The Highlander's Hope - A Contemporary Highland Romance (5 page)

“The daily menu’s there on the board, love.”  He gave her a seductive smile
and linked his hand with hers across the table, knowing all eyes in the pub were on them.

They chatted about nothing of importance, flirting and smiling their way throug
h ordering and their meal.  She was doing a good job of hiding any awkwardness she felt, the only sign of it in the occasional widening of her eyes each time he pushed the flirting to the next step.  No one could see it but him, and frankly he liked to put her on edge, liked to make her heart race. 

A
man Iain had never seen before approached their table, and the way he was eyeballing himself and Cat, it had to be James.

“Cat, what a pleasant surprise. 
I hadn’t expected to find you here.”

Any unease that may have been present in Cat’s demeanor was now gone.
  As if not wanting to pull her attention away from Iain, she lazily turned towards her ex, her seductive smile quickly fading as she let out a weary sigh.  “Why are you here, James?  Are you now stalking me when I come to visit Iain?  It’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

James gave Iain
a quick once over before straightening his back and puffing out his chest.  “Iain, is it?” 

“Aye, it is.  Cat, is
this man bothering ye then?”  Iain glared at James.  “Cause I won’t have anyone giving ye unwelcomed attentions.”

She reached across the table and linked her finge
rs with his, her gaze soft and seductive, looking at him as if he was the only one in the world who mattered. Though he knew she was only playacting, it made his heart race to have her look at him that way. 

When she spoke, her voice was like a
heady port, rich and sweet, her gaze lingering upon him like a lover’s touch.  “Don’t worry, my love.  He’s of absolutely no consequence, and I do believe he was leaving.”  She turned to James, her eyes hard as glass.  “Weren’t you?”

James looked from
Iain to Cat and back, his lips curling in an ugly snarl.  “No, as a matter of fact, I wasn’t leaving.  We have unfinished business to deal with, Cat.”

Cat just laughed.  “Yes, you never were any good at completing the task at hand, but you need not worry. 
Iain takes
very
good care of me, and nothing is ever left unfinished.”

James went red,
stammered a response he never managed to get out, and left, bumping into several people on his way out the door. 

“Bloody hell, woman.  Remind me never to anger ye
—again.”  He looked at her with a whole new respect. 

“
Shall we go get my things, then?”  She ran her hand up his arm, continuing her act with a new found confidence.

“Aye,
love.  I do believe our work here is done.” 

***

By the time Iain got her settled in one of the guest rooms, his father had returned from his bird-watching.  “How was it then?  See anything of interest?”

His father tossed his vest on the back of the sofa and took
a seat, his brows drawn in annoyance.  “Ne’er mind the birds, son.  What is this I hear about ye having a new lass?  Mrs. McGillis said she’d ne’er seen two people looking more in love.  I’m nothing but happy at the prospect that ye’ve found someone, but next time, I’d rather hear it from yer mouth rather than another’s.  Caught me off guard.”

Iain
sighed, not wanting to disappoint his father, who wanted to see him settled with a wife and family.  “Da, it was just a ruse.  What I’m about to say, ye can’t repeat to anyone—not to Mrs. Wallace, nor my brother or sister.”

“Ye have me worried now, lad.
”

“I’ll not tell ye there’s no reason to worry, but all is well for now.  It’s Cat, Da.  She’s looking for the Highlander’s Hope and thinks there’s a good chance it’s on our lands.”

Slack-jawed, his father sat back, the color draining from his face.  “I can’t believe it.”

“That’s the reason we were about town as a couple.  One of her colleagues followed her to
Dunmuir, and we can’t have anyone thinking she’s here on a treasure hunt.  No one can know what we’re up to.  It could get dangerous if anyone found out.”

“Where’s the lass now?
  I hope ye’ve not left her on her own if there’s trouble brewing.”

“She’s staying here, if that’s all righ
t?  Getting settled in upstairs, as we speak.  We need to keep up impressions, and it seemed to be the best way to work together on finding the necklace and keep everyone safe.”

“Of course she should stay.  And
I promise to not say anything to anyone.”  Callum shook his head, a smile springing to his lips.  “The Highlander’s Hope.  I can’t believe it.  And she’s sure?”

“It looks like there’s a good chance.”  He returned his father’s smile, happy to not have him worrying.  “One more thing.  I think it best ye go and visit
Malcolm or Moira.  Just for a little while until we have a better idea of what we’re up against.” 

“Ye always did worry too much, though I’ll go if it’ll keep ye happy.”  He got to his feet and grabbed his vest. 
“But ye better treat the lass with respect.”

“Aye, Da.  Ye have my word.”

Chapter Five

While Cat reviewed the journals Iain had set aside, he went through the letters she’d collected.  She jotted notes and took photos of the pages with her phone.  It was a quick and easy way to maintain access to the original texts, especially when she often had to return them.

They were once more
in the library, sprawled out on either end of the large sofa with their reading material in hand, and a cup of tea within reach.  They had been at it for hours, and the tea was doing little to keep her going.

