Page 81 of Laird of Wrath

“One must preserve the past.” Mabel shrugged. “When there is nothin' else to be done, and when there is nay one else to do it, I write down everythin’ that I deem important for the future generations. So far, nothin' more important has happened.”

“Nothin'?” Rhea asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s more about the things thatdaenaehappen,” Mabel emphasized. “Those are important. The lack of a cèilidh… now that can say much about a clan.”

“I fear ye are spendin’ too much time on yer own in that castle,” Rhea snorted, after a beat. “Ye have too much time to think about all this. Perhaps we should find ye a companion.”

“I’m nae a bairn anymore, Rhea,” Mabel said, turning a soft, gracious smile on her.

“Aye, I suppose ye’re nae,” Rhea conceded, smiling back at her. She reached over and cupped her cheek in a gentle hand, wondering where all the time had gone.

It hadn’t been that long ago when Mabel had been a little girl, running around Rhea’s skirts and trying to fool her governesses into letting her read instead of doing anything else they wanted her to.

“I’ll bring ye more wine,” Rhea said, pushing herself up off the seat.

The truth was that she was the one in need of more wine. Soon, her sister would return home. Even sooner, Callum would be gone. And she would be left alone once more to navigate the needs and demands of the castle and the clan, and that was something she didn’t want to consider at that very moment.

This is a cèilidh. I’m meant to be enjoyin’ meself.

She scanned the crowds around her as she headed to the makeshift bar they had set up in the courtyard, searching forCallum, looking for him in the shadows that loomed near the walls, though she doubted she would find him there.

Where was he? What was taking him so long? And where was everyone else?

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice the shadow that approached her. It was only when she felt a hand on her arm that she yelped, surprised by the sudden touch. She spun around to find none other than Reggie standing there, his dark eyes flitting back and forth as if searching for something.

“Reggie,” she gasped, lifting a hand to her chest. “Ye frightened me.”

“Forgive me, me Lady,” Reggie said in his thin, reedy voice. “But I’d like a moment of yer time.”

“Now?”

“Aye.”

“I’m listenin’,” she allowed.

“Nae here,” he insisted.

Once more, he looked nervously around him, as if he expected someone to sprout right out of the bonfires. In the firelight, his face seemed paler than usual, having lost all its color.

Rhea had the distinct feeling that the man was frightened.

“I’d rather… I’d rather speak to ye in private.”

She frowned in confusion. “Reggie, what is it?”

“I will tell ye,” Reggie promised. “I will tell ye everythin’, me Lady, but please… please come with me. We cannae speak here.”

It was her turn to look around her, wondering if there was something she had missed. If she or someone else was in danger and she didn’t know it, and Reggie could not quite find a different way to protect them other than whisking her away and telling her of the issue.

There was only one way to find out anyway.

She cast a glance in Mabel’s direction, relieved to see Sienna and Lara sitting with her, the three girls laughing near the fire.

“All right,” she said. “Lead the way.”

Reggie nodded a few times nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve as he turned around and gestured for her to follow him. He led her through the crowd, the two of them like a pair of shadows as they kept to the curtain walls.

Rhea found herself walking to the back of the castle, where there was no one but guards. Instead of stopping, however, Reggietook her to the emptiest, most remote spot he could find. It was only then that her heart sped up, bile rising in the back of her throat.