The Hellion and the Highlander (Devil of the Highlands 3)

A sudden loud, violent retching sounded from the room at the other end of the hall, and he paused, glancing that way with a frown.

"It sounds as if your father is awake," Averill murmured, managing not to smile at the fact that her tincture was working so well. When a second round of retching started from the vicinity of Gawain's room, she tilted her head. "And your brother, too. Perhaps I should look in on them. Neither sounds as if he feels very well."

Cursing, Kade caught her hand and tugged her behind him out of the room.

"Yer no' to go near me father or brothers without me being present," he lectured.

"Aye, my lord husband," she said sweetly. When he turned to scowl at her as if suspecting she was up to something, Averill simply added a little more sweetness to her smile.

Shaking his head, he led her down the stairs and straight to the table, shouting for drinks to be brought as he saw her seated.

"Tell me," Kade snapped the moment he was seated beside her...on the bench rather than taking the laird's chair, she noted. While he intended to take over as laird, he apparently would not do so until he spoke to his father. She thought that very fine of him.

"The wall is sound," Aidan announced at once.

Kade frowned. "It canna be sound if bits o' it are fallin' down."

"That is just it," Will said grimly. "There are no stones missing from the wall by where you were felled. The wall is intact."

Kade sat back at this news, a stricken look claiming his features. That seemed to suggest this meant something to him, Averill noted, but shook her head. "How can that be? If it did not come from the wall, where could it have come from?"

"That is the question," Will said dryly. "The stone must have come from elsewhere and been carried there."

Her eyes widened incredulously. "Are you saying someone dropped it on his head deliberately?"

"That is how it appears," Aidan said grimly.

"But..." She glanced to Kade. "After that arrow in the woods on the way here, you said you had no enemies, husband. Who would do this?"

"Arrow in the woods?" Aidan asked with interest.

Kade sighed and quickly gave him an edited version of what had happened in the clearing, leaving out exactly what he'd been doing when the arrow had pierced the tree.

"So ye ducked yer head and just missed takin' an arrow in the back?" Aidan muttered. He then shook his head. "I ha'e to say yer one lucky bugger, me laird. First ye survive the arrow, and now this?" He shook his head again. "Aye, ye've got angels on yer side, ye do."

"Aye, he does," Will assured him. "And then there is the boat journey."

Kade grunted absently, his thoughts apparently on how the stone could have fallen. Averill slipped her hand into his, drawing his attention. She asked quietly, "Who would wish you harm?"

He squeezed her hand but shook his head.

"No one. At least not yet," Kade added dryly, and she knew he was thinking of his father and the fact that he intended to ask him to step down.

"But--" she began, only to have him interrupt her.

"'Twas probably an accident," he said soothingly. "No doubt one o' the men put the stone up there for some purpose or other, leaned against it all unthinking, and sent it tumbling off the wall."

Averill stared at him, not bothering to hide her disbelief, but he ignored her expression and turned his attention to Morag as the woman appeared before them with several mugs of ale.

"Thank ye," Kade said, as she set them down.

The maid glanced to him with obvious surprise and actually almost smiled. Apparently, Laird Stewart and his other sons were not given to such courtesies, Averill thought, and glanced toward the stairs, wondering how they were faring. She turned her attention to the maid, however, when the older woman paused at her side.

"Aye, Morag?"

"I was wondering what ye were wantin' us to do about the sup," she explained, looking uncomfortable, and added, "as Cook fled a week past."

Averill's eyes widened with dismay at this news. "What has Laird Stewart been doing about meals?"

Her mouth turned down with disgust, but her tone was emotionless as she admitted, "He and the boys ride down to the inn in the village when they're hungry. Or they make do with whatever they can find around here."

Averill hesitated, then asked, "Is there any food here at all?"

Morag shook her head. "If there were, I'd be cookin' something fer ye as we speak. I'm a fair cook if I say so meself, and Lily's got a knack with pastries."

Averill filed that information away, then glanced to her husband as he turned to join the conversation.

"'Tis all right, Morag. We shall make our way down to the inn to sup," he said quietly, then asked, "What do you and the other servants do about meals?"

