If he was surprised by her announcement, he did not show it. “What do you want?”
“A moment of your time, if you please, my lord.” When it appeared he was going to deny her, she added through clenched teeth, “I apologize for the abrupt manner of my arrival, but it’s a matter of the utmost importance.”
She waited, heart pounding, sure that he was going to deny her. Instead, she was surprised when he waved away his men.
She felt a small burst of accomplishment that deflated quickly when he motioned her forward. She stood before the massive table, trying not to twist her hands and shift her feet, feeling like an errant child facing punishment. Suddenly shamed by her failing courage, she straightened her spine and lifted her chin to meet his gaze.
Argyll peered down his long nose, taking in every inch of her appearance, including the mud-spattered skirts and slippers. “It seems that bursting in on my solar is becoming a common occurrence in your family—although at least you are dressed appropriately.”
She had no idea what he was talking about. “My lord?”
He waved his hand. “Never mind. What is it that has brought you here with such urgency?”
“My brother and his men. I know they are here. I’ve come to plead on their behalf. If you hear them out, I’m sure you’ll see why they did what they did. But I would see them first, if you would take me to them.”
Argyll took his time in responding, his dark eyes probing with an uncomfortable intensity. “You are aware of what your brother and his men are accused, and that your husband has brought them here for my judgment?”
Her jaw clenched, but she did not turn away. “I am. Jamie swore that you would show them leniency.”
Argyll stroked his small pointed beard. “He told you all this and yet you are still here?”
She nodded, again feeling like a recalcitrant child—and a disloyal one at that.
Argyll drummed his fingertips on the tabletop, and the annoying click only increased her agitation. “Your brother’s men are in the tower under guard, awaiting my punishment.” His eyes met hers with cold calculation. “But I’m afraid you are too late. Your brother is already gone.”
Chapter 25
Gone.Caitrina felt as if she’d slammed into a stone wall, the breath knocked right out of her. She was too late. Niall was already dead.
For a moment, the bleakness and anguish of unbearable loss blinded her; it seemed as if her worst fears had come true . . . but only for a moment.
Something far deeper prevailed and pushed aside the flash of despair.Jamie wouldn’t have let that happen.She knew it with a certainty that pervaded every fiber of her being.
She believed in him. Completely. She knew that the Highlands were a better place with him. Loyalty to his cousin notwithstanding, Jamie would do what was right.
And it had taken Argyll’s trick to prove it. Was that what he’d intended? Her eyes narrowed on the most powerful—and despised—man in the Highlands. Trusting Jamie meant that she was forced to concede that Argyll was not the monster she believed. Jamie would not be loyal to such a man. Argyll must have some redeeming qualities—not that they were necessarily apparent at the moment.
Argyll was testing her. Did he not think her worthy of his prized cousin? Perhaps a few minutes ago he’d been right, but she would prove him wrong. “How unfortunate that I missed him,” she said breezily, as if her brother had been making a social call. “Do you expect him back soon?”
Argyll arched a wiry brow. She thought she detected a hint of approval in his gaze. “Jamie was to bring him here for my judgment; don’t you care to hear it?”
Caitrina gave him an icy sweet smile. “I’m sure Jamie will tell me all about it.”
“Tell you all about what?”
Caitrina’s heart skipped a beat, hearing her husband’s deep brogue behind her. She turned and took a step toward him, wanting to throw herself into his powerful arms and beg forgiveness for doubting him; but he stopped her cold.
“What the devil are you doing here, Caitrina?”
Her heart faltered, then crashed to her feet. Hope that he would be happy to see her was extinguished by the harsh greeting and the glacial expression on his face. He seemed to look right through her, as if she weren’t even there. As if he wanted nothing to do with her ever again.
Jamie couldn’t believe it when Will found him in the stables as he was preparing to leave and told him that Caitrina was here.
For a moment, he’d hoped that she had come after him to apologize—until Will told him she had insisted on seeing his cousin. Argyll, not him.
Knowing how much she despised his cousin—holding him partially to blame for what had happened at Ascog—Jamie realized the courage it had taken for her to confront him. He had to admire her determination to save her brother, even as her lack of faith in him was made more glaring.
Seeing her so soon was like salt on an open wound. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her. But there was something different. . . . Then it hit him. The gown, the jewels, the hair. For the first time since the attack on Ascog, she had donned her finery. She looked like a princess again. Not a fairy princess, but a real one. A strong, confident woman who’d struggled and survived. Was it significant?
