Devil of the Highlands (Devil of the Highlands 1)

She could see the conflict on his face as he stared at her and knew he was torn between giving her hell and asking her something. In the end, he asked, "Who did ye ask questions of? Was Tavis one of them?"

"Nay. He was not here at the time. I asked Biddy, and several of the other maids in the keep. I talked to Scatchy, too, and Fergus and Gillie. "

Mac frowned. "And yet none of the accidents occurred until after Tavis returned from escorting yer wagon, Mildrede, and me here. "

"Nay," she agreed.

"One of them could have mentioned it to Tavis," Mac said with a frown.

"You think 'tis Tavis, then?" Evelinde asked with interest.

Mac's expression was conflicted, then he admitted, "Me instincts tell me no. He seems a lighthearted sort, more interested in women than the responsibility of laird, but…" He shook his head. "If the motive is to gain the title of laird, then he is the most likely suspect besides Cullen. "

"Should he not then be trying to kill Cullen?" Evelinde asked slowly.

"Aye, and mayhap he will, 'tis hard to say when we are unsure of the reason for any of the murders," Mac said slowly as he shook his head. "If all three were murdered, this killer is not just clever enough to escape discovery but almost frighteningly patient. There were ten years between the uncle and Cullen's father, then four between that and little Maggie's death. "

"And now two between her death and these accidents," Evelinde muttered, then fretted, "Cullen was nearly injured when he tried to save me from the bull. He could easily have died that day. If Angus was deliberately loosed, whoever did it may have realized Cullen was nearby and would try to save me. "

"That is a lot of hope on the killer's part," Mac pointed out. "Besides, he was not the target when you fell on the stairs. "

"Mayhap," Evelinde said quietly, then pointed out, "but he left the room just ere me to go below that day. He may have been the target then and, with his long strides, simply missed whatever it was I later tripped over. "

Mac frowned, and asked, "He wasna there when the arrow was loosed though, was he?"

"Nay, but as Cullen said that day, the arrow may have been in that tree for years. It may simply have been something else I heard," she pointed out.

"That is the trouble here," Mac said with disgust. "We are not sure what are accidents and what are not. Everything is so uncertain. We may be imagining murderers where there are none. 'Tis no wonder it has remained a mystery all this time. "

"Aye. " Evelinde sighed. She didn't know what to think about anything now.

"Ye never did say how ye managed to slip free of Gillie and Rory," Mac prompted, changing the subject. She suspected he was trying to prevent her worrying about things, but it wasn't going to work. She would let him change the subject, but worry about Cullen had now firmly buried itself in her thoughts.

"I said I was going to the solar, and—"

"I knew I'd find ye here. "

Evelinde closed her mouth and turned guiltily to peer up the aisle as that impatient comment interrupted her. Cullen stood, glaring at her from the stable doors, exasperation on his face. When she merely peered back at him, he moved forward so that he could loom over her and glower up close.

Evelinde glowered right back. Truly, the man was a trial to her. If he spoke at all, it was only to order her about or snap and snarl like a rabid dog. How a man could behave with such consideration and thoughtfulness on the one hand but not manage to speak other than to growl was beyond her.

"I was most displeased when Gillie came to find me to say ye'd slipped his guard. I ordered ye to stay in the castle. "

"Aye, and mayhap if you had told me why you wished it, I would have," she told him. "Though, it seems to me I'm hardly safer there since one of the accidents you worry over took place in the keep itself. "

Cullen frowned. "That's why the men are watching ye. To keep ye safe. "

"And what if one of them is the culprit?"

"Gillie and Rory were barely more than bairns when my uncle was killed," he pointed out with a dismissive wave.

"And if his death really was an accident? They were older when your father and Maggie died. "

"That's why there are two watching ye. If one is the culprit, the other surely isn't, and ye be safe. Now get ye back in the keep where yer supposed to be," Cullen growled, moving past her to enter his horse's stall and begin saddling him.

Evelinde ignored the order and followed him instead. "Where are you going?"

"I am riding out to Comyn. "

"By yourself?" When he merely turned and peered at her as if that was a stupid question, Evelinde asked, "Can I come?"

