to Dunstaffnage any longer, he was debating whether to take them with him, even if seeing Campbell again so soon provoked more questions from Margaret, when the problem was solved for him. Although not in a way that would make it any easier.
Answering a summons from his father that pulled him away from training, Eoin was surprised to find Campbell waiting for him in the solar. Although the prized scout was the one known for his keen, almost eerie instincts, Eoin could tell right away that this was not a neighborly visit. The members of the Highland Guard had perfected the stone in stony, so Campbell’s expression gave nothing away, but Eoin sensed his friend’s edginess.
To ensure their privacy—and that what they had to say would not be overheard—Eoin’s father stood guard outside the door himself.
As soon as he left, Campbell’s expression turned grave. “I know you are supposed to be on leave, but I need your help.”
“Does this have something to do with your father- in-law?”
“How did you guess?” he asked with dry sarcasm.
Eoin filled him in on the fisherman’s story.
Campbell’s jaw was clenching so hard Eoin wondered if he was second-guessing his decision all those years ago. “That sure as hell sounds like him. We’ve had a few reports of ‘pirate’ attacks in the past few weeks, as well as reports of his men in the area demanding rents from his former tenants.”
