Legs shaking, stomach roiling, head spinning, Noah’s hand shot out to grab the hitching post. Splinters jabbed at his palm, but he didn’t care. The pain was better than the numbing tide that he could feel within him, preparing to flood his veins.
Images of Scott and Saoirse riding together on the horse erupted in Noah’s skull like an explosion. Not just that but every time he had seen them together, when they had no purpose talking to one another. Why, Scott could rarely hold a conversation with Noah without mentioning Saoirse’s beauty and charm at least a handful of times.
Nay, this cannae be right. Henry must be mistaken. He must have seen Scott with another lass and mistaken her for Saoirse.With all his injured heart, he wanted to keep his faith in his wife. After everything they had overcome to find happiness, he refused to believe that she would turn around and betray him like that.
“I’m sorry, M’Laird.” Henry bowed his head. “Truly, I wish I’d never seen it.”
Noah gripped the hitching post tighter. “Are ye certain that ye did? Did ye see that it was my wife with clear eyes? Could ye be mistaken?”
“Aye, I suppose I could, but why would yer Man-at-Arms behave in such a brutish manner, warnin’ me into silence, if it was anyone else? The lassdidlook like Her Ladyship. It was in the hayloft and, aye, I only caught one full glimpse of her, but I’d bet a hefty sum that me eyes were nae deceivin’ me.”
Noah shook his head. “Ye couldnae have seen her. When did ye say this was?”
“Three days ago, M’Laird.”
“She would have been with her sisters,” Noah pointed out, struggling for something solid to prove Henry wrong.
“She wasnae. Her sisters were takin’ naps in their chambers after they’d all been to the loch to swim. I ken because I overheard Mary, askin’ the chambermaids nae to bother them. Her Ladyship, however, dinnae take a nap that afternoon.”
Breathing hard, Noah fought to swallow the nausea that rose up from his stomach. Henryhadto be mistaken. Scott could have had any woman in the hayloft that afternoon, with every reason to try and protect her identity.
Christie Malloy!Hope flared in Noah’s mind.I’d wager it was Christie Malloy!If he remembered correctly, she looked a good deal like Saoirse: fair hair, the same height, the same figure, and blue eyes that could easily be mistaken. Of course,hiseyes would never compare the two as looking alike, but he had committed every detail of Saoirse’s face and body to memory. Henry had no reason to make such a distinction.
“Excuse me, Henry.” Noah pushed away from the hitching post. “I pray ye make it north with nay difficulty, and I’ll be sorry to see ye leave, but there is somethin’ I must attend to.”
He didn’t wait for Henry’s reply as he broke into a sprint, running as fast as he could for the house of Devin McCormick. The poor lad had only been married to Christie Malloy for a week, but perhaps Christie’s old habits with Scott had been harder to shake than she’d thought. And if shewascarrying Scott’s child, who would ever know that the father wasn’t Devin?
Skidding to a halt in front of the small stone cottage that Mr. Malloy’s livestock had likely paid for, Noah pounded on the door. He knew he shouldn’t let his trust in Saoirse waver, but he was beyond the point of remaining calm. He needed to hear his suspicions confirmed from Christie’s mouth, or the demons that had plagued him for years would come charging back into his head, shrieking their battle cries of heartbreak. Perhaps, if Saoirse had been there to pacify him, it would’ve been different, but she was all the way back at the Castle.
In Scott’s arms?Noah shook his head violently to jolt the painful image from his mind. She wouldn’t. History couldn’t repeat itself. If it did, it would obliterate him.
At last, the door creaked open to reveal the weary face of Devin McCormick. The man rubbed his tired eyes and yawned. A second later, he seemed to realize who was standing in front of him. His back straightened and he dropped his fist from his eyes.
“M’Laird?” Devin blinked in surprise.
“Is Christie here?” Noah didn’t bother with any pleasantries. There was no time, if he wanted to hold back the horde of demons that threatened to take over his thoughts.
Devin tilted his head to one side. “Christie? Nay, she’s gone with her maither to that healer up in Droghan. Her maither hasnae been well, ye see.” He paused. “Is somethin’ the matter?”
“Do ye ken when she’ll return?” Noah pressed.
Devin scratched at his short beard. “This evenin’. They were only goin’ to get some concoction or another, so could be sooner. I cannae say for sure.”
“Will ye fetch me when she does come back?” Noah tried to put on an expression of calm. “It’s urgent. I’ll pay ye well for yer troubles.”
Devin shrugged. “Aye, I suppose.” His confusion deepened the creases of his brow. “Is she in some sort of trouble?”
“Nay, but she was witness to somethin’,” Noah improvised. “A servant was beaten, and she was the only one who saw.”
Relief swept over Devin’s face. “Och, I see. That’s a terrible business, eh? Well, I’ll fetch ye when she returns. Will ye be at the Castle, or—”
“I’ll wait at the Wheatsheaf,” Noah interrupted, already walking away toward the village inn. With his mind in such turmoil, the Castle was the very last place he wanted to be.
I cannae see her before I ken for sure,he told himself as he stormed along.I cannae let her face my temper again, if she’s done nothin’ wrong. If I accuse her and Henry was mistaken, she’ll never forgive me.
Deep down, however, there was another reason that he needed to avoid the Castle and his wife. Cold, bone-chilling terror. The gut wrenching dread of possibly discovering that Henry was not wrong, and that Saoirse was just like Caitlin. No,worsethan Caitlin.
CHAPTER25