Page 78 of Seduction in a Kilt

CHAPTER 34

Just after sunrise the following morning, Knox, Liam, Ivy, and Evander rode out to the crossroads and surveyed the surroundings. The point where the four roads met was shielded from the flat moorland by high bushes of gorse and elder. Other clumps of cover were scattered about the area, making good hiding places. If one concealed oneself amid the bushes, anyone riding towards the spot would see nothing.

“This is the place,” Knox declared, and the others agreed. “Which direction d’ye think they’ll come from, Evander?” he asked.

Evander considered the question. “That way, I should think,” he replied, pointing to the road leading east across the moors. “I suggest ye deploy yer men in a pincer movement, tae trap them inside. Ye dinnae want anyone gettin’ away.”

“What about me? Where will I be?” Ivy wanted to know.

“We’ll be together on the road, with a few guards with us,” Liam explained. “Then, as soon as they walk intae the trap, Knox will give a prearranged signal, and the men will close in. They’ll fight of course, but we’ll outnumber them, so it should be over quickly.”

“So, if we’re all agreed, let’s go back tae the castle and thrash out the final details. We can find out what Magnus has been doin’ as well,” Knox said. They turned their horses and made the two-mile ride back to the Castle Stewart.

When they got to the main road leading to the castle, Evander drew his horse to halt. The others reigned in too, listing while Evander addressed Knox.

“If ye’ll excuse me fer a while, melaird, I’m gonnae go and scatter a few breadcrumbs among some of me old contacts, just tae make sure the message gets through tae Carson and Gael as soon as possible. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and I’ll fill ye in on anything I find out.”

Knox nodded. “Aye, all right. Come and find me as soon as ye get back.”

They watched Evander ride away before resuming their journey back to the castle.

“I still dinnae trust him any further than I can throw him,” Liam murmured.

“Me neither,” Knox agreed, “but if he gonnae betrays us, he’ll die with the rest of them.”

“I dinnae understand why ye dinnae trust Evander,” Ivy protested, “when ’tis obvious tae me that he’s tryin’ his best tae help us. I mean, he came up with this plan.”

“Aye, that’s what worries me,” Liam replied.

“Well, I think ye’re both bein’ very unfair.”

“I truly hope ye’re right about him, Ivy,” Knox said placatingly. “I’d like naethin’ better than tae be proved wrong. But I suppose it’ll nae be long before we find out either way.”

Ivy was just pouring a cup of steamy tea, when she heard a soft knock on her door and a few seconds later, she heard Evander’s soft tember. “Ivy, are ye in there?” There was a short pause before she reached the door and opened it.

“Evander, ye’re back.”

“I’ve been back fer some time,” he told her, “but I’ve been with the laird and Liam, discussin’ the plans fer the morrow. The laird sent me up tae fetch ye. He and Liam have gone out tae check a few things out at the crossroads. He wants us tae meet them there as soon as possible.”

“Oh,” she said, raising her brows in surprise. “Right now, ye mean?”

“Aye, that’s what he said. They wanted to leave immediately, and as I had tae come up here tae get a few things, I volunteered tae fetch ye,” he said. “I’ve got two horses waitin’ by the gate, so let’s go…” He made an urgent gesture.

“All right. Can ye wait there fer a few moments while I get me things?”

“Of course, but we need ate leave quickly before it gets too dark. That is why the others went ahead.”

After a quarter of an hour, Evander and Ivy were riding out of the castle gates and turning their horses in the direction of the moors and the crossroads where she believed they were to meet Liam and Knox.

“The moon is already starting tae turn red,” Ivy observed, looking at the great disc hanging in the sky above them with respect. “D’ye nae find it eerie, Evander?”

He shook his head. “Nay. ’Tis naethin’ tae fear. ‘Tis supposed tae herald change.” He smiled over at her. “And there’s a big change comin’ fer ye with yer weddin’ comin’ up, so it cannae be all bad, can it, eh?”

“I suppose nae. But it still feels rather magical and strange, like the air is charged with some mystical power.”

The red-tinged darkness clotted around them as they rode into the wood bordering the moorlands, where the crossroads lay. They came to a fork in the track when Evander turned his horse to the left.

“Wait a minute, are ye sure this the right way?” Ivy asked, reining in her mare and looking confused. “I thought ’tis the other way, down there” She gestured to the right-hand track.