Page 58 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

“Iwas wonderin’ where the lot of ye had gone off to,” Willy said as he stepped into the solar.

He had changed, looking much more ready for the celebration. Hendry knew that he still had weapons concealed on his body, a tactical preparedness that he appreciated even more now. There was a tightness in his jaw, though: a tick that felt impossible to ignore.

“We were simply distractin’ the hermit before his presence is required amongst the guests,” Sebastian said, waving Hendry’s man-at-arms fully into the fold. “And givin’ him a bit of whisky so he doesnae scare away any of the ladies with more delicate sensibilities.”

Hendry grunted, pushing his glass aside. Standing from where he had finally settled nearly half an hour ago, he glanced at his gathered allies. They didn’t seem to pick up on the way Willy held himself. Hendry could not expect them to. His right-hand man was an expert when it came to concealing his emotions.

“Perhaps ye should prime them for me, then,” Hendry said, the words a clear dismissal of the casual gathering. His eyes never left Willy. “I will join ye when I can.”

The men did not raise any objections, all of them finishing their glasses of whisky without another word. As they filed out slowly, O’Kingsley looked over his shoulder, holding Hendry’s gaze and saying, “If there is anythin’ ye need from us, we willnae hesitate to act.”

“Aye,” Hendry said, waiting until the men had slipped away to give Willy his full attention. “Give me yer report.”

“Though I cannae say for sure, I believe we have been compromised,” Willy said, his voice steady as he delivered the news that Hendry had been bracing for since the morning. “If it werenae for the chaos of the day, I would have investigated further before bringin’ it to ye.”

“Ye did as I wished,” Hendry said, already walking toward the doors, indicating for Willy to follow him.

Outside, the other men were still standing, their faces grim. Though they may not have understood the gravity of the situation with Willy’s initial arrival, Hendry's dismissal of them must have tipped them off. They did not ask what had happened; they simply fell into line, marching through the halls with a solemnity that betrayed the laughter and revelry taking place at the other end of the winding corridors.

No one spoke as they moved, a silent procession that wound its way straight to Hendry’s study. Once they were all inside, Hendry went straight to his desk while Willy closed the door. When he moved away, O’Kingsley positioned himself there, his arms crossed over his chest as he became a human barrier between the group and the world outside.

Hendry pulled a key from within his pouch, something that he had kept on him since he had retrieved the piece of tartan from his hawk. As he slotted it into the brass lock of the bottom drawer of his desk, the attention in the room seemed to shift and sharpen. As he slid it open, revealing the letters and the tartan, his resolve hardened.

“Willy, what was the activity ye noticed?” Hendry asked as he placed the missives on the desk, the strip of fabric finding its resting place next to the rough sketches he had made of the tunnels that lined the castle’s interior.

“I spotted a figure movin’ along the eastern wall,” Willy said dutifully, not wasting a single word. “When I went to investigate, he had slipped away. Rather than pursuit, I came to ye.”

“As I had hoped ye would,” Hendry said, giving a sharp nod of approval. His eyes swept over the others that were gathered. “This isnae the only evidence we have of an intruder bein’ close, though it is the first time any of us have properly seen him. There were unidentified tracks just outside of the wall, these letters from Laird MacGowan, and a piece of tartan that was attached to a messenger hawk that was meant to find O’Kingsley.”

“I havenae received a hawk from ye in the last month,” O’Kingsley reported, confirming Hendry’s suspicions.

“Aye, I had assumed that ye hadnae.” Hendry tapped the fabric. “This was his first callin’ card, a confirmation that we were bein’ watched. But I am beginnin’ to suspect that we were bein’ watched for much longer than any of us have realized.”

The words settled over the room like a cold front moving in. The air chilled, and the only sound was their breathing and the conversations that drifted in through the partially open window. Hendry pressed his fingertips into the surface of the desk, his mind racing through every possible scenario they would encounter.

“Each warrior attendin’ the bindin’ will be armed beneath his plaid,” Hendry said, the look on the faces of his men confirming that they had come to the same conclusion. “We willnae allow any panic to reach the guests, nor will we interrupt the celebrations. Doin’ so would alert our enemy that we are aware that he is nearby.”

“Aye, we wouldnae dream of causin’ any undue stress, especially nay when spirits are so high,” Fergus said, squaring his shoulders and meeting Hendry’s gaze. “If we can allow our people to get through the day without alertin’ them to any trouble, then that is what we aim to do.”

“Ye are correct,” Hendry said, staring down at the collection of items, the proof that MacGowan and his men were likely nearby and watching them this very minute. “But every clan represented within Castle Anderson will stand ready for bloodshed.”

“We will pass the word on, Laird Anderson,” O’Kingsley said, shifting his stance into one of operative preparedness. “All of us are ready for whatever may come.”

For a moment, they sat with the heaviness. This was not the first time they had gone into battle. Their capability was never a question in Hendry’s mind. But the stakes were so much higher for him now. It was not just his people he needed to protect, but Aurora and her brother as well.

This moment was where he would make good on his promise to her. All of the trust that she put in him was not a gift he could take for granted. He would prove to her that the risk she took was the right one.

“Thank ye,” Hendry said, lifting his eyes from where they had come to rest on the MacGonagal seal. “Thank all of ye for honorin’ me.”

The men absorbed his words, and for a beat, Hendry was sure that they would simply accept his gratitude without further acknowledgement. But then, Sebastian chuckled, deep and only tinged with a hint of humor, “Did ye truly think we would miss a chance to save yer miserable hide?”

Hendry huffed, the sound nearly a chuckle. This was not about him. He was willing to put his life on the line. That was an acceptable outcome. What was not acceptable was Aurora’s safety being jeopardized.

But he willnae hurt her.

* * *

As Aurora entered the foyer, she noted how much denser the crowd had grown in a short time. She had not realized just how many clans Hendry was allied with, nor how many people lived within the castle. Stepping into the fray drew more eyes than she could possibly count.