Seduced by a Rogue (32 page)

“I know they are loyal,” her ladyship said. “But ’tis gey easy for anyone to slip if a question is put the right way. ’Twill
be safer an Eliza brings our food.”

“What of Gibby?” Mairi asked her when Eliza had left the room with Annie at her heels. “He has been much in my company from
the outset.”

“Gibby would tell you that he does not talk to Alexander.”

Mairi smiled. Although she doubted Gib would defy the sheriff’s order, the lad was resourceful enough to elude Maxwell if
he thought it wise to do so.

In the small chamber beyond the hall, Rob faced his older brother, feeling confident for once and determined not to lose his
temper.

“Damn you, tell me what you did with her!” Alex demanded again. “I’m telling you, Dunwythie has blood in his eye. He was brazen
enough to inform me that he means to return with all Annandale behind him. He is certain that Maxwells took her. But I know
only
one
Maxwell daft enough to do that.”

“I see,” Rob said. “Has anyone else suggested that I took her, Alex? Or do you just assume as much because Dunwythie suspects
a Maxwell? I’d remind you,” he added caustically, “that you, not I, inflamed his hatred of Clan Maxwell.”

“I have done nowt but my duty,” Alex growled. “And we do not talk about some
possible
role of mine in this but of what you have
done
, Rob. Once again, I expect, you let impulse rule what sense you have and acted without thinking. Good God, but the lass is
yet unwed
and
his heiress. Did you expect him—?”

“I expect nowt of him,” Rob said. “As for clan war, Alex,
you
planted its seed by threatening to raise the Maxwells against him to force his submission to your self-assumed authority.
You told me you made that threat. By my troth, I acted to
prevent
bloodshed. Mayhap one reason the Annandale lairds refuse to submit is that they think you serve Clan Maxwell as sheriff more
than you would serve any of them.”

“I can certainly call together all the Maxwells to aid me
against
Dunwythie. He may call up Annandale, but few will answer. They ken fine that Clan Maxwell is larger and stronger than they
are.”

“Stronger than Douglas?” Rob countered. “Recall that Archie intends to control all of southwest Scotland. He may decide that
such an attack is reason enough to impose his will at once on Dumfriesshire. Have you considered that?”

“Aye, sure. ’Tis why we
must
settle this before he moves to take the shire. He will not dismiss its hereditary sheriff, though. When he does take over,
we can still take our rightful share of the rents before he takes his and those of the Crown.”

“You are ever quick to overreach,” Rob said tersely. “If you were the leader you’d like to be, Alex, you might accomplish
what you want. But you are not. You carp, complain, and criticize men who would serve you when they fail or when the result
of their action is not exactly what you had imagined it would be.”

“Now, you listen here—”

“Nay, then,
you
listen. You push others to do
your
work, Alex, even to issue unpopular or difficult orders so that you need not do so. If things go well, you take the credit.
If not, you shift the blame. Believe me when I say you had better think again about
this
business, because if you have misjudged Archie, you will lose. And you will lose not only Annandale, I fear, but mayhap all
of Dumfriesshire.”

“Enough!” Alex roared. “You just want to turn the subject from your own ill-doing, but by the Rood, I won’t allow it! I am
already in control here, Rob. My lads will take over Trailinghail and search it top to bottom for that young woman. If she
is here, I will take her. If not, you may be sure I will apologize for accusing you.”

“You won’t take this tower, Alex. It is impregnable, and your men are outside its wall, where they will remain. You may breach
the barmkin, but the walls are eight feet thick. And if you try to breach them, you will have to do it whilst our lady grandmother
is here, for she won’t leave. Would you endanger her?”

“Again, you try to change the subject. I mean only to take Dunwythie’s daughter to Dumfries with me and arrange her safe return
to her family. If you think our lady grandmother will disapprove of
that
, you are mistaken. She knows I am head of our family, and
she
respects that position. Moreover, returning the lass will end any conflict before it begins.”