Morag seemed surprised he would ask, but shrugged. "There's only Annie, me daughter, Lily, and me in the keep anymore. We go down to me sister's to eat in the evenin's. Her husband's a fine hunter and kind enough to have been providin' fer us since Lady Merewen left and all went to hell."

Averill glanced at Kade, worried about how he would take the bitter words, but he merely nodded solemnly, and said, "I am glad to hear it, and glad yer family hasna fled like the rest."

Morag hesitated, but then glanced to Aidan, and apparently thinking he'd tell anyway, turned back to admit, "We probably would ha'e were me mother no' so old the move would kill her; but she is, so we've stayed in the hopes things would get better."

"Well, I'm grateful fer it," Kade rumbled, then dismissed her with a quiet, "Thank ye."

Kade waited until she'd moved away and was out of hearing distance before turning to Aidan to ask, "How the devil did things get so bad, so quickly?"

"It hasna been that quickly. Merry has been gone more than seven months now," Aidan pointed out quietly. "Besides, the seeds were sown long before Merry left. Most were ready to leave once yer lady mother died and only stayed fer Merry. Once she was gone..." He shrugged.

Kade nodded grimly and stood, catching Averill's arm to help her to her feet. "We may as well head to the village now and see if they can scrape together something to feed us. Yer welcome to join us, Aidan." He waited to see the man nod before sliding his glance to Bess, who stood hovering behind Averill. He added, "Ye'd best come, too, Bess. There's nothing here fer ye to eat."

The maid nodded, and they all moved toward the doors. Kade opened them, and led Averill out, only to come to an abrupt halt as his gaze slid over the English army set up in his bailey.

"They have stores to last them several days," Will said quietly when Kade dropped Averill's arm and turned to him. "Enough even to last a while do they do a bit of hunting. I will just have a word with my first before we go."

Averill slid her hand silently into her husband's as they waited. His face was expressionless, but she knew he had found the news Aidan had imparted depressing. She did, too, but was more concerned by the business of the falling stone. She didn't believe for a moment that it was an accident. Why would anyone place a great boulder on top of the wall? And how

could anyone accidentally knock it off the wall? She didn't think Kade believed that either. She suspected he was trying to protect her from worry and knew there was no use asking him his thoughts on the matter. He would just repeat that it was probably an accident and change the subject. It left her to worry about it on her own. Obviously, not everyone was happy to have him home. She would have to keep her eyes open and watch for trouble. I am quite happy with my husband and have no intention of losing him, Averill thought grimly as Will finished his talk and Kade urged her down the stairs to meet him.

The inn in the village was a sad affair, small and dim with little to no business from what she could tell. Certainly there was no one there when they arrived, and no one entered before they finished their meal and left again. Their own entrance caused something of a stir, and they found themselves hovered over and feted by the owner and his wife. It seemed obvious they were glad to see Kade returned.

That or they were just glad of customers, Averill supposed, as Bess helped her prepare for bed once they returned. It was really rather early to be going to bed, but it had been a long journey there, and the days to come promised to be just as long. There is much to do to set my new home to rights, Averill thought, and glanced to Bess to say, "'Twas quiet when we came up. Are the laird and his sons recovering? Did any of them come below after you returned?"

While Averill had stayed behind with Kade and Will, who had wished to speak to the innkeeper after their meal, Aidan hadn't wished to tarry, and Bess, weary after their journey, had opted to return to the keep with him.

"I don't know about that," Bess said with amusement. "A chorus of retching comes from their rooms, then there's silence for a while ere the retching starts up again. I suspect they are sleeping between each bout."

Averill nodded. "They have not called for help or whiskey?"

"Oh, aye, they've called," she said dryly. "But Morag, Lily, and Annie must have left for Morag's sister's right after we headed for the inn. They were not here to answer their bellows, and I certainly wasn't going to."

"Nay, of course not," Averill agreed solemnly.

"There we are," Bess said, turning her toward the bed. "Now to bed with you. We've had a long day and will no doubt have another on the morrow."