Killian once again let her words convince him that Laird McLennan was innocent.
He nodded and drew in a deep breath. “All right… So, we find Richard’s ledgers and find out who was with him that night.”
“Yes,” she answered with a nod.
Killian and Lily got lost in each other’s eyes for a long time after that, then he nodded again. “So, where do we begin to look for these ledgers?”
“Ask Fletcher,” Lily answered, and he followed her line of sight to see Fletcher watching them from a distance, his hands folded over his chest. “Fletcher was your brother’s man-at-arms. He knew all about your brother’s business with Richard Easton. He knows where the ledgers are.”
Killian lowered his gaze and sighed. He turned around and signaled for Fletcher to come to them.
“M’laird?”
“I need my brother’s ledgers. I want to see every record and every detail of the business he had with Richard Easton. I understand they are kept in the vault back at the keep?”
“Aye, m’laird. All of the old ledgers are locked away in the vault in the keep. We can go through them together once we get back.”
“I will leave ye here with these men and go look through them. Hopefully, we will find somethin’.”
“What is it that ye wish to find, m’laird?” Fletcher’s question shocked Killian, and he did not blink. “Yer brother’s ledgers doesnae have the information that ye need. Yer brother had not done business with Laird McLennan. They were only discussin’—”
“Do as I say, Fletcher,” Killian cut in, using a sterner tone. “Laird McLennan has brought war to us, and we will fight him, but I need ye to let me find out if he really killed my brother.”
Fletcher blinked, and his chin hardened before he bowed and walked away.
“He does not look too happy,” Lily remarked with a sigh when they were alone again. “He probably cannot wait until I leave MacColl.”
Her mention of leaving again made Killian’s heart ache, and he clenched his jaw. “I dinnae wish for ye to leave,” he whispered to her, needing to say these words out because it felt like they would choke him soon. “I dinnae want to even think of ye leavin’ because I…”
He sighed and shook his head. “We should head back to the keep and find those ledgers before Laird McLennan sends any more men to us.”
Lily rose to her feet, and Killian did the same. “I wrote him a letter,” she revealed then. “I wrote to Laird McLennan, and he never replied. I told him that I was not kidnapped and that I had decided to stay here. I wrote after the fire at the cabin, but he never wrote back. I think there is also something going on back at McLennan… I have a strong feeling about this.”
Killian gently touched her shoulders and drew her to him. “Ye should sleep for tonight. Tomorrow, we will figure out what happens next.”
The rest of the night, Killian stayed awake with his men. They kept watch at the village borders for any intrusion to make sure nothing took them by surprise.
31
They made it back to the keep by dusk the next day, and Lily had only a few hours to rest in her chamber before Niamh came to find her.
“How are ye feelin’?” Niamh asked. “Killian mentioned the damage in Wehnthor. He said ye fought bravely for us.”
Lily smiled as Niamh sat on her bed and reached out to stroke her hands.
“I am all right. I just wish there was another way to end all of this without any more men dying,” Lily replied.
“We might find somethin’ in the ledgers,” Niamh said as they sat there.
Lily had enjoyed a bowl of broth for supper earlier, and since she was waiting for Killian to find the ledgers in the vault so theycould go through them, she had decided to enjoy the solitude of her bedchamber for a while.
“Have ye thought of what all of this would mean if Laird McLennan truly is guilty?” Niamh asked. “Ye trust Laird McLennan a lot. Ye have trusted in his innocence since ye got here.”
Lily nodded. “I have thought of it countless times. The only answer I come up with each time is the truth. He is innocent.”
“How are ye so sure?”
Niamh’s question echoed in Lily’s thoughts for a while before Lily sighed and admitted, “I am not.”
