Highland Blessings (30 page)

“M’lady?” Finella interrupted. Akira sat on her knees planting more spring flowers in the courtyard. Covered in dirt, she couldn’t help smearing it across her face as she brought up her sleeve to mop her brow.

“Aye?”

“A messenger has a letter for ye an’ he said he was to give it to ye personally. Shall I bring him to ye?”

Akira’s mind raced. Who would need to send a messenger to her? It must be terribly important to be personally delivered. She gathered her tools in her hand and straightened.

“Of course, bring him to me. I’ll be at the well washing my hands.” Akira splayed them out in front of her for them both to inspect.

Finella nodded. “’Twould be the least ye could do. Wouldn’t want to scare the lad off afore he states his business, now would we?”

“Nay, Finella, I suppose not.”

Finella gave her a sympathetic grin. “They might not come clean a’tall. Ye work too hard, lass.” She turned on her heel and disappeared, leaving Akira to her task.

A moment later, Finella ushered a young lad over. He patiently waited for her to dry her hands and face. He appeared to be close to Sim’s age, with rugged red hair. His thin frame barely held his clothes on his body, and Akira wondered when he’d last eaten a decent meal. She glanced at Finella protectively hovering behind him.

“Finella, see that his stomach is satisfied for his trouble.”

“Aye, m’lady.”

“I must wait for yer answer.” The lad stood proud, his bony shoulders squared back like a warrior on duty. Akira rewarded him with a smile.

“I wouldn’t want ye to neglect yer responsibilities.” She held her hand out for the letter. “Verra well then, I shall read it now, if ye please.”

The lad thrust the letter in her hand and Akira’s fingers eagerly curled around the parchment. She tried to keep them from trembling as she allowed her mind to imagine all sorts of bad news. She tore open the MacKenzie seal. Unfolding the letter, Akira skimmed the words across the page as excitement filled her.

Dearest Sister,

I feel I have wronged ye and would greatly appreciate it if ye would meet me on Thursday of next. By the time this letter reaches ye, I will already be on my way. I have news concerning a betrayer among yer husband’s warriors. It is most important that ye do not tell him of our meeting. Together we will decide how to handle the situation until I can prove it is true. I trust I may confide in ye, dear sister, and remember: Bryce must not know we are meeting. I fear he wouldn’t trust me and might forbid ye to meet with me. I have yer best interests at heart.

Elliot

Akira stared at the letter a little while longer before turning back to the lad still waiting.

“Tell him to meet me …” Her mind searched for a convenient place, and a picture of the meadow where she and Sim had often met to practice his speech came to remembrance. No one had ever come across them or even suspected them there. Her lips curled into a triumphant smile. “Tell him to meet me at the meadow of daisies.”

Akira knew Elliot would wonder where that was but he would have to pass by it on his way to MacPhearson Castle, and he could not miss it, for at the moment daisies completely covered the entire field.

“I shall expect him shortly after sunrise,” she added, thinking that would be the best time to meet since Bryce was an early riser. He’d either be training his men or working on repairs to the west wing of the castle.

Akira turned to Finella, who waited nearby. “Finella, please see that the lad has a chamber to sleep in if he wishes to stay the night.”

“Aye, m’lady.” Finella motioned for him to follow her.

Akira’s thoughts returned to Elliot’s letter. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle. It wasn’t cold. The end of spring and the budding of summer promised more heat-filled days. A shimmer of fear coursed through her at the knowledge that her brother could possibly know about a dangerous murderer running rampant at MacPhearson Castle.

“Akira, ye look like a force to be reckoned with,” Kian commented from behind. She hadn’t heard him approach and turned to smile up at him.

“I feel like it.” She looked down at her old, dirty dress and laughed. “I have no intention of meeting with the queen today at any rate.”

Kian laughed. “M’lady, I’m sure ye could charm the king and queen in any state, if ye’ve a mind to.”

Akira blushed crimson. “Ye have a way with flattery, Kian.”

“’Tis no flattery, but the truth.” He walked over to the bucket, dipped his hands in the water, and splashed his face. “Ah, that feels good.”

“Ye and Bryce are getting along well?” Akira inquired, knowing they had been testy around each other of late.

“We’ve always gotten along. Ye can have an argument with yer brother one minute and die for him in the next. We’ve always been like that. Even when Evan was the chieftain, it was because of Bryce I gave my allegiance to the MacPhearson clan.”

“I see.”

“Ye’re a woman, and a woman doesn’t give her allegiance to anyone.” Kian turned to look at her, leaning his elbow on the well.

“A woman must give her loyalty to her husband,” Akira countered, trying not to be defensive. She was expected to obey the chieftain, the same as he, only she wasn’t required to swear an oath as a warrior must.

“True, but a woman doesn’t die for him in battle.”

“Many women have died bearing children because their husbands wanted sons. Women may not die in battle, but for the widows left behind, sometimes ’tis harder to continue on.”

“Ye’ve a way with words yerself. No wonder Bryce is completely taken with ye.” Kian’s curious expression turned into something else that Akira could not decipher. “I’ve never met another female quite like ye, Akira. Ye would have been perfect had ye been born a MacPhearson.” A grin slid across his face, and she realized he teased her.

“Well, I did the next best thing. I married one so my children could be born as MacPhearsons.”

“Yer wit is beyond comprehension. I imagine Bryce has a hard time keeping his own wits about him when ye begin to weave flowery words at him. He is the brightest of men I know, but I believe he’s finally met his match.”

