The Highlander Takes a Bride (Highland Brides 3)

"No need to thank us," Dougall said firmly, patting his shoulder gently. "She's our sister. We want whoever did this as much as ye do, and we're happy to help."

Saidh blinked in amazement at this. The last she knew, Dougall hadn't cared for her husband. Or at least, he'd acted as if he didn't. Now he was treating him as if he were an old friend or something. What the devil had happened while she was sleeping?

"We can take it in shifts," Dougall announced. "Two with her at all times during the day, and two outside yer room at night."

"I was thinking four men when I thought it would be me soldiers," Greer admitted. "But I've seen the way you lads fight and two o' ye ought to do it."

"Hold on," Saidh said with a frown as her brothers preened under the praise. "What are ye talking about?"

"Yer guard," Alick explained. "Ye'll ha'e two o' us with ye at all times until we sort out who shot ye and ensure they can no' do it again."

Saidh gaped at them. She was going to have guards? Like she was some puling female who knew not how to defend herself? Oh, they had another think coming if they thought she was going to allow that.

"Ye'd ha'e done better to keep that information to yourselves and simply let her think ye enjoyed her company. Now she'll fight us," Aulay said dryly from the doorway, drawing their attention to his return and the fact that he must have been there for a bit to have heard the conversation. Shaking his head, he moved into the room and set a bowl of what she supposed was broth on the bedside table.

"Damn right, I'll fight it," Saidh snapped. "I ha'e no need o' a guard to protect me and ye should all ken that. Ye're the ones who taught me to defend meself."

"Saidh, someone shot ye," Alick pointed out reasonably.

"Aye, and me having two o' ye riding at me side would no' ha'e prevented that," she snapped impatiently.

"She's right," Dougall said with a frown. "Whoever shot her probably kens she can defend herself. They'll no' attack outright, but continue to try sneaky attacks like that arrow."

"Aye," Greer frowned and nodded. "Then 'tis best she remain in the keep."

Saidh gaped at him with dismay. "What?"

"Aye. Mayhap 'twould e'en be best to keep her up here where we can control who gets close to her," Geordie suggested.

"That'll no' help us sort out who shot her, though," Aulay pointed out. "We shall ha'e to let her out o' the room, and even out of the keep eventually unless we want to move in here."

"Aye, but we can no' risk her getting shot or otherwise injured again by using her as bait," Greer said with a scowl.

"It may be the only way to put an end to this," Aulay said solemnly and then quickly added, "But let us worry about that later. She is too weak to e'en consider that right now."

Saidh simply sat and glared as her husband and her brothers continued to discuss their plans to keep her safe. They seemed to have forgotten she was there, and were definitely oblivious to her hot eyes boring holes into their heads and bodies. If she weren't so damned weak, Saidh would have got up and thrashed the lot of them. Unfortunately, she was suddenly exhausted, which was just pathetic to her mind when she'd just woken up after sleeping two days and three nights.

Mouth set with displeasure, she shook her head and then scooted further down the bed so that she could lie down again.

Let them plot and scheme, she decided as she settled on her uninjured side and closed her eyes. She would concentrate on regaining her strength and then thrash them all and go where she wished. She had no intention of being locked in her room like some sad maiden who could not look after herself.

She fell asleep to the drone of their plotting voices.

Chapter 13

"Mill!" Alpin crowed triumphantly.

Saidh shifted her gaze down to the nine-men's morris board between them and nodded. "Aye, ye've got a mill," she acknowledged, and then peered to the boy seated on the bed across from her and pointed out, "But I've got two sleeping brothers."

Alpin's eyes widened and his head swiveled toward the two men seated in the chairs by the fire. Noting that Niels and Conran both were now slumped in their seats, snoring loudly, he grinned widely. "So ye do. That trumps a mill any day."

Chuckling softly, Saidh scrambled off the bed and headed for the door. "Come on then, before someone comes to check on us or otherwise mucks up me plans."

"Ye want me to come?" Alpin asked with surprise.

