“She’s fine,” he said. “As she was at breakfast. As she will presumably continue to be.”
“Good.” Elliot nodded once. “The whole castle is very pleased, for what it’s worth.”
“Ye already said that.”
“It continues to be true.” Elliot stood. “William.” The tone shifted entirely. “A scout arrived this morning.”
“What about him?”
“He’s moved.” Elliot turned back, his tone changed now, no teasing in it, just the flat efficiency they both defaulted to when things turned serious. “Still on the edge of the territory, but he’s shifted west. Toward the village.”
Noah put his quill down. “Toward Dunmore?”
“Aye. Close enough to matter. He’s been speaking to people. Traders, farmers passin’ through. Still the same story. Ye stole his birthright, ye’re keepin’ Esther prisoner, ye drove him out.”Elliot’s jaw tightened. “But there’s somethin’ new. He’s been asking questions about Miss Harris.”
Noah’s stillness changed.
“What kind of questions?”
“Who she is. Where she came from. Whether she’s...” Elliot chose his words carefully. “Whether she has any hold over ye. Whether she’s influencin’ yer decisions.”
“He’s lookin’ for a lever,” Noah said.
“Aye. That’s me read of it.”
Noah stood and crossed to the window, the same one he’d been at an hour earlier for completely different reasons, now observing the gray morning with a different kind of attention.
“He willnae find one,” he said.
“He’ll look for one regardless.” Elliot came to stand beside him. “Ava’s visible, Noah. She’s at yer table, she’s with Esther, she’s become part of the household. If William decides she’s a weakness, it’ll be trouble.”
“He’s already decided,” Noah said. “That’s what the questions mean.” He turned from the window. “Double the scouts. I want to ken every move he makes. And I want someone discreetwatchin’ the village. If he approaches anyone connected to this castle, I want to ken before the conversation’s finished.”
“Done.” Elliot nodded. “And Ava?”
“Daenae tell her yet.” He saw Elliot’s expression and added, “She’ll want to handle it herself. She’ll go lookin’ for trouble before we ken what trouble there is to find. I’d rather have more information first.”
“She’s nae goin’ to appreciate being kept in the dark.”
“Nay.” He said it without pleasure. “She’s nae.”
He sat back down and picked up the MacDonald draft. “Double the scouts, Elliot. Today.”
“Aye, me Laird,” Elliot said.
The reports after that went faster.
Having a concrete threat to handle had sharpened him considerably, which was either a sad comment on his focus or just the nature of the work.
He read through the financial summaries from the eastern holdings, the update from the Drummond clan regarding theshared grazing rights, and a letter from an Edinburgh solicitor about a property boundary dispute that had been simmering for two years and showed no signs of resolving itself.
He wrote seven letters.
He dictated three more to the clerk, who showed up at two o’clock. He went over the household accounts with Mrs. Murray, approved the budget change for the schoolroom supplies, and had a fifteen-minute talk with the head of the guard about the west gate mechanism that had been sticking for a week and needed fixing before winter.
“There’s one more thing,” Mrs. Murray said, closing her ledger.
“Aye?”