"Nay. "

"Why? Surely I am safe with you?" And you are safer not alone, too, she thought, worried that he might be a target as well.

"Wife—" Cullen paused, and shook his head, apparently at a loss.

Mac had been watching their exchange with amusement, but now said, "Ye may as well give in, lad. She's persistent is that one. Besides, 'twill do the girl some good to get out for some fresh air. She has been trapped inside for near a week now. "

Cullen hesitated, then gave in with a sigh.

"All right," he said, turning back to finish saddling his mount. "But ye'll ride with me. "

Evelinde didn't protest. She would have preferred riding her own mount, but wasn't risking putting up a fuss and possibly making him change his mind about allowing her to accompany him.

"Cullen and Tralin used to get up to such mischief! His mother and I would spend half our time fretting and the other half laughing at their frolics. "

Evelinde returned Lady Comyn's smile, and asked curiously, "Did Tavis never play with them?"

Lady Comyn hesitated, her gaze thoughtful as she peered down at her mead. "Tavis was four years younger, and the two of them were forever leaving him behind. He tended to stay close to his mother. "

"And you and Biddy didn't keep up your friendship after Cullen's mother died?"

Lady Comyn smiled sadly, then admitted, "We did at first, but…" She sighed. "It was very hard. Being together afterward was rather sad. It made us remember what we had lost. We still visited each other, but not as often. After Darach died, Biddy seemed to retreat somewhat. She spent more and more time in the kitchens. " Ellie Comyn shrugged. "We drifted apart. "

Evelinde was about to ask another question when the doors to the great hall opened to allow Cullen and Tralin to enter.

"'Tis time to leave," Cullen announced as he reached them.

Evelinde nodded and thanked Lady Comyn for a lovely time. She then allowed her husband to escort her out of the keep to where his horse was already awaiting them. Within moments they were passing out of the bailey and heading back to Donnachaidh.

They had ridden for quite a while when Cullen suddenly asked, "Did ye enjoy yerself?"

Evelinde twisted her head around to glance at her husband. He so rarely spoke, his asking the question was a pleasant surprise.

"Aye. Lady Comyn is lovely. We had a nice talk," she answered, and it was true. While Cullen and his friend Tralin had disappeared down to the stables to look at a new horse, Lady Comyn had shown Evelinde her gardens. They had enjoyed a pleasant walk before stopping to rest and chat over a refreshing mead. She really had enjoyed herself. Evelinde had learned some things she hadn't known ere this. It seemed that Tralin and Cullen had been friends for some time. Lady Comyn had been friends with Cullen's mother while she still lived, and the two women had visited back and forth quite frequently while the boys were young.

"Did you?" she asked in the hopes of keeping her husband talking.

"Aye. Tralin is a good friend. "

Evelinde grinned and admitted, "She told me of some of your exploits when you and Tralin were children. It sounds as if the two of you got into a good deal of mischief. "

A small smile tugged at Cullen's lips, but all he did was grunt.

Evelinde hesitated, then asked, "Husband, would you show me where your father went off the cliffs?"

The request seemed to startle him, and he glanced down at her sharply. "Why?"

Evelinde hesitated, then admitted, "I just thought perhaps if I saw the spot, I would get a better idea of what might have happened. No one seems to be sure if 'twas an accident, or nae, and that just adds to the confusion. "

Cullen was silent for so long, it seemed obvious he was going to ignore the request. Evelinde sighed to herself and settled back against him, resigned to not having her request fulfilled. It was another twenty minutes before she realized that rather than approach the front of the castle, they were riding toward the back of it and the cliffs there.

Sitting up before him, she peered curiously around as he drew his mount to a halt on a windswept cliff behind the curtain wall at the back of the castle.

It was a narrow spot, Evelinde noted, as Cullen dismounted and lifted her down. The area that ran along between the high stone wall and the edge was only about ten feet wide, but ran on for quite some way.

Cullen caught her arm as she moved to peer over the edge, holding her back as if he feared she might tumble to her death. Evelinde was glad he did when she looked over and saw how steep it was and how far it was to the ground below. It was dizzying. The fact that a strong wind was swirling around her, rushing up the cliff wall to catch at her skirts, tugging at her gown as if to pull her over the edge did not make her feel any better.

