Coming to the same realization, Avery gave her sister a sad look and let go of her hand.
The door slammed shut as Avery escaped, leaving Melissa to the mercy of their father.
“I’ll get you for this,” George swore under his breath as he continued to rub his eyes with the inside of his shirt while holding onto Melissa’s ankle with one hand.
Trying to herself free, Melissa felt him reaching for one of the ropes before he wrestled her legs together and tied her up once again.
“Ye can stay on the cold floor now, for all I care,” he growled as he retrieved another rope and tied her hands in front of her stomach before getting to his knees.
Melissa watched as he stumbled toward a pail of water that stood beside the fire and washed his face.
“You almost blinded me, you little chit,” he said angrily as he tried to clean his face.
“I’ll do more than that if you try and lay another hand on me,” Melissa angrily spat in his direction.
“Since when did you turn into a snake?” he asked as he reached for a soiled piece of linen and wiped his face. He threw it at her when he was done.
Melissa moved her head out of the way just in time as the cloth landed beside her on the floor. “Perhaps I got it from you,” she shot back with a defiant look in her eyes. She’d be damned if she’d ever let him see that he was getting the better of her. “You seem to be the biggest snake around here.”
“I should take the rest of the ink and pour it down your throat,” he grumbled as he sank into a chair and blinked. The ink began to clear from his eyes, leaving grey stains in the corners. “I swear I’ll kill you if my vision doesn’t return to normal.”
“You can try,” she said as she laid her head on the cold floor of the cottage. “But I can promise you that I’ll only fight back. Do you really want to risk losing something else?” She decided to mock him, knowing that he was a vain man. “I could rip out the remainder of your hair. It will probably never grow back, given your age.”
Glaring at her, George reached up and smoothed back the last strands of his hair. The years of living in the slums had not been kind to him. “Shut up, before I shut you up,” he threatened and lifted his hand in the air, making her wince despite her best efforts. “You’ve already gone and messed up my plans.”
“Oh, yes.” She smirked at him. “Now you only have one of us to ransom. What will you do now that your money had been halved? Kill Ewan?”
“I may just kill that soppy bastard in any case,” he grunted as he pushed himself up once again and walked over to the bucket of dirty water. “But don’t you worry, with Avery gone, I’ll still hold you to ransom for the same amount. Do you think your brother-in-law cares for you enough to give up half his wealth?” He dipped his hands into the dirty water before splashing his face.
Melissa bit on her lower lip as she considered the facts. Darragh cared for her deeply, but did he care for her enough to give up his wealth? Would he not choose his family over her if it came to that?
“And how about your precious Daniel?” George continued as he rubbed his face, washing the rest of the ink down his neck. “Does he love you enough to give up everything he’s worked for all of his life? That’s what I will be asking of him if Darragh does not wish to comply with my demands.” He paused and looked at her for a second. “I can see I’ve hit a nerve there.” He smirked.
Melissa’s face fell as she wondered if Daniel loved her enough to give up his castle and all of his lands. He’d married her to save both of their reputations, but that didn’t mean that he loved her.
She shut her eyes and rested against the hard floor as she began to question whether or not she would be leaving the cottage alive.
Please come for me, Daniel.
20
Daniel was still seething from the failed trip with Darragh to the McTavish Castle and was still struggling to piece together why and what it all meant. Nothing about it made sense, and he had this sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that all his uneasiness toward Ewan had been warranted. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that he was the one who had brought the note instead of one of the maids.
What the man had hoped to achieve by getting him and Darragh away, he didn’t know, but the sinking feeling in his stomach made him even more uneasy as he opened the door to the castle and stepped inside.
“Me Laird!” He was instantly greeted with a shout from Isla, who came down the stairs two steps at a time with the hem of her skirts bunched in her hands.
“What is it?” he asked with concern when he saw the panicked look in her eyes.
“It’s Lady McLaughlin, Me Laird. I cannae find her anywhere since ye left this morning,” she hurriedly explained as she tried to catch her breath at the bottom of the stairs.
“Has she not gone to visit Lady Ramsay or Beitris?” he asked, fear gripping his heart. The incident with Ewan was quickly beginning to seem less like a coincidence and more like a problem.
“I have checked everywhere, Me Laird!” Isla said almost tearfully. “Beitris hasnae seen or heard from her, an’ Lady Ramsay isnae at her castle. We sent one of the men to go an’ check this morning after ye left.”
“He took Melissa!” Avery shouted as she burst through the front doors and fell into Daniel’s arms. “We need to go and get her back!” She wailed in agony.
“What!?” Daniel asked, bewildered by her disheveled state. Her hair was a wild nest of tangles that boasted various foliage, and her clothes were torn and dirty. “Who?” He noticed how out of breath she was as her chest heaved with effort.