“Kian! Quit dallying with my wife and come along. Ye hold the rest of us up,” Bryce called from the other end of the courtyard.

Akira waved to Bryce and he waved back, while he waited for Kian to reach him. The two men immersed themselves in conversation as they headed toward the west wing of the castle. Akira went to her chamber to change clothes and then headed toward the kitchen to oversee the menu for the coming night.

“I’m convinced the wall collapsed because the mortar didn’t have enough time to settle within the wood frames,” Bryce said, thinking aloud.

“Aye, but the wood ties would be strong enough to keep the wall from collapsing. That’s the whole purpose of using the wood frames until the mortar sets,” Balloch argued.

“I agree; therefore, I want ye to see to the task of checking all wood ties and frames holding the rest of the mortar intact. Only a portion of the wall collapsed, and I want the rest of it checked. Use the crane wheels if ye must. I want to know if anything appears to have been tampered with. In the meantime, I’ll see that the repairs continue,” said Bryce.

“I’ll see to the wood, Bryce,” Kian volunteered.

“Nay.” Bryce shook his head. “I need ye for something else. Let Balloch see to that.”

“But—”

“Balloch will see to it.” Bryce cut him off.

“Aye,” Kian said, backing down.

“I fear I will need to repair the rest of the castle in the future if I don’t take certain measures now,” said Bryce. “The castle was built on a solid foundation, and there couldn’t have been a better location, but the walls were made of layers of rock covered with a crust of clay when the family ran out of funds for limestone. That is why the west wing decayed so quickly. I have a shipment of limestone coming along with the ashlar stone I ordered yestereve.

“Kian, I want ye to form a party of men to help ye encase the east wing in the ashlar stone. ’Tis much smoother and will be a good outside finish. When ye complete a wall ye need to coat it with plaster and whitewash it. If we are going to rebuild, we’re going to do it right.” Bryce looked around at his men, meeting each gaze to assess their understanding.

Bryce proceeded to assign men to certain tasks and then left it up to Balloch and Kian to carry out his wishes. Bryce pulled his own group of men, and they began working where they had left off the day before.

By mid-afternoon, Bryce held up one end of a heavy timber being tied to another. They needed to create a new frame for the mortar they planned to prepare. Balloch’s huge body appeared, casting a deep shadow upon him from the setting sun. Bryce could taste the salt of sweat upon his upper lip as he grunted with the heavy pressure on his shoulder.

“Don’t stand there, mon. We could use yer muscle,” Bryce shouted to him.

“Aye, m’lord. I came to talk to ye,” Balloch said as he bent and lifted some of the pressure from Bryce’s shoulders.

“I was hoping ye would say that. Where is Akira?” Bryce hadn’t seen his wife all day and wondered what she had been up to.

“She is with Vika. She took her some food. If she has her way, I believe ye might soon have a guest in the castle.”

They lowered the timber and waited for the men at the other end to finish setting their side down. “Leave it until the morrow at sunrise,” Bryce told them. He gave Balloch his full attention while they walked to the courtyard. “I thought as much. Vika and her son are welcome in my home anytime. Tavis was a great friend and a loyal warrior. I would consider it an honor. ’Tis the least I can do. Where is Sim?”

“I believe he joined Kian and his group after he and Akira returned.”

“Akira still found time for him even after all her good duties, did she?”

Balloch returned his grin. “Aye, she’s a sweet one. Always worried about everyone else.” Balloch’s expression grew serious, and he rubbed his chin with his fingers. “There’s something I need to tell ye. We found the most peculiar thing, and it canna be mistaken for naught but tampering.”

“What is it?” Bryce reached for the double doors to the entrance of the castle. Swinging them wide, he said, “Let’s go to the library. We can talk more privately there.”

Balloch waited until they were behind the closed doors, each with a goblet of cider in hand. Balloch pulled out a rope he had been keeping in the fold of his plaid. “’Twas purposely severed, and there were at least three others.”

Bryce took the rope and examined it. The cut was clean and precise, something that had to be made by a blade. The rope certainly hadn’t torn from wear or bad threads. Bryce threw the rope in a nearby chair.

“It certainly proves that it was tampered with, but how would they know who would be near the wall or when for that matter?” Bryce took another swallow from his goblet. “The real question is why?”

Balloch shrugged. “I’m as baffled by it as ye.”

“Exactly when did the stone wall crumble?”

“At daybreak.”

“Who was working on the daybreak shift for those repairs?” Bryce swallowed more cider from his goblet.

“Tavis, Rae, Davis, and Iain. Lady Akira usually brings the men water within that hour.”

“Then someone would have cut the ropes sometime during the night, before sunrise, and their target could possibly be someone in that group. We need to be more careful. Akira isn’t to be left alone. She isn’t going to like having a guard, so ye and a few others will have to pretend to be interested in her affairs so that ye can accompany her wherever she goes without her suspecting she’s being guarded. I want ye to arrange the same thing for Sim. I know he is in training, but he still has so much to learn. I dislike the idea of him not being able to hear someone sneaking up on him.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Balloch said. “Sim won’t be as hard to keep up with as yer lady.”

“If Vika moves in, Akira will be more inclined to spend time with her and that will ease my mind a bit. She’s better off even with female company than being alone. Have ye discovered anything else concerning Mirana’s death?”

Balloch shook his head.