"Aye, o' course." Saidh paused at the door and glanced back in question. "Do ye no' want to? I thought ye were as sick o' being stuck in here as me."

"I am, but I did no' think . . ." Letting the sentence end unfinished, he shoved the game board out of the way and crawled across the bed to hurry to her side.

Smiling, Saidh waited until he reached her, then cracked the bedchamber door open and peered out cautiously into the hall.

"What is it ye put in their drinks?" Alpin asked in a curious whisper.

"Ye saw that, did ye?" she murmured, watching a maid traverse the hall, headed for the stairs.

"Aye," Alpin breathed.

"Some o' Rory's sleeping tincture. I snuck it out o' his bag last night when he went to fetch more mead to replace what ye'd spilled."

"I only spilled it because ye knocked me arm and-- Oh," he said as he realized it had been a deliberate jostle, and then he frowned. "Why did ye no' jest spill yer own drink instead o' knocking mine all o'er me?"

"Because he might ha'e suspected something if 'twas me mead spilt. No' that I'm no' clumsy at times, but with ye spilling yers I figured he'd be less suspicious," she explained, and then caught his arm and urged him out into the now empty hall.

"Where are we going?" he asked in a hushed whisper as they crept along the hall to the top of the stairs.

Saidh smiled faintly at the question. Alpin sounded as excited as a lad heading out on his first hunt. She couldn't blame him. She was pretty excited herself. While it had only been three days since she'd woken after taking her injury, it felt like forever since she'd left the bedchamber. The men were being ridiculously protective and she was heartily sick of it.

"We're both still weak, so will jest slip out to the garden behind the kitchens fer a bit o' fresh air this time," she murmured, eyeing the activity in the great hall below with a frown.

"How are we going to get there?" Alpin asked, sounding dubious.

Saidh sighed. She hadn't really thought that far ahead. She supposed she'd just hoped they could simply walk down the stairs, through the great hall and then the kitchens and that no one would question them. That might have worked with the servants, but there were more than just servants in the great hall.

Aunt Tilda was seated by the fire sewing, and Geordie and Dougall were presently at the tables talking quietly.

"We could use the secret passage," Alpin said suddenly and Saidh stiffened, then turned to peer at him.

"What secret passage?"

"There's a secret passage and stairs going below," Alpin explained. "Laird MacDonnell showed it to me shortly after we came here. He said 'twas a secret only the laird and his first usually kenned, but he was telling me so that were there ever an attack and the battle was no going well, I could get the ladies out to safety."

Her eyes widened at this news. "Where does it come out?"

"Several places. There's a door that opens into the pantry, another in the gardens and then there's a tunnel that leads all the way out past the outer walls and opens into a cave by the loch."

Saidh stared at him blankly for a minute, then a slow smile spread her lips. "Show me."

Nodding, Alpin turned and led the way back to the master bedchamber. When he reached to open the door, she stopped him and urged him aside to do it herself. Easing it open, she peered inside and saw that both Niels and Conran were still snoring fit to wake the dead. She relaxed and urged Alpin in. Saidh was about to follow when the sound of a door clicking closed up the hall caught her ear. Turning sharply, she peered in that direction, but there was no one in the hall.

Frowning, she hesitated, but then shrugged and slipped into the master bedchamber. She eased the door closed, then glanced around for Alpin. The boy had grabbed one of the torches from the wall and now held it over the low burning flames in the fireplace to light it.

" 'Tis dark in there," Alpin whispered for explanation as she joined him.

Saidh merely nodded, not surprised. The secret passage at Buchanan was dark as a pit as well. She supposed all secret passages were.

Straightening with his now lit torch, he turned to peer at the wall next to the fireplace, then reached up and pressed on a smaller stone at his chest level. There was a grumble of sound as a portion of the wall slid inward and Saidh glanced nervously toward her brothers, but both remained soundly sleeping.

Letting her breath out with relief, she gestured for Alpin to lead the way, then followed him into the narrow passage.