“They’re probably justglad that you’re safe. Aaron and I aren’t all that exciting to them,” Izzy said as she stepped into theroom, her eyes scanning Margaret’s artwork. “This is quite nice. I didn’t know you were a painter.”
“You think it’s good?”Margaret asked as she looked at the landscape she’d been working on with an eyebrow raised. It was better than it had looked when Ryan had approached her a few days ago, but she wouldn’t consider it impressive. “Truly?”
“Well,I don’t think I could do something like that,” Izzy said, pointing at a particularly well-shaded tree. “This is magnificent. Is it a tree from back home?”
Margaret couldn’t helpbut giggle as she said, “It’s supposed to be the view from out this window.”
Izzy coveredher mouth as her shoulder shook with laughter. She attempted to get control of herself, but when she said, “Oh, I see it now,” each word was punctuated by a giggle. “It’s quite nice, actually.”
“Perhaps I should take a break,”Margaret said good-naturedly as she put her paintbrush and palette down. “Would you like to take a walk with me? Some fresh air would do me good.”
Izzy straightened out with a smile,finally regaining herself. “That’s exactly what I was coming to ask of you. It’s a beautiful day. The gardens of Castle McGhee are so much more enjoyable when you’re walking with someone else.”
“You’re right,”Margaret said, wiping her hands on a flannel before hooking her arm with Izzy’s and leading her through the corridor. “It’s become a favorite pastime of mine. My family’s garden in England isn’t anywhere near as nice as the garden here.”
When they reached the garden,Izzy quietly said, “I don’t mean to pry, but how have you been doing? I haven’t heard you talking about it with anyone. Not even the maids have anything to say on the matter. Aside from being glad that you’re safe of course.”
“You’ve been askingthe maids for information?” Margaret joked, earning herself a half-smile from her friend.
“They do like to gossip,don’t they? I don’t even have to ask; they offer the information freely,” Izzy countered. Then, more seriously, she said, “But you are doing all right, aren’t you? Ryan’s been looking after you?”
Margaret smiled,remembering how gentle Ryan had been with her since her ordeal. It wasn’t a large deviation from his standard behavior, but she could tell that he watched his words and cut down on his teasing a bit. She didn’t think that it was completely necessary though she wasn’t going to stop him.
It’s quitenice to see him in that way. And I like knowing that I’m the only one who gets to see him in that way.
“I’m all right,”Margaret assured Izzy as they passed by a rosebush. She glanced at Izzy, debating whether she should share everything. After a moment, she decided it would be niceto have someone else who knew what was going through her mind. “Well, as all right as I can be, but I have had some nightmares about it. Ryan’s been quite sweet about being woken up by me.”
“They go away,”Izzy said sympathetically, patting Margaret’s arm gently. She was quiet for a beat, considering. “You know, I was kidnapped, too. I wasn’t as lucky as you were. The man behind my brother’s death knocked me out and dragged me through the forest. I sustained a few injuries that took some time to heal. Aaron got to me before anything worse could happen to me, and Ryan helped, too. He’s a good man.”
The senseof kinship Margaret felt with Izzy deepened with her friend’s confession. Not only were they both Englishwomen married to Highlanders, but they’d both experienced something quite traumatic as well. She felt as though the two of them were meant to meet and that she’d made a lifelong friend in Izzy.
The more Ithink about it, the more sure I am that this is where I was always supposed to be.
“I’msorry that happened to you,” Margaret said, leading Izzy to a bench on the edge of the garden, the same that she and Ryan had settled on several days ago. “But I’m glad that Aaron was there for you. Ryan, too.”
“I feel the same way,”Izzy said as they settled down. With overwhelming gentleness, she added, “I’ll always be here if you ever need to talk about anything. The memories… they get easierto deal with, but there are some days that they’re heavier than others. I’m only a letter away.”
“I appreciatethat more than you’ll ever know. It’s… comforting knowing that I have someone who understands the experience I went through,” Margaret said, her chest swelling with affection. “You can talk to me about anything, too. I hope you know that.”
“I do,”Izzy confirmed confidently. “I think the two of us are going to be good friends, Margaret. I’m sorry that I missed your wedding, but I won’t miss anything else again.”
“There’sno need to apologize for that,” Margaret said, looking away from Izzy’s side profile to the flowers and bushes in front of them. “What matters is that you’re here now.”
“So he finally squealed,”Gerald Matheson, one of Ryan’s councilmen, the very one who’d been demanding an heir for the past six months, said.
With the help of Aaron,Ryan had cornered Gerald. It had taken a bit of force to get him to the dungeon, and as a precaution, they bound him to a chair. He seemed as though he might be inclined to attempt an escape.
Now,though, Gerald seemed to accept the position in which he found himself in. There was no more struggling, only a defiant resignation.
“Hunger is a powerful motivator,”Ryan replied evenly. “Ye should ken that. We caught him stealin’ from the inn. If ye wanted him to keep quiet, ye should have ensured he was fed so he didnae get himself caught.”
“It’snae me fault that the dobber couldnae manage the amount he was paid,” Gerald said dismissively. “I shouldnae have hired someone like him.”
Aaron scoffed and then said,“So ye admit ye paid him to kill the previous Laird?”
Gerald spatonto the stone floor in front of him, a sneer on his face. “Ye already ken if ye have me like this. Laird McGhee is nae in the habit of throwin’ innocents in the dungeon.”
“Ach, ye’re right,”Ryan said, stepping in before Aaron could say anything else. “I daenae want me people to fear me. That doesnae mean I’ll go easy on ye now though.”