Rodrick nodded. “I am feeling much better, me laird. I am nearly healed now, and I am ready to assist ye however I can.”
The laird clapped his man-at-arms on the shoulder. “Good man, Rodrick.”
Allowing the moment between them to carry its weight, Keegan held eye contact with the man. He’d known Rodrick for years, his friend having served at his side for nearly their entire lives. While Rodrick could be a carefree soul, Keegan knew that he was also extremely loyal. He would not have let Melissa be taken easily.
“Follow me to the study. We shall discuss matters there.” Keegan nodded, and Rodrick was quick to proceed behind him as the laird navigated the halls toward the place he trusted to provide privacy.
“Ye say she dinnae ken that yer sister was the one taken by Magnus? It is quite a stretch to believe. What do ye make of her words?”
Rodrick’s brows were pinched together as he considered the situation. Keegan had told him everything about what had gone on since he’d left the castle in search of the lass. Or, at least, almost everything. The laird was sure to leave out theunimportantaspects of their journey back to the castle as well as what may or may not have gone on in Willow’s chambers.
“I…” Keegan sighed, already exhausted with the entire arrangement. “I daenae believe the lass is that good a liar to fool me. She dinnae have any reason to think that it might be a woman held prisoner and hadnae seen Melissa at all. Magnus appears to be the same bastard to his kin that he is to us.”
Rodrick nodded, his expression going grim. “All the more reason to get Melissa back home where she belongs as quickly as we can.”
Keegan agreed and reached into his desk to retrieve parchment and ink to draft up a letter to the enemy laird. The exchange would need to progress not only quickly but smoothly if he wished to have his sister returned unharmed.
“What will ye write him?” Rodrick asked.
“That I have possession of Willow Flanagan, sister to Laird McCallum, and demand an equal exchange of the Lady Melissa Aragain for Willow’s safe return.” Keegan’s hand flew across the page as he penned the letter, his quill scratching gently over the parchment. “Should he nae be willin' to deliver me sister safely, Magnus will find that his own sister’s protection cannae be guaranteed.”
Rodrick nodded, understanding Keegan’s meaning, even if the words may have been a lie. While he sees no harm in keeping the lass here, Keegan is not like Willow’s brother. He assured her that she would remain safe in Brahanne Castle—as would her men earlier—and the laird would not be going back on his word.
Still, writing the words into the parchment, seeing them there as they spelled out that his men might hurt or even kill Willow, made Keegan’s stomach turn. The thought bothered him in ways he didn’t quite understand, and he was forced to clear his throat and shake himself before continuing with the letter.
“I shall request the exchange take place in a few days' time outside the borders of our lands. An open field will be the best option to ensure no foul play, and the neutral territory will make it more difficult to find some means to take us by surprise.”
“We should be usin' this opportunity to gain information from our prisoner.”
Damon’s voice was a low rumble as he stalked into the study. He was a picture of menace as he approached Keegan, and it was clear as glass that the man was on the warpath.
His brother had never been a gentle soul when it came to revenge or fury. He held a grudge like few Keegan had ever seen and was possibly even more stubborn and overprotective of Melissa than himself, which truly was saying something.
Keegan sighed, finishing the letter with his signature, and folded the parchment to be sealed with his signet.
“I understand ye’re angry, Damon. I daenae put it past ye, but I assure ye there is little to be gained from speakin' at length with Willow. I have heard her these past few days, and Magnus doesnae spill his secrets to her.”
His brother scoffed, a nasty scowl barely held back from his expression. “So says her, but I would be keen to see if she continues her lies when we come at her with sharper means of persuasion.”
Swallowing hard, the laird sealed his missive, granting it to Rodrick so that it could be delivered to Castle McCallum as quickly as possible. With the man-at-arms gone, Keegan addressed his brother.
“There is nay need for that.”
Damon leaned forward onto Keegan’s desk, planting his hands with a thud. “I should like to be the judge of that. Where is our little prisoner?”
“She is within the vacant chambers down the hall from me own.”
His brother’s eyes flared, his mouth dropping open as a look of such rage overcame him that Keegan sat back in his seat.
“How can ye think to leave her alone?! She will flee at the first opportunity, and we will have nae a thing to use against Magnus and ensure Melissa’s return!”
Keegan glared, annoyed with his brother’s impertinence. “Ye will watch yer tone with me, Damon. Willow willnae leave. She is aware of what is at stake.”
His words hit him as Keegan refused to back down against his younger brother. He had no call to have such faith in Willow, and still, he knew without a doubt that the woman was honorable. She, too, had given her word that she would come willingly so long as her men were safe, and there, the two of them were at an impasse.
But he would be lying to himself if he said it was only that. Keegan also trusted Willow in a way that he knew he shouldn’t, and her safety and comfort mattered when it most assuredly should not.
That damned woman. I shouldnae care about her comfort. I should be just as mistrusting as Damon. And still…