“Isobel,” Lachlan muttered, his voice laced with irritation.
Innes tensed. She could feel the discomfort growing between them, something boiling in the air.
“Dinnae address my wife in such a tone,” Arthur fired back.
He seemed to be searching for any opportunity to provoke Lachlan. It was so unlike him; Innes couldn’t help but wonder if his new wife had something to do with this newfound attitude.
“Then I’ll ask her not to speak to me in such a way either.”
“Ye can excuse her since ye have treated us like yer enemies rather than yer guests from the start.”
“Aye. I am currently battling plenty of threats. I’ve yet tae decide if ye are one of them, Anderson.”
“Ye’ve indeed gone mad. Ye’re the most dangerous among us,” Arthur muttered.
“That’s enough!”
Suddenly, Lachlan rose to his feet, casting the whole room into silence as he stood there before them, breathing hard. His eyes darted around the table, and Innes’ heart thumped in her chest. She had a bad feeling that he was about to lay out something he should have kept to himself, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
“You talk like this to me as if yer sister did not face an attempt on her life the other day!”
Arthur’s eyes were fit to fall out of his head at the revelation. He turned to her, his lips parted.
“Innes, tell me it’s not true.”
“We dinnae ken for sure,” Innes protested weakly, but Lachlan shook his head, leaving no room for argument.
“Aye, we do,” he exclaimed. “We do ken. Someone tried to poison her and then fired an arrow at her when she was out fora ride with me. But still you sit here and bicker as if it’s more important than finding out who did this to her!”
Arthur rose to his feet and moved to his sister’s side, stooping down next to her.
“You should have told me sooner,” he protested.
“That’s why I invited ye here.”
Innes shook her head again. “Nothing truly came of it,” she pushed back. “It was nothing for you to worry yourselves over.”
“This is because of yer reckless marriage, Fraser!” Arthur announced, rounding on Lachlan with a barely contained fury in his eyes.
Lachlan sprang to his feet, drawing close to Arthur at once, not willing to let such an insult stand.
“Oh, it’s because of me, is it?” he questioned incredulously. “The poison came from yer Keep, and the attack happened near yer side of the border.”
“Do you think that I would allow my own men to make an attempt on my sister’s life?” he growled.
Lachlan shrugged.
“I dinnae ken what ye’re capable of,” his eyes sliding to Isobel. “Since there are some decisions that we certainly dinnae agree on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Arthur exclaimed, his eyes darkening.
Isobel was a sore spot for him, not least in front of the man she had almost chosen over him.
“Oh, I think ye ken well.”
“Why don’t ye tell me, then, ye?—”
“Enough!”
