Page 87 of Deception of a Highlander

What had belonged to him, he amended to himself.

“Colin, what—”

“Shh!” Colin gave him a sharp look. “The lass needs sleep. She is exhausted, and I’ll no’ have ye waking her.”

Kieran let out a low curse. “I dinna care how tired she is. She wouldna be here had she been honest from the beginning.”

Did everyone take her damn side?

Colin opened his mouth to protest when Mariel shifted on the floor.

“How did I fall asleep?” Her voice was raspy with exhaustion. She climbed to her feet with Colin’s aid.

An unexpected wave of sympathy washed over Kieran. She did look tired. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen.

His heart hardened. He would not be as weak as the others. He did not have that luxury.

“Colin, leave.” Kieran stared directly at Mariel. “We need to talk.”

Colin hesitated before brushing past him.

Kieran stared down at Mariel and suddenly felt as tired as she looked. This had gone on too damn long already. “Why dinna ye tell me before now? I told ye I would help.”

The door at the top of the stairs opened once more. Irritation bristled along Kieran’s back.

Mariel heard the interruption too. Her voice dropped to a whisper, and she spoke in a rushed tone, “I tried so many times. But if you didn’t believe me or you killed me, Jack would have no one. I finally decided to trust you, but it was too late—”

Hamish interrupted her confession. “Laird?”

Kieran spun around with his hand on the hilt of his sword, making clear the threat. “What? What is it ye want?”

Hamish eyed the hilt and spoke in Gaelic, “There was a messenger on the coast earlier. Said he had a package for Mariel Brandon. I heard ye were awake and thought it best to bring it down here to ye.”

“Where is he now?” Kieran demanded. Finally, he could have confirmation of Mariel’s story.

Hamish shifted uncomfortably. “The guards, they dinna know about Mariel, and so they let him go.” He handed Kieran a smooth wooden box the size of a man’s fist.

“Let me see it,” Mariel said in Gaelic.

Kieran turned to her, unable to hide his shock. Mariel spoke Gaelic. Did the level of her deception have no limit?

He frowned and rolled the box in his hands. Something inside thunked against the wooden walls.

“Oh God, please stop.” The color drained from Mariel’s face as she approached. “I know that box. It’s from Aaron.” She reached with a trembling hand. “Let me see it.”

He hesitated at her request. The box was too small to hold a weapon of any bearing. Besides, she’d have to get through himself and Hamish first. An unlikely feat. With a shrug, Kieran dropped the parcel into her outstretched hand.

Mariel held it for a long minute; her eyes fixed on the harmless token. For someone so desperate, she certainly took a long time to open it.

She drew a deep breath and pulled the lid back. Her eyes went wide, and her hands trembled. “No,” she whispered.

The echo of her frantic breathing filled the room. “No,” she said again and shook her head vigorously. The box tumbled from her hand and landed in the rushes, the sound muted by the howling cry ripping from her throat.

CHAPTER 33

Mariel backed away from the box. Bile rose in her throat and choked off her cry.

The finger lying in the dirty straw was too small to be that of an adult.