On her way around the building she saw a group of horsemen a short distance away, and leading them was a man with shoulder-length blond hair that was blowing behind him in the wind. Later, she would never be able to remember what the others looked like because she only had eyes for one of them.
He glanced across at her and their gazes met, but he was too far away for her to tell the color of his eyes. She only knew that he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
3
After a moment she realized that the riders were coming towards her. She stood where she was and held her ground, even though the sight of the big horses was intimidating in the extreme. When the blond man drew level with her, she could see that in contrast to his bright blond hair, his eyes were deep brown, shadowed under brows that were lowered on the face of a fierce scowl.
Laird Fraser Dubhgnall dismounted and walked over to her, thinking that the day had not been entirely wasted. If he achieved nothing else in the next few hours, he had seen the most beautiful woman he had set eyes on for years. He gave her a smile and she returned the favor with a genuine one of her own.
“What is your name, girl?” he asked. His tone was polite, but the condescending use of the word “girl” to address her had always irked her, as it did now.
However, she kept her voice calm and her face straight as she replied, “Leana McBeth, sir.”
Fraser noted the way she held her head up and refused to back down from his piercing gaze. “I am Laird Fraser Dubhgnall, and I own the land we are standing on.” He paused to let this sink in, but her expression did not change one iota.
“How can I help you, M’Laird?” she asked calmly. Her face was neutral, but her mind was racing. It was the time of the month when the rent was collected, but the Laird had never come himself before; he usually sent men he had specifically employed for that purpose. However, instead of the usual rent collectors, he had come with guards. What was going on?
He pointed to Lucy. “That horse over there. May I ask where you got it?”
Leana had nothing to hide, so she told him. “His rider had an accident an’ fell jist ootside oor fence,” she replied. “He wis hurt, so we took him inside to look efter him. He has lost his memory.”
Fraser could tell by the guileless look in Leana’s eyes that she was telling the truth. He frowned suddenly and pointed to Annie. “Just to be sure,” he said threateningly, “the horse I am looking at now, the big gray one—that is the horse he was riding?”
“Aye, M’Laird,” she replied simply.
Abruptly, the Laird’s expression changed, and his face became clouded with anger. “Where is the man who was riding him?” he asked, his voice loaded with menace.
“Why does M’Laird want tae knaw?” Leana asked cautiously.
“Because he is a thief,” Fraser growled. “He stole my property, and if you are hiding him you are complicit in that theft.”
“Indeed I am not!” Leana yelled in his face, and for a moment she thought that he was going to strike her and took a step back, but he barged past her into the house.
Fraser knew Joe McBeth slightly, but he had no idea who the other man was. He was lying on his stomach on a straw mattress, but it did not take too much effort to work out why he was positioned so strangely, because the large wound on his left shoulder made it obvious. He had been the victim of a shot from a longbow.
The man was looking up at Fraser with wide, terrified eyes as the Laird bent over him, a riding crop in his hand. For a moment Fraser actually contemplated using it, then he threw it away with an exclamation of disgust. He was angry at himself for even thinking of whipping a man; he had never even used the crop on his horse.
“You!” he roared, bending down so that his mouth was an inch away from Lachie’s ear. “Did you steal my horse?”
The man’s whole body began to shudder, and tears started to leak from his eyes. Fraser’s lip curled with contempt.
The man nodded, weeping silently.
“And you stole the candlestick from the church?” Fraser’s voice was throbbing with rage.
“Aye, M’Laird,” Lachie replied.
“Why?” Fraser demanded.
“Because my family is starvin’,” Lachie replied. “Our crops failed an’ we had eaten a’ oor animals. I wanted tae sell it an’ buy something tae eat.”
“Wait a minute.” Leana stepped up behind the Laird. “You told me you had lost yer memory. Did ye get it back?”
Lachie sighed. “Naw, mistress,” he answered, shaking his head. “My head was sore an’ I wis a bit shook up for a while when I fell off the horse, but I never really lost my memory. I’m sorry.”
Leana was stunned, and it showed on her face. Fraser looked at her, frowning fiercely. His earlier goodwill towards her had disappeared, and he was as suspicious of her as he was of the thief. “Did you have anything to do with this?” he growled. “Because if you did—”
“I did not!” she replied hotly. “I am an honest hardworking woman and I labor for my living. I didnae inherit property—or steal it! I hae never stolen in my life!”
