The mood amongst the coven members was stoic.
“It’s time to go,” Lennox called out. He gathered up Shadow’s reins and the horse lifted his head. “Head inland to Perth and from there turn north to Inverness. Be sure that you carry plenty of supplies at all times. If I do not find you along the route, wait for me at Inverness.”
He mounted his horse, then took one last glance at Somerled. “Protect one another, stay strong. I will find you again, never fear.”
“We will be with you in spirit,” Lachie answered, “until you come back to us.”
“Inverness,” he repeated.
Glenna nodded. “Take care, my dear boy.”
Lennox forced his gaze away from the house and the people who had come together under his wing. They would be long gone from here before Keavey came. Thankfully.
Then he turned his mount and urged it to a gallop, as he had so many times before when he set out looking for his two sisters, and now Chloris. His mate, his lover, the ruler of his heart. It was with no small sense of irony that he realized Mother Nature had deemed him this role. Nature had seen fit to make him an eternal hunter for those he loved. Knowing that was how his fate was cast only steeled his resolve.
He would find them all. He had to.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Chloris sat at the dining table and observed her husband with cautious detachment. It occurred to her that she did not know him very well. That had worried her about Lennox, but now she felt as if she knew Lennox better than she did her own husband. It was the closeness, the intimacy they had shared. There had never been any intimacy with Gavin Meldrum.
Gavin was an austere-looking man who rarely smiled. He had a neatly trimmed beard and he wore a wig, as befitted his landlord status, but it was not too fanciful. As a habit he dressed in somber clothing, which he felt appropriate for the business of collecting rent from tenants. The properties he owned were now many, and although Gavin had workers who could take on the matter of collecting, he preferred to collect the rents himself. Chloris had often suspected he enjoyed seeing the poorest tenants beg for leniency if they had not enough coin, but she always dismissed the notion as cruel and unfounded. She did not know how he went about it. She only knew that many people would be homeless in the burgh were it not for his property.
“Tamhas sends you his regards,” Chloris stated, trying to raise a conversation.
Gavin nodded and continued with his meal.
Chloris ate some of the roast pheasant and sipped her wine. They had to talk, and her intention was to launch on amiable matters then venture into the real subject that weighed upon her. “Jean fares well. She and I became good friends during my stay in Saint Andrews.”
Gavin met her stare briefly but did not comment.
It was the first she’d seen of him since the night before. He seemed intent on ignoring her presence, and now she knew why. When she quizzed Mary that morning, her maid revealed that he had gone out early. Although uncomfortable about it, Mary also answered Chloris’s other questions. Gavin’s visitor of the night before had left at midnight but had stayed in the house overnight on previous occasions during Chloris’s absence.
Now he had returned for his evening meal and it was quite obvious that Gavin had no intention of mentioning either her unexpected arrival home or the scene she had witnessed in his study. Chloris felt quite sure that the woman had been about to say something, and would have done so afterward. If Gavin had quizzed Mary, he would know that it was his wife who had entered the room.
He barely acknowledged her presence there when he entered the dining room. It was as if she had not been away. Chloris also noticed that he had not asked after the state of her health, which was supposed to be the reason for her trip to Saint Andrews. She smiled wryly at the idea of it. It was now blatantly obvious that he wanted her out of there in order to indulge himself further with his mistress. Traveling across Edinburgh to the district where her chambers were located was obviously a tedious task and he would rather have her here with him. Fair enough, she thought to herself, let it be that way.
The servants came and went with the dishes, and when they finally took their leave she steeled herself. “And you, have you fared well in my absence?”
Gavin stared across at her coldly, eyeing her body as if she were merely a vessel. Which of course she was. A vessel that would not hold his seed. Had he always looked at her that way?
He nodded. “Well enough.”
“Your mistress’s company made it easier, I’m sure.”
The tension heightened in the room.
Gavin set down his cutlery with a clatter and dabbed his mouth with his serviette, peering across at her with a warning glance. “What of it?”
“I will make this easy for both of us. I will leave, in order to make room for her to replace me.” She stated it simply enough, then clutched the stem of her wineglass to keep her hand steady.
Gavin’s eyes flashed angrily. He threw his serviette down on the table. “You will not.”
Chloris braced herself. “It is quite clear that you would do better to replace me with your mistress. I do not int
end to question your motives or argue on the subject. I will move aside.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be absurd. I have a reputation to keep.”