The rush of adrenaline she’d gotten from running into James had
worn off.  She still couldn’t believe they’d pulled it off.  The whole thing was so unlike anything she’d ever done before.  And her snarky response to James?  Tansy would have been whooping for joy had she been there. 

It left her feeling empowered
, especially after what he’d done to her.  It even seemed to have eased some of the tension between her and Iain.  Maybe their arguments would be a thing of the past, now that they were finally working towards a common goal.

“Anything in the letters?”  Cat kept hoping
Iain would come across a section laced with hidden meaning, and would understand it for what it was, given it was his clan’s history. 

“Nothing yet.” 
Iain sat up from where he’d been hunched over reading, running a rough hand through his thick locks and down his face.  With his face cast in shadow, his mussed-up hair, and the dark stubble on his chin, she could see him as a highlander of old, his ancestors’ blood running strong. 

“I need to get up and move around.  Clear my head.
”  Cat stood and stretched, her head going lightheaded for a moment.

“Come on then.  It’s too late to go out, but this place i
s large enough to wander around in.  Ye might even find it interesting.”

Cat followed him out of the library and down the corridor.  From what she’d seen
of the exterior, it was obvious they weren’t using the house in its entirety. As with many ancient homes, upkeep was often difficult and costly, leaving many to close off the sections not in use or in disrepair. 

“I’m
driving my father to Edinburgh first thing in the morning, so he can stay with my brother.  Thought ye might want to come along.”  Iain guided her through a door.

“I wouldn’t want to be a bother.” 
They turned down another corridor and then down a flight of stairs.

“No bother at all.  My father’s quite fond of ye, and it’d keep me from worrying about ye alone in this house.”
  Iain held open a door for her, and they stepped into a massive room that likely served as a ballroom once upon a time.

“
You mean you don’t want me to find the necklace while you’re gone, and run off with it?”  Though she was only kidding, she wondered if it was closer to the truth than she’d like.

He spun on her, closing the distance between them, h
is arm wrapping around her waist before she had a chance to react, his lips curling like a hunter who’s found his prey.  “No.  If I’d meant that, then that’s what I would’ve said.  And if the necklace were so easy to find, do ye not think my clan would have already stumbled across it?  And here I was worried about ye.”

She
looked up at him, but he was so close it had her heart stumbling over itself.  It took all she had to force her voice to be steady.  “I was kidding.”

“Were ye?”

She pulled out of his arms and turned away, not quite sure what the hell was going on between them.  It’d be hard
to deny she felt a certain attraction to him, but she had no time for that sort of thing, and she’d too recently gotten burned by allowing her love life to interfere with her work.

Not wanting the awkwardness to linger between them and make it difficult to work together, she tried her best to move past it.  “Edinburgh sounds lovely, if you don’t mind me tagging along.”
 

It would feel too awkward to be in their home when they weren’t there—not
to mention it could open her up to liabilities and headaches she didn’t need.  The last thing she needed was for someone to accuse her of taking the Hope while they were away.  Not that Iain or his father would do such a thing, but… better to be safe.

“I w
ouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want ye to join me.”  He shook his head, grabbed her hand, and started walking towards the door at the far end of the large room.

“Where are we going?”  Tall as
Iain was and with the pace he was suddenly keeping, Cat had to hustle to keep up with him.  “And would you please slow your ass down?  I’m only five three.”

“For a Ph. D., ye certainly have a mouth on ye.”
  His pace slowed at least, though he’d yet to let go of her hand or stop. 

“Are we just wandering about then?  Or is there a point to you dragging me around?”

With pursed lips, he gave her a quick glare.  “I remembered something and want to check it out. Mind ye, I haven’t been in this portion of the home since I was a kid, so I’m not quite sure what to expect.”

A few more
rooms and long corridors, and they entered another large chamber.  The temperature was cooler here by several degrees, and the lighting was now nothing more than a bare bulb barely throwing off enough light to fight back the darkness.  Dust clothes draped over amorphous mounds, leaving the room cluttered with mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

“When they closed off
the rest of the home, or some rooms became too damaged to repair, anything of importance was brought here to keep it protected.  I remember there being several paintings, some of them portraits.  We have the journals and the letters, but it could be they hid clues there also.”

Her body tensed
with excitement as it occurred to her how right he may be.  “It’s actually a brilliant idea to think of the paintings, especially when few could read back then.”

“Aye, not to mention it’d be easie
r for a book or letter to get lost.”  He wandered around the room looking at the various mounds as if deciphering what was hidden underneath.  “Here, give me a hand.”

She moved to the opposite side of the
pile he was standing at, and together they lifted the covering, sending up a cloud of dust.  Several chairs and small tables huddled together.  They draped the cloth back over the items and moved to the next grouping with the hope they’d get lucky.  After striking out a few more times, they hit pay dirt.  Propped against the wall were several paintings, each wrapped further for additional protection. 

“These are them.” 
Iain picked up a few of the smaller paintings, setting aside the larger ones for himself.  “Can ye carry these?  We’ll take them back to the library.”

Cat grabbed hold of the paintings he handed her.  “We might need to make a few trips.”

‘A few trips’
was an understatement.  By the time they finished, she was covered in dust and in horrible need of a shower, though that’d have to wait.  She was desperate to look at the paintings.

