Page 17 of A Highlander for the English Widow

“That’s probably a good thing. I hate her talking about her ordeal there. It upsets her so much. I wouldn’t want to upset her any more than she already is.”

“But there haes tae be a way. I am nae gaeing tae stand here and hae him take advantage of these wee ones,” Logan said, growling with raw passion.

“We shall find him,” Amanda said optimistically. “I’m sure there must be a way. Perhaps we can ask people in the village. They might have seen or heard of something. This man isn’t invisible. There must be someone out there who has seen some trace of him.”

Logan’s face was set deep in thought as he pondered the matter. To Amanda’s surprise it was actually Ann who spoke next. She cleared her throat and arched her eyebrows.

“If I may, I think I hae something tae add,” she said. Amanda turned to her with great shock as she couldn’t imagine Ann would have anything to do with Bram MacGavin. “There’s a lass in the kitchens—Lydia, her name is. She haes nae been with us for tae long. She boasted that she is with one of Bram MacGavin’s men.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me this?” Amanda asked, fury flowing through her words. As far as she was concerned anyone involved with men like that was no better than a criminal themselves.

Ann looked down and picked at her nails. “I’m sorry. I didnae think it was important…”

“Didn’t think it was important? She is cavorting with known criminals!” Amanda said.

“Well, I was nae sure if it was true or if it was just idle boasting. Anyway, I thought it was best tae leave it. Naybody wants tae get involved with Bram MacGavin. But I thought he was just involved with the usual kinds of crimes, nae using children. I would nae hae ignored it if I knew,” Ann said.

“Dae ye think Lydia will help us?” Logan asked.

“If she knows what’s good for her then she will,” Amanda replied indignantly. She glared at Ann, still annoyed that Ann would have hidden this from her.

“I want tae be there when ye question her. We should gae now,” Logan said.

“I agree, but we can’t leave Lillie here. How long do you think she will need before she has recovered properly?” Amanda asked, turning to Deirdre.

“I think a couple of days, just tae make sure that she’s healthy. Sometimes with blows tae the head, strange things can happen. I think it would be good tae give the wound a chance tae close up as well. If she injures it again out there, it might end up being worse than before,” she said.

Amanda nodded. The two days would be a long wait, but if that was what Lillie needed, then there was no other choice.

Logan stood straight and had a determined look in his eyes. Amanda could sense that having to wait two more days was going to be torture for him, but to his credit he did not try and argue with the process. There was much on his mind. Bram MacGavin was a particularly sore point for him, and so he left them all muttering under his breath, a grim cloud beginning to form around his mind. Amanda wished that she could do more to help both him and Lillie.

After he left she looked into the room and saw that Lillie had fallen asleep. Amanda smiled, glad that Lillie could find some peace in the midst of all this horror. It was probably better for her that she stay asleep in this present moment anyway. She was safe here and needed her rest.

Amanda then turned back, thanked Deirdre, and then told Ann that she needed to talk to her. Amanda walked through the keep and led her outside to the courtyard. She spent this initial part of the walk organizing her thoughts in her mind and deciding on her tone. Things between her and Ann had often been casual. Ann had been more of a friend than a maid, yet still, there were certain liberties that should not have been taken. Now, Amanda was deciding how much of a lady she should be and how much of a friend.

12

The day was fresh and bright, although with it being the Highlands, there was the usual chill in the air. It was something that Amanda had gotten used to a long time ago, though, and it wasn’t as though England had been much warmer. She preferred the Highlands anyway; she much preferred to be a little colder but have the natural world on her doorstep than to be in a city with its grim colors surrounding her.

There was no breeze in the courtyard, so her hair remained flat and still against her back. They walked slowly; there was nobody else around at this hour of the morning. There were fluffy white clouds drifting idly by in the sky, while the air was sweet. The courtyards were not filled with flowers or anything that provided great beauty to the world. There was a grassy plain and a stall where weapons were stored, so Amanda assumed that this courtyard was used to train warriors.

She looked up at the great towering walls of the keep, shielding her from the outside world. In this way it was almost like a prison, and she could well imagine that it was designed to keep people in just as easily as to keep them out. But at least it meant that Lillie was safe. Perhaps it was selfish of her to want to keep Lillie close by, although she told herself she was doing it for the good of the girl.

“Ann,” Amanda eventually began, knowing that she could not walk in silence for the rest of the day, “I want to know why you decided to keep this matter a secret from me?”

“Well, it was nae really a secret. I just didnae think it was worth mentioning. Ye know what the girls are like, there’s always some new man they are gossiping about. It really was nae worth yer time.”

“I think it is when that man works for a known criminal.”

“Even then I dinnae know if it was just an idle boast. He might hae just said it tae impress her.”

“Either way, you should have come to me with this information. I don’t like the idea that someone in my estate is connected with criminals, especially one who uses children in a despicable manner.”

Ann raised her hands at this and her tone became more forthright.

“Now I swear I never heard anything of that, and if I had done, then I would hae come straight tae ye. I cannae abide the idea of them using children like this.”

“Yet you are comfortable with them indulging in a life of crime?”