Page 44 of Much Ado About a Scot

“My brothers-in-arms will escort him to Haddington where he will stand trial for witchcraft and treason. The Lord Advocate is assembling a panel of jurors for a hearing three days hence. Preliminary questioning will begin on the morrow.”

“Your brothers-in-arms are leaving? What about you?” Isobel asked.

“Don’t leave!” Jamie cried.

Xander bent down and lifted Jamie into his arms. “I will remain here with my brother Rhys and ten men. The three earls are still unaccounted for. It will be up to us to apprehend them when they arrive this afternoon.”

His words sent a shudder through her. This wasn’t over yet. “You said Bothwell would be charged with treason?”

“Treason against the king and crown.”

She clasped her hands together before her so he could not see how badly she was shaking. “Of all the places in Scotland to hide, why was he here at the Graham estate? And why have a tunnel that connected our two houses?”

“Perhaps Graham can answer that question for us.”

He had barely finished the words when the sound of hoofbeats echoed in the late morning air and two men appeared on horseback. Isobel tensed.

“What now?” Freya asked beside her.

“Fear not. I invited these men here. They have important information for Isobel.”

She studied the men as they approached. They were not warriors. They looked nowhere near as fierce as the men who’d just left. Isobel nervously fingered the fabric of her dress as they came to a stop.

“Greetings,” the taller of the two men said hesitantly as he looked back across the smoldering fields.

“Did we come at a bad time?” the other man asked, taking in the sight of the blood on Isobel’s disheveled clothing and the smudges of soot on all of their faces.

Xander stepped forward and offered a bow. “It has been a difficult morning, but we are pleased you could join us here.”

“I don’t understand.” Isobel drew the edges of her bodice together. Freya, seeing her discomfort, took her own shawl from her shoulders and settled it around Isobel’s. Grateful, Isobel pulled the edges of the shawl up to cover the blood at her neck and her sagging bodice.

“They have come from Haddington village with information about your deed, and possibly some good news to share,” Xander explained.

The men slid from their saddles to stand before her with leather satchels in their hands. The shorter, darker man offered her a kind smile. “We have information that we believe will solve all the financial issues with your estate.”

“Did you hire these men?” Isobel cast Xander an anxious look. “When did you have time to go into Haddington?” He’d spent every day with her since he’d arrived and most of his nights. Heat rose to her cheeks at the thought.

“I asked my brother-in-arms, Rhys Elliot, to investigate.”

“What was discovered is quite interesting.” The taller man patted his leather satchel. “May we come in and explain what we found?”

Sick with excitement, Isobel motioned toward the house. “Aye, please, come in.”

Chapter Seventeen

Instead of using the front parlor that was filled with rubble, Isobel led the men to the kitchen and motioned for them to take seats around her table. Freya took Jamie upstairs to play, leaving her and Xander and the two men alone.

“I am Alan MacGilvaine, solicitor.” He was of slight build with black hair and a black beard that were threaded with gray.

“And I am Eddie Rysland. I am an accountant,” the taller man said. He had a narrow, triangular face and could lay no claim to good looks with the exception of a pair of sharp green eyes.

“We came to discuss the land agreement between Winchester Graham and your grandfather, Thomas Seaton. Seems there was some dispute over a portion of the land agreement?”

“Not a disagreement,” Isobel corrected. “My copy of the deed has a section that is unreadable.” She turned to Xander. “Was a second copy located in Haddington?”

“Rhys said he had a copy made of the document for our purposes.”

“Indeed. I have it here.” The solicitor opened his satchel and removed the familiar document. He opened it and set it before her. It was a twin to the document she had hidden upstairs in her chamber. “The section in question revealed the following: ‘As a continuing tribute to the services rendered, the grantor shall pay the grantee one-tenth of the share of the profits every year to enable Gladmuir Hall and its residents to continue to thrive.’”