Devil of the Highlands Page 0,62

to Cullen about it this evening."

Mildrede grunted her approval and continued her earlier chatter as they descended the stairs.

Evelinde tried to leave the keep at once to go start her search for the lost pin, but Mildrede wouldn't hear of her leaving without seeing she first broke her fast. The maid had her sit at the table while she fetched her some mead and one of Biddy's delicious pasties, then sat and told her she thought Biddy was a love while she watched Evelinde eat.

Evelinde listened with amusement and affection, glad to have the woman with her again and grateful to her husband for it. Cullen really was very considerate, she acknowledged. And now that he was speaking to her a little, she was beginning to think everything might be all right after all. Evelinde did not think they would ever have deep and long-winded conversations, but perhaps that wasn't important. She wasn't sure.

Once Evelinde had finished eating, Mildrede rushed off to see to straightening the bedchamber, and Evelinde was finally able to slip out of the keep.

She didn't see her husband as she made her way to the paddock, and was glad for it. Did he ask her where she was headed, Evelinde would not feel she could lie outright and would have had to tell the truth. Something she'd rather not have to do. She would not mind explaining that it had been briefly lost after she found it, but would rather Cullen not know until she'd found it again.

Evelinde started her search where she'd left off the day the Comyns had arrived, on the path she thought they'd taken when leaving the area. She followed that path all the way to where Cullen had hauled her out of the paddock but had no success.

Sighing unhappily when she reached the fence without finding it, Evelinde got back to her feet and peered into the paddock. She didn't see Angus, but had learned her lesson from her last walk through the enclosure. Evelinde followed the fence all the way to the end to check the entire area. The paddock ran alongside the one where Cullen had been breaking his horse with just a ten-foot span between the two, then turned and ran along the back of it to a small barn with doors both in front, opening into the horses' paddock, and another on the side, opening into Angus's paddock.

The door to Angus's paddock was presently closed, and there was no sign of the bull. This was probably the best time to search the paddock for the pin if she was going to do it, Evelinde realized, and cast one last glance toward the closed door before hurrying back along the fence to where Cullen had pulled her out.

Hitching up her skirt, she quickly climbed the fence and dropped into the paddock. Evelinde then paused to glance around one more time to be sure Angus was still inside the barn before dropping to her hands and knees to begin searching the grass in the enclosure. She moved much more quickly here, just running her hands over the grass in search of the pin, then moving on to the next spot and doing it again. She didn't wish to be in the paddock any longer than necessary. She also wished to avoid being seen at her search. Evelinde had no doubt that Cullen would be furious if he caught her in here, and that was without even knowing that she'd lost his pin.

She was halfway across the paddock when she spotted the missing broach. Giving a happy cry, Evelinde snatched it up and sat back on her heels to examine it, releasing a small sigh of relief when she saw it was undamaged. She was just getting to her feet thinking she'd been very fortunate to come when the paddock was empty as well as to actually find the pin when the thunder of hooves drew her head around. Her eyes widened at the sight of an angry Angus charging down the paddock toward her.

For one moment, Evelinde was frozen, then she broke into a run, Cullen's pin clutched in her hand like a talisman.

"Ye'll manage?" Cullen asked Mac as he led his mount out of the stables. He'd just finished giving the man a tour of the stables and introduced him as the new stable master to Scatchy and his daughter, Loa.

Scatchy appeared happy enough with the new arrangement. Cullen wasn't surprised. The man had told him more than