Page 67 of Highland Spy

Her sigh fogged in the icy air and she gave him a ready smile. “At least the company will be good.”

But the company was not good those next two days, nor did the rain abate.

Ariana had tried to offer conversation, but Connor had not been receptive and eventually her lighthearted attempts had faded into silence.

Talking to her made him want to know too much about her, hearing her laugh only made him want to encourage her joy, being closer to her only made him want to be nearer still.

His heart was heavy knowing he was the cause of the severe silence, but he was not strong enough to endure the temptation of Ariana Fitzroy.

He knew she too was miserable. Her white-knuckled grip on the plaid under her chin only loosened when they stayed at the inn the second night. It was a modest place, clean, with good hot food and an owner who asked no questions.

It had been easy to secure two separate rooms without issue.

The final day of their journey was just as wet and, if possible, even colder.

The scenery had given way to the gentle rolling swells of hills with a blue loch beyond.

Home.

He had not been back in over three years.

His heart thundered in his chest at the prospect and he suddenly found himself wishing simultaneously that it was further away and closer all at once.

Regardless of what he wished, Urquhart Castle came slowly into view, powerful and stoic, set in a protective bit of land jutting into Loch Ness.

Visible windows on the castle’s face stood dark, like the gaping empty sockets of a skull. Urquhart Castle, a place which once held such life, such memories of love and happiness, now stood cold and dark and dead.

“Is something wrong?” Ariana’s voice jarred him from his mental lamentation. She peered at him from beneath her plaid, her face little more than a circle of white against the dark, rain-soaked wool.

He had not realized he’d stopped the horse.

His throat had grown tight and he had to swallow before speaking. “We’ll stay here tonight. It’s near Loch Manor.”

Thinking of Loch Manor made his thoughts stray toward his impending mission to kill MacAlister. And it made Connor think of Cora and the question which had been plaguing him. If MacAlister was already married, what the hell was he doing with Connor’s sister?

Ariana’s gaze was drawn toward Urquhart Castle. “Are they expecting us?”

The drawbridge, he noticed, was lowered, but the grid pattern of the portcullis was dark against the darkness beyond.

At least someone had left the castle secure.

“There isna anyone to expect us.” He urged his horse across the drawbridge. “The castle is empty.”

The bridge was firm under the hearty thunk of their horses’ hooves, a relief considering the poor state of the moat. Debris dotted the crevice of earth and thick puddles of murky water churned with the driving rain.

Doubtless nothing had been cared for in his absence.

Connor stopped beneath the wood-beamed structure in the center of the bridge. It wasn’t much of a cover, but it would be better than nothing.

He leapt from his horse. “I’ll need ye to stay here while I scale the wall.”

Ariana slid from her steed and accepted the reins of his horse from him. The leather was heavy and swollen with rain. She turned an assessing gaze toward the wall. “I could do it if you show me how.”

He pulled a grappling hook from his pack and slung the heavy coil of rope over his shoulder. “Perhaps a lesson when there’s no’ as much rain and we’re dry.”

She gave a nod from the depths of her plaid and he made his way toward the castle.

Ariana’s gaze went with him, heavy on his shoulders, but he paid her little mind. All he could think of was what lay before him.