Chapter 11

Just as Billie had expected, the man stopped her before she could get too far.

“Excuse me,” he said, blocking her path. Billie feigned surprise at being stopped, looking at the man with a small frown. “Would ye be willin’ tae answer some questions fer me?”

He made it sound as though she had a choice, and Billie knew now that he thought he had found a target, he wouldn’t let go.

“What questions?” she asked. She didn’t want to appear too eager or give any indication she knew what he was doing.

“Are ye content livin’ here?” asked the man urgently.

“Aye, I suppose I am,” said Billie. “It’s a nice place tae live.”

It wasn’t the answer the man wanted, but he was far from finished with asking her questions. “There is a new laird, correct? Are ye pleased with him? I have heard there’s been some discontent.”

“Where did ye hear that?” Billie asked instead of answering the man’s question. The man fell silent then, considering it for a moment before he gave her a strained smile.

“Around,” he said. “Some people are displeased with the imposed taxes.”

“They are? How many?” Billie asked, and she could tell by the man’s hesitation that he wasn’t expecting to be questioned back.

In the silence that followed, Billie heard the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, and she turned around to see Callum rushing towards her, a daisy in his hands. When he reached her, he thrust the daisy at her, grinning.

“Thank ye fer takin’ care o’ me knees, miss,” he said.

With a glance at the man, Billie placed a hand on Callum’s shoulder and pulled him away. She didn’t want him near the stranger, and it was a good excuse for her to leave that conversation as well.

Even as they walked away from him, though, Billie could feel his gaze on her, watching her like a hawk.

“Thank ye fer the flower, Callum,” she told the boy. “Dinnae run now or ye’ll hurt yerself again.”

The boy nodded, but when he turned around to leave, he did some running once more.

With a fond chuckle, Billie looked around, trying to see if her sister or Elsea were nearby, and she didn’t have to search long. Two of the guards spotted her and rushed to her, the concern on their faces fading and quickly replaced by thinly veiled annoyance.

“We thought somethin’ happened tae ye,” one of them said. “Ye shouldnae leave our side here. There are dangerous men around.”

Billie decided to take pity on them instead of pointing out there was no real danger in such a big crowd. Their job was already hard enough as it was, and she didn’t want to make it even harder.

“Forgive me,” she said. “I saw a child in need of assistance an’ I couldnae help meself. I promise ye, I willnae stray far again.”

That seemed to reassure the two guards, and they herded her back towards the group. As Billie walked with them, though, she looked over her shoulder and her gaze met the black-clad man who was still staring at her.

A chill ran down her spine.

“Have ye seen those men that are askin’ people questions?” asked Billie. “Who are they? What dae they want?”

When one of the guards answered, there was no hesitation, not even any concern in his voice. “It’s naething,” he said. “There are always people who are displeased with what the laird does, but they are harmless. They’ll bore o’ it eventually, when they see nae one else cares.”

The other guard nodded in agreement, but Billie wasn’t so certain they were right. If her assumptions were correct and those were indeed the strange men who had been spotted recently roaming the MacAuley lands, then there were plenty of reasons to be concerned.

The two guards had already changed the topic, though, discussing the day’s duties between themselves. Billie fell silent as she walked between them, but her mind kept straying back to those cloaked figures, concern coiling tight in her stomach.

If these guards willnae listen, will Domnhall?

“Has the hole in the wall been fixed yet?”

Domnhall had a seemingly endless list of tasks in front of him, spread over his desk. There were so many things to be done around the castle to keep it in good shape, maintenance and repairs and all sorts of issues to deal with. His council had offered to take on the burden, but at least for now, Domnhall wanted to do it himself. It hadn’t been long since he had taken on the role of laird, and it was important that he learn everything he could about the castle and he make sure it ran smoothly.

Next to him stood one of the maids whose help he had recruited, Ailis. She was a woman near his age, and her mother had worked for the clan all her life. If there was anyone in there who knew the castle like the back of their hand, it was her.

“Aye, me laird,” the woman said, leaning a little closer to take a better look at the list of tasks. “It was done last week. We have also cleaned the roof an’ repaired the barn.”

Nodding, Domnhall drew a line over the three tasks on his paper. There was still plenty to do, but at least they were well on their way to fixing all the problems his father had left behind.

Before Domnhall could say anything else, though, the door flew open and Billie walked in. When she saw the two of them, though, she came to a sudden halt, her gaze flitting between Domnhall and Ailis. Next to him, Ailis pulled back, putting some space between them, but Domnhall saw the way Billie looked at them, as if he had proven something to her.