Iain
started to uncover them.  “There was one painting in particular.  It was the portrait of a woman—don’t remember the period of it, but I know it was quite old.  I’m now wondering if it could be Nessa MacCraigh—or her daughter.”

Cat turned on
a few more lights, excited to see what clues might be tucked away between the brushstrokes.  “Unless it’s blatantly obvious, I think it’ll be up to you to pick out any clues hidden in the paintings, since you’d be more familiar with them.”

Iain
unwrapped the last painting and let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping.  “The one I was thinking of—it’s not here.  My father might know where it is, though right now he’s out with his friends having a pint and playing cards.” 

“We can always go through these and then head back and look through the remaining piles.  I’m sure it’
s still there.”  She could tell he was frustrated.  “Look… it takes time to comb through the information and details.  It really is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.  You just need to be more patient.”

“Let’s just say I’ve ne’er been the patient sort.” 

All too anxious to see what might be found, she’d been lingering over his shoulder to look at the paintings as he uncovered them.  So when he stood and turned, she found herself face to face with him, their bodies all but brushing together, the air between them suddenly charged with energy.  His eyes took her in with an intensity that made her think she knew all too well what it must feel like when a wolf catches sight of its prey.

A
nd then just like that he moved away, leaving her to finally exhale and get control of her racing heart. 

He was already heading for the door.  “Look over the paintings.  I’ll be back in a bit.”

Duncan looked between the two of them, and then, deciding the spot in front of the fire was better than running around a cold castle, plunked his head back down and closed his eyes.

Happy to look for new clues, Cat
turned her attention to the items they’d brought back.  Most of the paintings were of landscapes, probably of the surrounding area.  There were a few portraits, but based on the clothing, they were at least a hundred years past the dates they were interested in.  Still, years of research taught her to be thorough.  Nothing should be dismissed until it had been looked over carefully.

She started with the landscapes, but found nothing hidden amidst the trees and glens.  There were no necklaces dangling from tree branches, or shimmering in the waters of the loch.  The portraits were a similar disappointment.  Cat hoped
Iain was having better luck tracking down the paintings he was interested in.  She waited a while longer and then debated going to give him a hand, in case he’d found more paintings than he could carry.

Having made the trip a few times with
Iain, she thought she could find her way back to the room where everything was stashed, but she only it made it as far as the hall when she heard a knock at the front door. 

She groaned.  Answer it or ignore it? 
Iain was on the other side of the castle and would never hear the knocking, and his father was out for the evening.

The knocking turned to pounding.  She approached the door, but there was no peephole, and there were no windows flanking the door
to look out of.  Shouting could be heard, but damned if she could make out a word through the thick oak and stone walls.  How the hell did someone know whether or not to answer the door?

And then she found out.

Iain pulled her to the side, a shotgun in his hand and at the ready as he unlocked the door, turned the latch, and then stepped to the side, aiming at who might come in.

The man walked in, and immediately flinched at the gun pointed at his head.  “
Bloody hell, Iain.  What the hell are ye trying to do to me?  I just about had a coronary.”

Iain
lowered the shotgun, looking relieved.  “Angus.  I hadn’t been expecting ye.  Sorry.”

Angus still looked at
Iain with confusion, but any conversation was interrupted by Duncan launching himself at Angus with a full body wiggle.  The dog got a good scratch but it was short lived given the shotgun and confusion. 

“Angus, this is Cat; Cat,
this is my dearest friend and cousin, Angus—and no, he’s not a MacCraigh, in case ye were wondering.”  As if he’d let her ditch him to go find the jewels with a different clan member.

“It’s a pleasure.”  Angus shook her hand, but then turned
to Iain, his eyes narrowed and his head cocked to the side as if scrutinizing his friend’s every move.  “Ye’ve yet to explain why ye’re toting a gun, and ne’er mind the rumors going about town.”

“The rumors?”  When Angus glanced
in Cat’s direction with those bright blue eyes of his, Iain gave her a sweet smile, and linked his hand with hers, bringing it to his lips.  “I’ve no reason to deny them.”

“They’re true?”  Angus turned a scrutinizing gaze on the couple before him,
a single eyebrow perked and his eyes wide, disbelief in the tone of his voice.

“
Bloody hell, man.  Don’t go looking at us like that.  We met when I was away on business.  I didn’t say anything because it’s been a bit of a long distance thing, and I wasn’t sure how we’d manage it.  But I’m happy to say, we’ve found a way to make it work.” Iain’s loving eyes took her in, and damn if he wasn’t a good liar.  Whether or not they’d fool Angus, however, was another question—especially if she was involved.  Lying was
not
one of her strong suits, and the way Iain was looking at her had her pulse racing and her cheeks flaming hot.

“Well then, it’s an absolute pleasure to meet ye.  I di
dn’t think Iain would ever bring anyone home.  He must be… smitten.”  Nope.  Angus still didn’t look like he believed them, but he was a good enough sport to not question them openly.

“Did ye come by for anything in particular?  I
hadn’t been expecting ye.”  Iain set the safety and put the shotgun down on a nearby table.