Finn turned around and caught his young cousin inching closer, obviously bent on overhearing their conversation.
“We’re leaving for Dunrobin Castle at once,” Finn told him. “Your father wants ye home.”
Alex groaned. “Do I have to go?”
“You’re my means of redemption, so aye, ye do,” Finn said with a grin, and put an arm around his cousin’s shoulders. “Your father is so anxious to have ye brought home that he just may be willing to overlook my excursion with the Sinclairs and take me into his guard.”
“At least it’s you taking me,” Alex grumbled. “I’m surprised my father didn’t send thirty warriors to escort me, as if I couldn’t make it home by myself.”
“You’re the future earl, and he’s your father,” Finn said. “Ye cannot blame him for wanting to protect ye.”
“It was bad enough before,” Alex said. “But since that wee accident, he treats me like a bairn.”
“Just what was thisweeaccident?” Finn asked.
“I found shards of glass in the bottom of my cup,” Alex said with a shrug. “A servant must have broken something in the kitchen and not noticed that some pieces fell into the cup.”
Finn’s teasing manner disappeared. “When and where did this happen?”
“Here at Huntly Castle when my family was here for the gathering after the old earl died,” Alex said. “You’d already come and gone before we arrived.”
“The castle was verra crowded for the gathering,” Finn said.
Judging from his grim expression, Finn suspected the shards were no accident. And in a crowded castle, it would be difficult to discover who the culprit was.
“’Twas an accident, and I didn’t swallow the shards,” Alex complained. “But ye know what my da is like.”
“I do,” Finn said, his humor returned. “He suspects everyone is as sly and conniving as he is. And yet your father trusts me to take ye home.”
“That’s because Da knows you’d never harm me,” Alex said.
“He also knows I left the gathering before ye had yourweeaccident.”
“That may have enhanced his trust in you,” Alex agreed with a smile.
“Lucky for you, I’ve nowhere else to go,” Finn said, and ruffled Alex’s hair, “so we’re off to Dunrobin.”
“I need to go back to the castle first to bid farewell to someone.” Alex darted a glance at Margaret and blushed, confirming her guess that the someone was the lass he thought he was in love with.
“We can’t risk alerting anyone who may want to follow us,” Finn said, shaking his head. “If someone here does mean ye harm, they’ll be watching for ye to gather your things and make your goodbyes.”
Alex groaned but did not argue this time.
“When danger is chasing ye, always do the unexpected,” Finn told him with a wink. “Mount your horse—and you can tell me on the way who the lass is.”
Though he spoke in a light tone, Finn clearly took the threat seriously and was anxious to get Alex safely home to Dunrobin Castle.
Asking Finn to take her to her sister Sybil was out of the question, at least for now. Even if Alex’s safety were not at risk, she could not ask Finn to give up the chance to earn a position in his uncle’s guard and acceptance back into his clan.
“Where is Dunrobin?” she asked him as they rode off.
“In the far north, up in Sutherland.”
He was taking her farther from the Lowlands, her brothers, and her past life. And that was all she needed to know.
CHAPTER 13
Margaret started to object when Finn lifted Ella onto Alex’s horse, but Ella seemed happy to ride with him. Though Alex was a few years older than Ella’s brother Brian, Margaret suspected she took to Alex so quickly because she missed her brother. A wave of sadness swept over her at the thought of Brian. She touched the bag of broken onyx tied to her belt and told herself they would see him again one day.