Aiden frowned. “Is this the first time ye have drawn yer sword during the fight, Theo?”
Theodore paused. “Nay.”
“Aye, it is. Look, nae a speck of blood on that blade.”
Theodore cleared his throat. “Well, ye were doing well enough. Ye didnae need me help. Anyway, let me take care of this for ye, at least.”
The mob leader—Aiden dredged up his name from the dregs of his memory.Angus, a man who’d worked in the distillery—gurgled more urgently, his good hand flapping.
Aiden held out his hand, stopping Theodore in his tracks. “Wait a moment. He’s trying to speak.”
Theodore laughed uneasily. “Do we really want to hear what he says?”
Aiden ignored him. He took a few careful steps toward Angus, eyes peeled for hidden daggers or last-ditch bursts of strength, and dropped into a crouch. “Now, why are ye here today, I wonder?” he murmured. “Ye said there was a man ya had in mind.”
Angus nodded weakly.
“I bet he promised ye a fat reward. Riches, maybe, or a fine position if ye could stoke the discontent in the village into something more tangible. Have I got that right?”
Another weak nod.
“But ye didnae imagine that ye would die like this,” Aiden mused. “Bleeding out, yer hand gone. Nay glory, nay reward, just death. Well, I’m sorry that it ended this way. I bet that ye are, too.”
After a moment, Angus nodded once more, jaw tightening. His tongue came out to lick dry, cracked lips, and his gaze slipped past Aiden’s shoulder.
“Who was it?” Aiden whispered, tilting his head to meet Angus’s eyes more squarely. “Who wanted to be Laird in place of me? Who sent ye here?”
Words appeared to be beyond Angus now. He licked his lips once more, blinking hazily. Slowly, very slowly, he lifted his good arm, fist loosely clenched, forefinger poking out, and pointed to?—
Suddenly, Theodore’s blade drove into his chest, the point hitting the stone wall behind him.
Angus jerked once, then the light died in his eyes. He flopped forward, trapping the blade against his chest. The hilt quivered, and Theodore released it, stepping back. He was breathing heavily, chest rising and falling, eyes blazing.
Aiden stayed where he was for a moment, staring wide-eyed at Angus’s rapidly cooling corpse. He could hear whispers of shock rippling through the onlookers.
Slowly, he rose to his feet. First, he glanced over at Hannah, who was staring at Theodore with shock and revulsion.
Theodore did not meet his eyes. Instead, he kept his gaze on Angus’s body. “Traitorous fool,” he hissed. “We daenae want to hear what he has to say.”
Aiden cleared his throat. “A traitor to ye, or a traitor to me?”
Theodore clenched his jaw. “What?”
“He was going to point at ye,” Hannah whispered, loud enough for her voice to carry.
Theodore gave no sign that he had heard her. His eyes swiveled to Aiden, burning right into him. “He’s a lying fool,” he said clearly. “He was going to accuse me out of spite.”
Aiden gave a sharp laugh, raking a hand through his hair. He noticed, dispassionately, that his hands were shaking.
“It’s ye, Theodore. It’s always been ye. How could I… How could I have been such a fool? What have ye done?”
For a moment, he was sure that Theodore was going to deny it again. That he would look him right in the eye and lie squarely and evenly. Instead, he gave a long, slow smile.
“Ye have always been a fool, Aiden. Always unable to see what is before ye very nose. I should have been Laird.Me. Ye left me in charge often enough, didnae ye? Did ye never think that I’d get used to having that power? Oh, IkenI could manage things. I could make the right choices, be the laird ye could never be. And then, when I’d get used to it, ye would sweep me aside and expect me to roll over like an obedient pup.”
“That’s nae true, Theodore. That’s nae how it was!”
“Nae to ye!” Theodore’s voice pitched high, almost shrill. “Ye never were a proper laird. Nae like yer braither.”
