Page 84 of Claimed Highland Brides

COMPROMISED

Daividh was happy to give the Englishman a chance to prove himself but he was no fool. He would not let him run through the keep unsupervised. He had more skill than Daividh would ever hope to find in a steward but Delwyn had to gain his trust somehow. If it was not for his help in the fight he would have never given him this chance.

So while there was an uneasy peace at the mines, he tasked Simon with keeping an eye on his new steward. It occurred to him to wonder whether the sudden withdrawal of Hunter’s men from agitating at the mine had something to do with the Sassenach’s presence in their lives. He did not want to think so but then again, he did not believe in coincidences.

“Where do the miners get their food from, sir?” Delwyn had asked him much to his surprise.

“Why do ye ask?”

“Well I was doing inventory as you told me to and it occurred to me that I might have to factor them in, especially as the winter months draw nigh…unless they have another source of food?”

Daividh expelled a breath, thinking about his answer. There was nothing he could tell the man that he could not learn from questioning any passing tinker. “They buy what they need with their wages,” he said at last.

“From us?”

“From the keep yes, but also surrounding farms. There’s plenty of food tae go around.”

“I see. Well, that takes care of that I suppose,” Delwyn murmured, looking dissatisfied. Daividh squinted at him, trying to see beneath the surface.

“Ye’re running from something,” he said at last.

The Englishman jumped as if he had been shot. “I beg your pardon?”

“Ye’re running from something are ye no? Did ye impregnate some girl? Are ye in disgrace?”

The nobleman opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Daividh was hard put not to laugh.

“I did not impregnate anyone!” The man sounded quite outraged.

Daividh blinked at him a few times before shrugging. “My mistake.” He turned away without apologizing just so that the Sassenach would know that he was not in the clear. Walking away, he heard the man heave a sigh although he was not sure if the Englishman was relieved or simply annoyed.

Fiona had told him of Jamesina’s interest, an interest she seemed to think was mutual. This meant that whatever the man was hiding, they needed to find out quite soon. Before all was irrevocably lost. He could not help thinking of his own wife and the troubles that had beset her before their marriage.

* * *

Having finished his inventory, Delwyn announced that he would take a walk and get to know the countryside a bit. Nobody tried to stop him—or worse, accompany him—and so he took his walking stick and headed for the hills. He knew the goldmines could not be far because the laird rode there and back within the day. However, he had no real inkling as to just how far they were and he could not ask anyone without arousing more suspicion.

And people are wary enough of me as it is.

He had tried to speak with Jamesina at supper the night before but she had made sure to have both Ùna and Aileen between them, making private conversation impossible. Ùna had entertained him with various stories about her sisters, all remarkably informative if somewhat innocuous. He supposed it was good to know just how much Jamesina hated picking strawberries, going so far as to arrange the most ridiculous excuses to get out of it; but he did not see how that information would help him win her.

He was running out of time. The kidnappers’ deadline was fast approaching and he was not getting anywhere. If he could perhaps find his sister and initiate a rescue with no harm done to anyone..?

If not…

If not, you will have to get Jamesina to marry you forthwith.

The sun rose to the zenith of the sky, rays warming him up until he felt as if he might expire from the heat. The mines were most definitely much further away than he would have liked. He could feel a blister developing on the heel of his right foot. With a sigh, he found a convenient boulder and sat down on it, thinking hard.

I could try again tomorrow…on horseback.

He looked up the road which led to the top of the hill before descending along the other side. Who knew how much further the mines were from there. As he was still dithering, unable to make a decision, he heard the steady clip-clop of hooves approaching, interspersed with verbal encouragement from a driver, he assumed. Whatever the oncoming vehicle was, Delwyn could not see it as it was concealed by a curve in the path. He waited for the transport to come into sight and was unsurprised to see a man and his donkey appear. The man occasionally smacked the donkey’s behind with a long stick as it pulled a wagon along, head bent in disinterested fatigue.

Delwyn got to his feet, a ready smile on his face.

“Good even to you, sir,” he called as the man came abreast of him.

The Scotsman favored him with a suspicious glance but did not say a word.