Page 3 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

Immediately, Hamish scowled and glanced at Grace. “I told her that I didnae want her to see him. I wilnae have that man’s poisonous tongue say one thing about her...but she wilnae agree.”

“Nay, I can imagine that she wilnae, but she is a strong woman, and she will know that while vile, his filth holds no power unless she grants it to him. If yer wish is to settle in yer chamber and eat—”

“Nay,” Hamish interrupted. “I want to do this now. I want to enjoy my visit with ye, and I doonae want this hanging over my head.”

Privately, Theo wanted to tell him that he needed not see Patrick at all, but his words were sure to fall on deaf ears. He couldn’t blame Hamish. While he hated growing up in Patrick’s violent shadow, bleeding from the many wounds inflicted by his father, Theo knew in his heart that he could never trade places with Hamish. Knowing where he came from gave him the strength to be the leader the MacDougals needed now.

“Follow me,” he said with some resignation. The next scene would not be pretty. He’d had a lifetime to grow callous against his father’s vile tongue. It would be no surprise for Hamish, but despite Grace’s warrior spirit, she’d been raised in a family who loved and cherished her. It would appall her to see the kind of man who had spawned her husband.

“I’d had Father placed in the dungeons while I converted one of the guest suites. I realize that it is more than he deserves, but it makes things easier for me. For a while, we were still finding guards sympathetic to him, so I would rather keep them in the dungeons and keep him where he doesnae have access to them.”

“Ye fear he will try to take power back?”

“He cannae be laird again. King Edward would never allow it, but he can make certain that someone he can control is in power. I fear my clan wilnae survive another of his reign,” Theo said as he curled his lip in disgust. It still pained him to think of the people he couldn’t save, the ones who starved to death to keep their children alive. Once Loch Moran was secure, he was going to move those children to the loch, where they could form happier memories and grow up knowing they were safe.

Winding up the stairs, they stopped at the otherwise deserted wing. There were only a few he trusted to stand guard over his father, and he still placed two at a time to make certain that if one fell for his father’s manipulations, the other would alert Theo. The secret corridors leading to his father’s room had been sealed. There were bars on the window and three locked steel gates separating his father from the rest of the castle. Only he had the key to open the last cell door. Otherwise, there was an opening for food and water. Once a day, he allowed his father to walk in the courtyard under an armed escort while a guard searched his chambers, and a servant cleaned it. It was tedious, but it helped ease his conscience to do right as a son and do right for his clan.

If his father ever dared, he would find that Theo would choose the clan over him. He hoped that day would never come.

Nodding at the two guards, he pulled out the keys to unlock the first gate. “Anything to report?”

“No, Laird. All is quiet.” It had taken time for them to stop referring to Patrick as laird or to even refer to him as Theo’s father. They had settled on referring to him as the prisoner.

“Thank ye. We will only be a few minutes.” Theo held the gate open for Hamish and Grace and closed it behind them, repeating the action for the next one until they arrived at Patrick’s final gate. This one, he would not open.

As predicted, Patrick sat at his chair, staring out the window. “I have nothing to say to ye, and I have no desire to see the traitor that is my son.”

“Seems to me that ye should be thankful,” Hamish responded quietly. “If it were me, I would have let ye in the dungeons to rot.”

Patrick whipped his head around, eyes blazing. “Ye, the spawn of the whore. Have ye come to overthrow yer brother? Perhaps ye are more like me than I imagined.”

“He is nothing like ye!” Grace snapped suddenly, garnering Patrick’s attention. Hamish immediately realized what she’d done and placed a steady arm around her waist.

“‘Tis true,” Hamish said grimly. “I am more like my brother than my father. He presides over his people with a just nature and a protective arm. I do the same.”

Patrick raised his eyes brows. “My bastard is a laird? Over which clan?”

There was something in his tone Theo didn’t like. Not nearly enough surprise or anger.

His gut tightened. This is all an act. Someone has been feeding him information!

Hamish caught on as well and narrowed his eyes. “I think ye already know that answer.”

“I may have heard a rumor or two,” Patrick said with an evil grin. “There are more MacDougals loyal to me than my son would like to think. So ye are a Hamilton now, and ye married the Sinclair hellion. I had plans for her to wed Theo, ye know, before I learned that my son has a limp spine. I’m sure his cock is no different, or he’d have a brood of whelp bastards by now. It seems the lovely girl chose the son with more virility. Aye, I think the bastard does take after me.”

Grace opened her mouth, but Theo shook his head. If he had any idea that Patrick had sighted Grace for Theo, that meant his father might have had an obsession with the woman himself, and he would never have allowed Grace to see him. The less she interacted with him, the better.

“The last time that I was here, ye claimed it would have been better that I’d never been born. Now that I have formed an alliance with my brother, ye may wish that true now more than ever. He may not have the stomach to see ye dead, but if the task ever needs doing, trust that I am more than willing to take up the sword,” Hamish said in a casual tone. “But that is where my thirst for violence ends. I protect what is mine. Ye bloody anything that is yers. If ye see me again, it will be in yer last moments on this earth.”

Without another word, Hamish turned and guided Grace out of the chambers.

Patrick locked eyes with Theo. “Has MacSeaver declared war over Loch Moran?”

“The business of this clan is no longer yer concern. If I discover that anyone is passing along information to ye, ye can say goodbye to yer cushy chambers and die in the dungeons below.”

“I havenae had my walk in the gardens yet!” Patrick bellowed.

“And ye wilnae as punishment for disregarding the rules,” he said. “The guards will bring ye supper, and perhaps ye can go out tomorrow.”