"He had his horse with him?" Evelinde asked, easing back from the edge and trying to eradicate the image that had entered her mind of an older version of Cullen lying broken and battered on the stones below.

"Aye. "

"Do they think he dismounted and somehow fell over the edge? Or that his horse was spooked and he was thrown from the saddle?" she asked with a frown.

Cullen shook his head. "No one kens, or at least no one I have been able to find yet. If there truly was a witness, he may be able to tell us. "

"And if 'twas murder, his murderer could tell us," Evelinde said quietly.

Cullen nodded.

Sighing, Evelinde turned away. Coming here had not really helped her envision how the "accident" might have happened. There was nothing here but some sparse grass and a pile of stones; nowhere for an animal—or a man—to have leapt out from to startle Liam's mount and send him rearing. More to the point, she could see no reason for the laird to have been here in the first place.

Her curious gaze slid to the pile of stones. She'd thought it just a rocky outcropping, but suddenly noted 'twas not a natural formation. Evelinde moved toward it. "What is—?"

The question died on her lips as she suddenly thought that it might be a cairn for his father. Or his first wife.

" 'Tis Jenny. Biddy's sister," he explained.

Evelinde hesitated, then asked, "You mean she is actually buried under those stones?"

Cullen nodded.

"Why?" Evelinde stared at him with dismay.

" 'Tis where Biddy wished it," he answered simply, and when she turned a confused face his way, explained, "She killed herself and could not be buried in hallowed ground. But she liked this spot and spent a good deal of time here, so Biddy decided this should be her final resting place. "

"She killed herself?" Evelinde turned her gaze back to the stone grave. "Why?"

Culled frowned. "I was only fourteen at the time, but I've since learned she was supposed to marry the Campbell. "

"The Campbell?"

"Aye. He's been dead these last five years, but he was an evil bastard, cruel and heartless. They said she killed herself rather than marry him. "

Evelinde nodded, but her mind was not really on the Campbell. "You were fourteen when she died? That was the year your uncle died, too, was it not?"

"Aye. She died just two weeks ere the hunting accident. "

Evelinde turned to peer at the spot where the cliff fell away. It was a barren spot, lonely and cold. "Did she really like this spot?"

"Aye. She used to come here often the first time she visited. "

"The time she killed herself was not the first time she was here?"

"Nay. She had been here once before that, about two months earlier," Cullen said. "She was much younger than Biddy, and that was the first time she came. She was supposed to stay for a month, but only remained three weeks. Tralin was most disappointed. He thought her the prettiest lass he'd ever seen," he confided.

Evelinde smiled at the confidence, pleased that he was actually talking to her. Eager to keep him talking, she asked, "And did you?"

"She was pretty enough," Cullen allowed with a shrug, "but I was not as enamored as he. "

Evelinde was secretly pleased at these words, but simply said, "So she returned two weeks before your uncle died?"

"Aye. She arrived unexpectedly and asked to speak to Uncle Darach. "

"Why your uncle?" Evelinde asked with surprise. "Why not Biddy?"

"Darach was laird," Cullen said with a shrug. "If anyone were to offer her sanctuary, he would have to be the one. He took her for a ride on his horse so she could have her say, but must have refused her sanctuary, because she was sobbing when she returned and ran up to her room and would not come out. Biddy found her the next morning. She'd hanged herself in the solar. "

Evelinde's eyebrows rose. That explained why the solar was empty. She supposed Biddy had emptied the room and never set foot in it again. Every time she entered, she would have been reminded of her last sight of her younger sister.

"Come. " Cullen caught her arm and urged he

r back to his mount.

As pleased as she was that he was finally speaking to her, Evelinde remained silent as he set her on the saddle and joined her. Her mind was taken up with thoughts of what she'd learned. Biddy's sister had died two weeks before Cullen's uncle, and had been buried in the very spot where Cullen's father and first wife had later died. It was a strange coincidence… if it was a coincidence at all.