Page 19 of The Ruthless Laird's Virgin
She searched his face frantically as her breathing came in quicker bursts, mounting her panic even further.
“Lass…” His voice was somehow deeper and huskier as he let go of her chin and traced a path over her jawline with his thumb.
“Beggin’ yer pardon, me Laird.” Iain suddenly spoke up from the doorway.
Callum let go of her face, stepping away from her abruptly without so much as glancing back in her direction. “Aye, have they located the broken barrier?” He strode away from her, never looking back as he left the study.
I daenae understand.
Eleanor took a deep breath, trying to still the beating of her racing heart. Had he been threatening her, or had he wanted to kiss her? She swallowed hard before raising a hand to her chest. The man was far more complicated than anyone she had ever come across. It was difficult for her to read him even at the best of times.
“I have to keep to meself,” she said the words out loud, recalling the warning that now seemed to apply to him as well.
She needed to keep away from the Laird whenever he was not helping her with her brother.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Have ye managed to find anythin’?” Callum asked, walking into the study.
Eleanor looked up from the stack of papers on the desk in front of her, blinking as if she had been in another world. The stack of ledgers beside her looked impressive. She had been busy for a day, and it seemed as if she had already covered quite some ground.
Her fine nose wrinkled as she frowned. “Aye, and nay. None of it seems to make any sense.” She massaged the sides of her temples with the tips of her fingers. “There are so many deeds that changed hands with nay reason at all. I ken why Andrew became suspicious.”
He strode toward her, looking down at the ledger she had been scrutinizing. Neat notes had been made in the margins, denoting each transfer and signature that did not seem to make sense.“Have ye made a note on the map where all of the properties are?”
Placing her hands on either side of the ledger, Eleanor pushed herself up and nodded before walking past him to the map. “I hope ye daenae mind, but since we used the pins for all of the locations where Andrew was seen, I used small ink stars to mark the deeds of transfer.” She leaned over the map, pointing to the little black marks.
A frown creased his brow when he drew back and began to see a pattern from afar. Almost all of the stars, save a few empty patches, were surrounding his lands.
“Ye can see why I have been concerned?” Her voice beckoned his gaze toward her.
“Aye, with me gone, mostly all of the north would have changed hands somewhere in the last five years.” He searched her face, seeing his confusion echoed in her eyes.
“But why?” he asked out loud, not expecting a reply.
He watched carefully as she reached up and cupped the back of her neck with her hands, tilting her head back until her neck was exposed. “That is what I daenae understand.” She let go of her neck, looking back down as she gestured with one hand over the map. “They were nae all given to the same man. None of the names signed and deeds transferred match.”
“Aye, ye can say that again, none of it makes sense…” Callum began to brood as he glared at the map.
How was it possible that so many land deeds had been given over without rhyme or reason? It would have made sense if it had all gone to one person; at least then, they would have had a motive.
“Ye think the men inheritin’ the lands are all connected?” Eleanor suddenly asked, regaining a bit of her energy.
“It is a good question, but we would have to investigate further to ken for certain.” He turned back to the desk behind them. “Have ye compiled a list of the names?”
Eleanor nodded quite enthusiastically as she hurried back to her desk and drew a list of names from beneath the ledger. “Donald Steward seemed to be the land agent who dealt with most of the deeds. His name comes up at least seven times, while the others were different.”
“I have never heard of the man,” Callum frowned as he watched her run her index finger down the list.
“Neither did I until I looked closer at all of these letters. It seems as if me brother also wondered, he was nae someone whom we were familiar with. The name Duncan Fraser was in our books a few times, but I only saw it twice here.” She sighed heavily and began to rub the back of her neck again, exposing the gentle curve of her shoulder.
She is bonnie.
He thought for the millionth time since first meeting her in the cabin. “I daenae ken if there is a Duncan Fraser in our clan. I shall have to look into that.”
He thought of what Fiona had said about Eleanor finding him on the road and dragging him all the way to her cabin. If that information was in fact true, then Eleanor had saved his life. He would have been left for dead if she had not helped him, or even worse, one of his enemies would have found him.
“Have ye had yer tea?” Callum suddenly asked, making her look at him with a frown.
