Page 44 of His Secret Highland Bride

Shane pulled his brother outside before he finished his announcement.

“You have a woman in your bed,” Alec said as if Shane had not noticed.

“I know, and I was enjoying being in bed next to her until you came pounding on my door. What do you want? I plan to be up at the castle in a few hours.” He’d wanted to spend more time with Lindsay that day, having left her alone so much the past two days.

There was nothing another day of looking at the dusty books would do. It wasn’t likely to get any better for him poring over them.

“She’s gone,” Alec said while running his hand through brown hair the same color as Shane’s, just a little shorter.

“Who’s gone?”

“Deirdre.”

“Aye. She’s going to see Ronan. I told her to go. I’m sure he’ll be cursing me for it.”

Alec shook his head. “Nay. One doesn’t take all their belongings for a visit.”

“Ye said she moved her things from the laird’s chamber.”

“Aye, but she didn’t move them anywhere else.”

“Well, if she has gone, all the better. I’m happy to see her back for the last time.” Shane had enough things to worry over. Having his stepmother sniffling around, begging to buy things they didn’t have the money for, was something he’d be happy to avoid. It would’ve been nice to have her jewels so he might sell them.

But Alec was still shaking his head and rolled his eyes as if Shane was missing something important. “She didn’t just take her belongings. She took her boxes of jewels, as well as the coin Father kept hidden in his rooms. It seems she took as much as she could carry.”

“Bloody hell,” Shane said, rushing back into the house to don his plaid and kiss his wife a hasty goodbye. “I’m sorry, but I must go. There’s something wrong at the castle, and I must offer my assistance. Someone will be here soon to guard ye.”

She smiled, nothing but trust in her dark eyes. “I will see you when you return.”

“Aye.” With a longer kiss, he was gone.

Alec hadn’t come inside but had been standing at the door as Shane gave his wife his goodbyes. His brother’s face was a shade of pink he’d not seen in a long time.

“She is lovely,” he said as they hurried for the castle.

“Aye.” Lindsay was more than lovely, and he was proud to call her his. There was barely any of her body he had not touched with his lips.

“You’ll send a trusted warrior back to her to stand guard,” he ordered, and Alec gave a single nod.

Shane was irritated to have been robbed of the jewels and trinkets he might have sold to make a bit of coin for his people, but he couldn’t help but be thankful Deirdre was out of his life, no matter the cost—until they arrived in the study and Shane noticed the ledgers had been disturbed from the place he’d left them the night before.

“Alec?”

“Yes?”

“What of the coffers?”

Two strong boxes under the large desk held the laird’s coin to be used for the clan. Or rather what was left of it.

“I didn’t think to check them. She wouldn’t have had a key, and they are too heavy for her to have moved them.”

Shane spun around the side of the desk and closed his eyes as if not seeing it would make it less true. The boxes were both hanging open; neither had a coin inside. It was clear Deirdre had enlisted help in robbing them, for she’d not have been able to carry such a heavy load herself.

“We need to find her before she buys another bloody ship,” Shane said while slamming his fist on the top of the desk.

Chapter Seventeen

Shane quickly wrote a letter to his stepbrother and had their fastest rider summoned to deliver it immediately with the order to wait for a reply before returning.