Page 24 of Bewitching her Highland Savior

“Peigi.”

“Peigi, do ye ken where I can find Liam?”

The last thing that Muriel wanted was to go through the castle and meet people on her own. She supposed that even having Ian by her side would be better than being alone at first until she had met everyone in the family, at least.

“He’s waitin’ for ye right outside,” Peigi said.

Muriel was taken aback, and she instinctively glanced at the door, despite the fact that it was closed. It was thoughtful of him to come to her first, she thought.

Once she was dressed, she thanked Peigi for her help and then opened the door. Just as Peigi had said, Liam was there – leaning against the opposite wall and staring out the nearest window at the courtyard below.

“Good mornin’,” Muriel said; taking the hand that Liam offered her with a smile.

“Did ye sleep well?” Liam asked. He led her down the stairs and toward the great hall that Muriel had caught a glimpse of the previous night. She looked around as she followed, trying to take in every detail.

“Aye. I havenae slept this well since I left Edinburgh,” Muriel said. “Ye seem to be rested, too.”

Though one night couldn’t fix the tiredness of the past few days, Muriel was glad to see that Liam looked better, more awake and refreshed than he had since she had met him. Being in Argyll seemed to be doing wonders for him.

“I only wish that I hadnae slept this long,” Muriel said. “What will the laird think?”

“I seem to remember that he asked ye to call him Ron,” Liam said; giving her a playful nudge just as they reached the doors of the great hall. “He really doesnae like it when people call him laird. But dinnae fash yerself. Nae one minds.”

When Liam opened the door, he revealed not a feast per se but something bearing a close resemblance to it. There was a large table laid with everything from roasted pig and mountains of potatoes to bread, puddings and wines, and around it, over a dozen people talking so loud, Muriel wondered how she had not heard them through the doors.

The only people she recognized were Ron and Ian, and she clung to his arm for support.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I didnae mean to surprise ye with this but Amelia insisted we should have a small celebration for our guest.”

While speaking, Liam nodded toward a beautiful brunette who was sitting between Ron and an older man with flame-like hair — Muriel assumed Liam was related to her, for their eyes were so similar.

Two seats across from her were empty, so Liam led Muriel there, pulling out her chair for her after all the introductions were finished.

Muriel found out that Amelia was indeed his half-sister and the lady of the clan while the man next to her introduced himself as Lucas; the chief of the McAlpine soldiers. Keeping track of the rest of the names was a struggle for her but she tried to remember as many as she could – shocked to see just how big Liam’s family truly was.

“It’s terrible what happened to ye,” Amelia said; once they had begun eating. “Liam told us everythin’ about it. I keep tellin’ him that these jobs are dangerous—”

“Amelia, please,” Liam said; interrupting her. “If it werenae me, it would be someone else but he probably wouldnae be as competent as I am.”

“Modest as always,” Ron said; chortling as he reached for his cup of wine.

“I am verra lucky to have Liam accompany me,” Muriel said. “Without him, I’m sure I wouldnae have survived the journey. But ye’re right, it is verra dangerous.”

Muriel didn’t know why Liam was doing this kind of job in the first place. He certainly didn’t need the gold. He possessed not only the intelligence but also the personal relationship with Ron that would ensure his success in less dangerous work. Despite this, he preferred to take odd jobs, such as the one her father had offered him, putting himself in danger for no reason.

None of them pushed Liam, though. Muriel could see from the corner of her eye that his grip on his fork had tightened, turning his knuckles white and she didn’t want to say anything to anger him even further.

She did wonder, though, what it was about that conversation that upset him so quickly.

Perhaps he’ll tell me one day.

The thought startled her as much as Liam’s sudden anger did. She had to remind herself that she wouldn’t be around Liam for much longer, regardless of whether she escaped or was taken to Lewis. Soon, Liam would be out of her life for good.

“Would ye tell me more about yerself?” Muriel asked Amelia; wanting to distract herself from the thought of never seeing Liam again.

Amelia told her how she and Ron had met – that she had found him in prison at a time when she was in desperate need of someone to play the part of her husband so that she could keep her position as the lady of the clan and that they had fallen in love. She told her that Liam and Ron had grown up together and they had found out that he was her half-brother only after he had come to her clan; looking for Ron. Amelia thought she had met him before, even though Liam didn’t remember it, and it was only when they found an old picture of their father that they realised he was a spitting image of him, the son that everyone had considered dead for years. It all sounded like a fairy tale to Muriel and she could hardly believe that they had had to go through so much.

Then again, she was being hunted by assassins so nothing seemed that farfetched to her anymore.