“I doubt that,” Rob said grimly. “Now that the notion of taking custody of her has occurred to you, I think
you
would try to use her yourself to force Dunwythie’s submission. Even if you did not—”

“Damnation, Rob, I am not such a fool. Can you look me in the eye and swear to me that you did
not
abduct that young woman?”

“Nay, why should I, when I
did
,” Rob said, beginning to capture the glimmerings of a plan that might let him outwit Alex.

“So you
do
have her!” Alex exclaimed, his voice rising again. “But you know perfectly well that you denied having any part in her abduction.”

“You never did listen well,” Rob said. “You should strive to do so. I simply pointed out how quick you were to
believe
I had taken her. And for no better reason than that Dunwythie had accused the Maxwells. If you recall,
you
are the one who told me to do whatever was required to force his submission. You raised a din when I failed to persuade him,
saying I should have done aught that was necessary. So I thought about how I might force him, and I made a list of what must
be important to him. Sithee, I had met his daughters. Both are beautiful young women, and at present, Mairi is his heiress,
although his wife may yet give him a son before he dies.”

“Fetch the lass to me at once,” Alex said sternly.

“I won’t even tell you where she is. Nor will I let you search my tower.”

“
I
should think not,” Lady Kelso said, entering the chamber on her words and thus making Rob, at least, aware that she must
have inched the door ajar to overhear them. “Why would you want to do such an obtrusive thing, Alexander?”

“He is holding Dunwythie’s daughter hostage here,” Alex said. “I mean to return her to his lordship, who may even now be on
his way back to Dumfries.”

“Then you should hie yourself home, my lad,” she said. “If Dumfries is in danger of attack, it is your sworn duty to protect
the town, is it not?”

“I mean to search Trailinghail first.”

“My faith, you impudent man, do you dare to think
I
would be standing here as I am if that young woman were
here
?”

“With respect, madam, I doubt you would know aught about it.”

“Respect?” Her mobile eyebrows shot up. “
Respect
is what you call it when you threaten to send your rough men to paw through
my
belongings in search of heaven knows what evidence of her presence! Prithee, have the goodness to recall that I know everyone
here at Trailinghail. If Robert were holding a woman hostage here, do you think not
one
of them would have sent word to Dumfries to inform me of such an outrageous ill-doing?”

Rob felt his own eyebrows drifting upward and took firm control of them. He could not be sure of controlling his voice, however,
so he kept silent.

Alex was staring at their grandmother, his suspicion as clear as Rob’s own.

But Alex lacked the courage to challenge her.

He drew a long breath and let it out before he said, “In troth, madam, I do not know what to believe. But I will say this.
I mean to keep watch on this tower from now until Dunwythie gets his daughter back. Meantime, my men will search anyone who
leaves, male or female. However, if you choose to depart, madam, you may.”

“Faith, sir, as if anyone here would dare try to stop me!”

“Be that as it may, my rules will apply to you and to your Eliza no less than they apply to everyone else. Having no more
to say, I will bid you both goodnight.”

With that, he strode angrily from the room.

“Dear me,” Lady Kelso said. She might have said more, but Rob put a finger to his lips and moved silently to the door. Easing
the latch up with one hand, he jerked the door open with the other to see Alex facing him, mouth agape.

“Ah, good, you hadn’t gone far,” Rob said mildly. “I just wanted to tell you that you are welcome to sleep here as you had
planned. Gibby told your servants to put your things in the room opposite mine. I am sure they will have seen to your comfort,
but Gib did tell them that they must sleep in the hall. The tower is not large enough to provide chambers for our visitors’
servants.”

“Thank you, but I don’t want a guard at my door looking to prevent my creeping about the place in search of
your
guest,” Alex said stiffly. “I shall sleep outside with my men. But we are not leaving, Rob, if that is what you had hoped.”