Even when they had argued, Domnhall had never seen her so guarded before. A part of him expected her to say something about him and Ailis but instead Billie said, “May I have a word, me laird?”

For a few seconds, Domnhall tried to figure out what it would be she wanted to tell him. If she wanted to argue about Ailis, he would much rather not fall into the trap. But beneath it all, he sensed that there was an agitation in Billie, a restless, nervous energy that had nothing to do with Ailis.

“O’ course,” he said, before he turned to look at the other woman, handing her a piece of paper from the pile in front of him. “I had the list copied. See tae it that at least a third o’ the tasks are taken care of by the end o’ the week.”

“Aye, me laird,” Ailis said, bowing to him and Billie before fleeing the room.

When she was gone, Domnhall didn’t even have the time to ask what Billie wanted.

“I saw somethin’ suspicious at the market,” she said. Taking a deep breath, she began to pace back and forth in front of his desk, her movements dizzying as he watched her. “The guards said it was naething, that I shouldnae be concerned, but… I dinnae ken. I think somethin’ is wrong.”

Alarmed, Domnhall stood and walked over to her. He placed his hands on Billie’s shoulders to stop her from pacing around the room and forced her to look at him, trying to conceal some of his worry.

What did she see that had upset her so much?

“It’s alright, lass,” he said in the gentlest voice he could muster. “Ye can tell me, whatever it is. If ye thought somethin’ was wrong, then I’m sure ye had a reason tae be concerned.”

Especially when she looks like she has seen a ghost.

Billie was pale like one, and Domnhall didn’t know if what she had seen was indeed as concerning as it seemed or if she had managed to work herself into a panic. Either way, he’d rather be cautious than dismiss her concerns only to find out later that she had been right to worry.

“Those men that were sighted around here,” she said, “I think I saw them at the market today. They were askin’ people if they are happy with ye as their laird, if they have complaints. I’m certain at least one o’ them was tryin’ tae change a man’s mind, tellin’ him yer taxes are too high.”

That was, indeed, concerning. Perhaps it wasn’t as much of an immediate threat as Domnhall had feared, but it still worried him to hear there were men in his lands who were trying to besmirch his good name. It was true that he had raised the taxes in an attempt to rebuild the clan, but his people were more prosperous than they had ever been under his father’s rule. With time, he hoped they would come to see it was for the best.

What was even more concerning was that his men didn’t seem too bothered about those people. He knew they were only guards following orders, but he had to make sure that everyone in the clan knew those strangers were not to be trusted or allowed to spread rumors about him. Even if his people were fond of him now, there was no telling what would happen if they heard enough lies.

“Thank ye fer tellin’ me,” Domnhall said. “I’m glad ye didnae listen tae the guards. Ye’re right, Billie, it is concernin’. I must speak with me council about this.”

Relief washed over Billie at being believed and her shoulders visibly dropped. Domnhall, his hands still holding onto them, rubbed them gently, trying to take away the last of the tension in her body.

“I thought perhaps ye would laugh at me,” Billie admitted with a nervous chuckle. “I didnae ken if ye would think it serious. Nae one else seemed to.”

“I think it is,” Domnhall assured her. He couldn’t help but notice she hadn’t tried to pull away from his touch. Despite the time he had spent trying to convince Hugo he felt nothing for Billie, deep down he knew it was a lie. Ever since he had seen how kind and helpful Billie was to everyone around her—except for him, of course—he had begun to see her from a different perspective.

It didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t the kind of woman Domnhall would ever want to marry. The mere thought of her with other men angered him, and he still wished he could find a way out of this marriage, but he knew his chances were slim.

If they were going to spend the rest of their lives together, then at least he could try to find some qualities in her that attracted him.

When Billie didn’t pull back, Domnhall leaned closer and pressed a kiss to her cheek, soft and tender, his lips brushing against the corner of her mouth. It was only then that Billie pulled back, putting some distance between them and refusing to meet his eye as if she were embarrassed.

It wasn’t the first time Domnhall had seen her pull away from him like this, but it still puzzled him. He knew the kind of woman she was; she didnt have to pretend she was innocent with him, not when she had already revealed herself to him, and yet she kept up the pretense. Was so used to doing that, that she didn’t even know she was doing it anymore?

“We have kissed already,” Domnhall reminded her as he headed for the door, partly to give her some breathing space and partly because he truly needed to find everyone in his council and discuss the new threat with them. “Ye dinnae have a reason tae be shy. In fact, we have done more than kiss. What does it matter if I kiss ye now?”

He didn’t linger to hear Billie’s response, if she had any. Instead, he left his study, grinning to himself all the way down to the courtyard.