The Scot's Pursuit - Keira Montclair Page 0,47

morrow. I’ll not allow you to see my niece and upset her. Branwen is a good lass, no matter what her sire says of her. My sister gave me the honor of protecting her interests. As such, I ask you to take your leave.”

Alick couldn’t stop himself. “And is it part of your honor to allow her father to beat her? Because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Have you never wondered where she gets all those bruises? Would your sister be proud of how well you watch over her daughter? Or is lying the way of everyone on Thane land?”

The earl bolted out of his seat, red-faced, and said, “How dare you speak to me in such a way! You are no longer welcome here. Guards!” The door opened quickly and the earl ordered, “Escort this fool outside our gates. Do not allow him out of your sight until he’s outside the portcullis.”

Alick chuckled. “I guess that answers my question, does it not? Your guilt will continue to eat at you. I pity you.”

“Out!”

“And you won’t stop me either. I’ll leave your land, but I will get my wife back.” Then he yelled out, “Branwen, I’ll be back for you.”

The two guards each gave him a shove, but he ignored them and glanced over his shoulder at Cargill. “If ’tis a thousand Grant warriors you want, ’tis exactly what you’ll get.”

One of the guards gave him another shove, but Alick grabbed the fool’s wrist and twisted it behind his back, shoving the man hard against the wall. “Take your hand off me, or you will be the first one I come to kill when I return for my wife.”

He left the solar and found his way back out through the gates, the guards directly behind him. When he retrieved his horse, he thought to talk to the stablemaster, but the man was busy in conversation with someone else.

At this point, he had to hope that Dyna had located her. The earl was correct on one point. If she still had her maidenhead, Ware could claim her under English law.

He also had to think of his mother. It was important to find Branwen fast so he could get back to MacLintock Castle in time.

Dyna, find her. The only thing he had left at this point was faith in his cousin. If anyone could locate her in this large castle, it was Dyna.

He flicked the reins of his horse and headed back to their meeting point.

With his heart hurting more than it ever had before.

***

Branwen sat on her pallet shivering. The thin plaid she had didn’t do much to keep her warm. She hadn’t realized how cold the cellars were, even in the summer, but then again, there was no hearth anywhere to be seen.

She huddled into a ball, breathing slowly to stop herself from crying. When her father returned, she didn’t want him to see the tears on her cheeks.

There was no sound yet from the cell down the passageway from her, but she didn’t think the other chamber was close enough for her to hear or be heard. They’d also said they’d given their other prisoner a potion, so the man probably wouldn’t awaken until the morn.

Who could he be? She didn’t even know if the other prisoner was a man, but it seemed like a safe guess. They probably didn’t frequently imprison females…although what did she know? She hadn’t thought the cellars were in use—at least not these cells—but the guards talked as if they knew them well. How ignorant she’d been about what was going on in her own castle.

Could the prisoner have something to do with King Edward’s war on Robert the Bruce? No one had ever spoken to her about the war before—other than Alick, briefly—and she’d been too caught up in the drudgery and busyness of her life to pay much attention. The discussions she overheard were usually conducted in low, whispering tones.

She stopped because she heard something down the passageway. Sure enough, light steps could be heard coming toward her, the kind she would expect to be from a female or a young lad. Sitting up on her pallet, she leaned back against the wall and waited, hoping to catch sight of the person coming her way. Hoping it wasn’t another enemy.

The boot steps halted close to her door. How desperately she wished to peek out the window, but she didn’t dare take the risk.

She waited for something to happen, her heart