David had yet to glance her way.
“I left the castle to discover that James and Sloan had arrived. We heard gunshots and decided a show of force onhorseback might serve us all well. It seemed that there was some fair firepower coming against you.”
“Aye, that there was,” Alistair said, surveying the three who had just arrived. “You all—know one another?” he said politely.
David grinned ruefully. “Aye, that we do, Alistair. Good Mr. McGregor here has been with me on my— journeys—I shall say. And I have known Sloan a very long time. He grew up in the same camp as my brother. Sloan, James—Alistair MacGinnis. And, of course…”
At last, he turned to Shawna. He’d been very aware of her presence, she was certain.
“And of course…Lady Shawna MacGinnis.”
His voice seemed a combination of ice and fire as he said her name. His eyes fell on her in such a way that she felt as if she had been physically attacked.
Aye, it was true that he was so well costumed he had fooled even those who knew him best.
But something else had changed. Completely. He did not just seem angry. He seemed to loathe her. With an anger red-hot enough to kill one second, and cold enough to freeze the very air around them the next.
She was the one who had the right to be angry! She had been deceived.
But she smiled graciously at James McGregor, aware that he was the Dr. James McGregor who had helped David survive his captivity. She smiled equally graciously to Sloan Trelawny. “Indeed, it’s a pleasure to meet you both. As Hawk has said, your timing is quite impeccable. I assure you, we’re most grateful to have you among us.”
“The pleasure is mine, Lady MacGinnis,” Sloan Trelawny said, bowing his head to her, nodding in acknowledgment to Alistair. He was a very handsome man, white and Indian features combining to create an exceptionally arresting face,his collar-length hair dead straight and almost blue-black, his features especially well shaped and defined. Though it was obvious that he was quite tense and concerned about the situation, his quick smile was charming. His eyes, however, had a sharpness about them, and Shawna was certain that as an enemy, he would be quick and deadly.
“Aye, it’s a pleasure to be here, except that we didna catch a one of them black-clad creatures. By God alive, what does go on here?” McGregor demanded, staring at David, then at Shawna.
David’s eyes burned into her then as well.
Everyone, she realized, stared at her.
“What does go on? The mystery grows greater by the day,” David said. “We’ve more than one enemy. There seem to be a number of people in those strange black cloaks seeking to commit murder. It’s a very strange place, wouldn’t you say—Lady MacGinnis?”
“It has become strange lately,” she agreed. “In fact…” she began, then broke off, frowning, staring from Alistair to David.
“Alistair, you’re not at all surprised to see that David Douglas is alive behind the deceptive brown wool of a friar’s garb.”
“We met in the mines,” Alistair said.
“Oh? Recently?” Shawna inquired, staring at David.
He had chosen not to tell her much at all. Although he’d demanded her complete silence, he’d given nothing in return.
“Aye, recently,” David said coldly.
Alistair stepped closer to Shawna and said in a reproachful whisper, “You kept a secret from the closest of your kin.”
She ignored him. David was still staring at her coldly.
“Apparently, someone did not want you coming here,” David said.
“You came to look for Sabrina. Have you found any trace of her?” Sloan asked, his dark eyes on Shawna.
Shawna gasped. In the midst of the gunfire and her shock regarding David’s deception, she had forgotten all about Sabrina.
She spun around swiftly and hurried back into the McCloud vault. Sabrina.
Time could mean so much.
In many ways, the vault was a smaller version of the crypts within the castle, filled with shrouded bones and more modern coffins, and even drawers that were closed over with marble and mortar. Small openings lined the very top of the vault for ventilation for the living who visited the dead. Those openings allowed for just a trickle of fresh air and moonlight.