“It wasn’t a ghost,” she replied. “I don’t knowwhatit was.”
His eyes narrowed with curiosity as he rose and stalked toward her. “Was it some kind of vision?”
“I am not certain.”
He grasped her arm and hauled her around to face him. “Well, you best figure it out, lass. Scotland needs a king, and I must know when to act and who to trust. You promised me another vision by now, and if this opportunity passes, there may not be another.”
“Why does it matter so much to you?”
His cheeks flushed with passion and vigor. “We cannot allow the English to continue to subjugate us. If they had their way, they would banish us all to the north, then eventually push us into the sea. You don’t understand anything, do you?”
She wrenched her arm away from him. “Don’t tell me what I do, and do not, understand. I know how it feels to be banished. I’ve been branded a witch all my life, and now I am rejected byyou—who will not even be seen in public with me.”
“People fear you, Raonaid. Your gifts make them uneasy.”
She arched a brow and spoke to him with dangerous accusation. “Do my gifts makeyouuneasy, Murdoch? Does my wickedness make you nervous?”
He took a moment to consider how best to answer the question; then at last, he cleared his throat and stepped back. “You’re my woman. I’ll not cast you out, like others have done.”
She scoffed bitterly. “You only keep me as your woman because you think I can change your future. You want to triumph over the Hanoverians, and you think that if I see it in the stones, it will make it so.”
“You saw a great triumph for Angus the Lion,” he argued. “You predicted his invasion at Kinloch Castle.” When she gave no reply, Murdoch’s voice softened and he laid a hand on her shoulder. “But that’s not the only reason I want you, Raonaid. You know that. You’re a beautiful woman.”
She glanced down at his hand, thought of the mysterious spirit that haunted her, then gave him a spiteful glare. “I don’t know why you think so. I am spiteful and malicious.”
It’s why she had been alone all her life. Everyone feared her. Some believed she was the devil.
Murdoch carefully removed his hand from her shoulder and let it fall to his side.
“There, now,” she said mockingly. “That’s more like it, for I cannot abide lies.” She turned away from him and climbed the stairs to her chamber.
Chapter Seventeen
Kinloch Castle
With her young maid as an escort, Catherine entered the twisting tower staircase. They climbed up one level, then made their way down another long, torchlit passageway.
“Is this the right direction?” Catherine asked, uncomfortably aware of the distance they had traveled through the castle. “I thought we were to dine in the East Tower?”
“Aye, milady, but I was given instructions to bring you here first.”
They reached another staircase and climbed all the way to the top. The maid gestured with a hand. “He’s waiting for you here, milady. He’ll take you to supper himself.”
Hoping her maid was referring to Lachlan, Catherine stepped onto the stone rooftop and looked up at the night sky. The stars were twinkling. The air was still. Wispy clouds floated in front of the moon. She glanced from east to west, wondering how long she would have to wait here alone.
“Lady Catherine.” That familiar husky voice reached her from the other side of the tower stairs.
At last, Lachlan stepped into view, darkly handsome in the moonlight. Her knees nearly buckled beneath her, and she felt giddy with excitement.
“Why did you summon me here?” she asked, determined to reveal none of that.
He dug into his sporran. “I wanted to give you these, and I didn’t dare come to your bed again.”
He withdrew her heavy pearl and emerald necklace and held it up. The stones gleamed brilliantly in the moonlight.
“I believe there are some dangly earbobs in here as well,” he added, patting his sporran.
Catherine reached for the necklace, but he quickly drew it back. “What will you give me for it?”