“Well, it is,” Rob answered frankly. “But I knew it was too much to expect.”

Alex did leave then, still in a huff, and Rob listened by the open doorway until his footsteps faded in the distance.

Then he went back into the room, shut the door, and faced his grandmother.

“You shock me, madam,” he said, grinning.

“Do I? I vow, I did not shock myself at all. Indeed, I barely told a falsehood.
Would
you have placed a guard at his door?”

“Two stout fellows at least, aye. I fear that he does mean to camp outside the gate, though. That could make things difficult
for a time.”

“Laying siege to us, as it were?”

“Aye, although our people lie in no danger.”

“Can you be sure of that, Rob?”

“I have commanded Alex’s men more often than he has over these past few years,” Rob said. “They trust me and would most likely
balk at an order to harm anyone here should Alex be daft enough to issue one. They’ll be a damned nuisance out there, but
they’ll behave. So will Alex, especially if you mean to stay here, Gran. I do hope you will.”

“I will, my dear. ’Tis far more interesting than Dumfries or Glasgow. In faith, I am very glad I came. If you need me to aid
in the lady Mairi’s protection, you need only say so. I quite like her.”

“So do I, Gran.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Then you must find a way out of this mess, Robbie. It is of your
own making, as you know only too well. Moreover, if Dunwythie returned to Annandale meaning to raise the other defiant lairds
to follow him, you have little time.”

A rap at the door startled Rob so that he turned and jerked it open, expecting to see that Alex had somehow returned unheard.

Gibby stood there, his eyes wide. “Should I no ha’ rapped the door, laird?”

“Come right in, Gibby,” her ladyship said cordially. “What is it?”

“’Tis that knacker what were here afore, laird,” Gib said. “He would talk wi’ ye, he said, on a matter o’ some import. He
wouldna tell me what it was, though.”

Lady Kelso said, “Knacker? Do you mean Parland Dow?” Turning to Rob, whose thoughts were racing, she added, “Sithee, he came
with
me
, my dear. Said he preferred to travel with a larger party, but I did think it strange that he was off away from Dumfries
so soon. I vow he’d not been in town but a day or two. Then, when we drew near, he stopped at Fin Walters’s cottage. Said
he always sleeps there.”

“And so he does. Fetch him in, Gib, and fetch a jug of whisky, too,” Rob added. To her ladyship, as the boy ran off, he said
gently, “He may provide the answer to a problem I need to solve.”

“You mean Dow, of course,” she said. “You cannot mean Gibby.”

“Aye. For one thing, Dow collects gossip. For another, he carries messages.”

“I begin to see that I must leave at once, lest I cast a damper,” she said, moving to bestow a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll bid
you goodnight, my dearling, and prithee sleep well when you do. I am confident that you will soon sort this all out.”

She was more confident than Rob was.

Not long after she left, Gib ushered Dow in. Rob saw by the man’s expectant expression that he had something to say. “Pour
the whisky for us, Gibby,” Rob said. “This will help us
both
sleep well tonight,” he said to the knacker with a smile.

Shooing Gibby away when he had filled two mugs, and making sure
he
had gone, Rob shut the door again and said, “What brings you back to us so soon?”

“Well may ye ask,” Dow said, setting down his mug and wiping his lips with a sleeve. “It were seeing his lordship in Dumfries—Dunwythie,
that be—and learning he believed the Maxwells had his daughter. I kent fine ye’d want to hear that. So, when her ladyship
took her leave, I attached myself to her party. Imagine my surprise when she said she were bound not for Glasgow but for Trailinghail.”

“I am gey glad to see you, and you were right to think I might have need of you. Sithee, I have ken of the lady Mairi since
last we saw each other, and would return her to her father. But quietly, so as not to stir strife amongst the clans. ’Tis
better, I think, that he have her safe before others learn she is no longer missing. However, I hear he means to return to
Dumfries with an army. That must not be.”