Page 45 of His Secret Highland Bride

In the missive, he told his brother to keep Deirdre at his holding until they could come to claim the items she’d taken. Which, after a thorough investigation, seemed to be everything the clan held of any value and that could be carted off.

“Alec, while we wait for word from Ronan, I need ye to go to the MacLeods on my behalf and explain the situation with the ship. Ask them if they can help us sell it to another party to make the money back.”

Alec didn’t move; instead, he stood there as if he were a giant carved from stone.

“What is it?” he asked when Alec said nothing.

“I canna go.” This was said as if Shane had grown horns and a tail.

“Why not? You are my right hand. You’re needed to go in my stead while I sort things out and go to the Grants to retrieve what she’s taken.”

Alec glared at him while Shane glared right back. It was another minute before Alec finally explained in a tone that made it clear he didn’t think it was something that needed explaining. “I’ve not been anywhere since I’ve been scarred. No one will want to deal with the devil himself.”

“This mark is who you are now, is that it? Because I’ll tell you true, I’ve been looking at your face for the last few days, and it is not so bothersome as you think.”

“But it is a shock to others.”

“Then they’ll be shocked and get over it as I have. I need you to take care of this, Alec. You will go to the MacLeods. Not because I am uncaring but because I care for you enough to force you to do something you don’t want to do so you see past these walls you’ve hidden behind. And most importantly, I’m sending you because I need you, and I know you will not let me down. Would you really fail at completing this important task because you’re afraid?”

“Very well. But if they send me away without hearing me, you’ll have no choice but to go anyway,” Alec blustered.

“If it comes to that, we’ll see it done together. But I think you will find this scar is not as big as you think.”

With a sound of disbelief, Alec left to prepare for his journey. In the meantime, Tory assisted Shane in listing the things Deirdre had taken with her.

“She took the bloody candlesticks from the library? What value could they be?” Shane complained to his sister.

“You’re probably remembering the old candlesticks, not the new silver ones Deirdre had made.”

“They hold a candle so you can see to read. Why must they have been made of silver?”

“They didn’t just hold one candle. They held a dozen.”

Shane slammed his fist on the desk. A silver fixture that could hold a dozen candles could not have been cheap. At the very least he would have been able to melt it down to make arrowheads for his warriors to hunt with.

“She’s also taken a number of books.”

Shane paused in his pacing and turned to his sister. “Books and very large candlesticks would be heavy. How did she carry them on a horse?”

Tory pressed her lips together and looked toward the ceiling.

“What are you not telling me, Tory?”

“The carriage she had made with the gold filigree is also gone. Along with four horses to pull it.”

“When I get my hands on the bloody woman, I may not be able to keep from choking the life from her. I can only hope Ronan will stop me before I do.”

Ronan knew his mother as well as the rest of them and would no doubt cheer Shane on in the choking rather than save him from being charged with murder.

“We have to find her.”

…

When Shane arrived later that evening in time for dinner, Lindsay couldn’t help but notice how tired he looked. And not the tired that comes from a day of hard physical labor, but more the exhaustion that comes with worrying over things with no answers.

She knew the difference because she’d spent the better part of the afternoon alone worrying about what would happen when her father arrived at the castle in a few weeks and found she’d never arrived to marry the laird. And new fear had swirled in to join the rest. If her father found her here, married to a soldier, would he or the MacPherson laird kill Shane so she’d be free to marry the laird as planned?

She hadn’t considered how marrying Shane had put him in danger. Staying here to be found put them both at risk. She now understood the weight of guilt Shane carried around for the mistake he’d made that endangered Maria. She couldn’t let anything happen to Shane, no matter the cost of her happiness.