She wasn’t interested in the Conalls, she knew them well enough—the tall dark headed Scot and the blonde one, both formidable as always, but utterly unimportant to her. The young boy she’d never seen before. There was only one that caught her attention, only one that sent rage rushing through her very fingertips, morphing into hatred as it settled inside her heart.
Eoghanan, the red-headed demon who’d taken from her the one man who could have delivered her from a life of solitude. She’d thought him dead. No one had seen the bastard McMillan brother in many moons. Clearly death had reached for him, the scar running the length of his body showed her that much, but he’d survived. Perhaps death was too much a kindness for him. He deserved to be subjected to the same lonely life he’d forced her to live.
When her beloved, Niall McMillan, had come to her the first time she’d been a young girl lost—left alone after the death of her grandmother, forced to survive with only her powers and the knowledge of herbs her grandmother had left her with. He’d given her a purpose and his heart.
One task in exchange for a life spent together—to help him gain his place as Laird. Years she’d worked for him, dutifully producing poisons, never asking questions, waiting for him to come to her, only accepting his love when he offered it.
They’d come so close to victory. Then Eoghanan had turned Baodan against Niall, and her beloved had met his death. No matter who ran the blade through him, Eoghanan was to blame. Once again, she was alone in the world—the witch in the woods, shunned until one wished bad fortune to fall upon another.
Soon, that bad fortune would reach Eoghanan. She would make sure he was as lonely as she.
She watched the group of men closely, following a short distance behind them as they made their way through the village, stopping to gather men and supplies. There would be a gathering at the castle and all were invited. It would be the perfect time to act against him, but first she needed to find his greatest weakness, the thing he loved most in the world, and rip it from him.
It would be a difficult job. The mysterious McMillan brother had no family of his own, no one had ever seen him in the company of a lass. But everyone cared about something. Jinty would find it in time.
Infectious laughter drifted from the direction she watched, and Jinty’s eye’s rested on the child once again. Eoghanan had the boy in his arms, and the look in his eyes was unmistakable. He cared for the child.
She couldn’t imagine why or what role this young boy now played in Eoghanan’s life, but there was no denying that he adored the child. He watched over him with cautious eyes, stood near him at all times. Whatever the reason, today the child was in his charge.
There was still much she would have to learn, but the gathering would be the perfect place to do so. If the child was now a permanent fixture in Eoghanan’s life, she could think of no greater revenge than to change that for him.
Chapter 31
As Eoghanan predicted, there was plenty of chaos the next morning as the group of women—Mitsy, Kenna, Rhona, Mary, Adelle, Bri, Blaire, and myself—tried to direct everyone to specific tasks for the day. However, after a few hours of disagreements and power struggles, we all fell into a nice routine, each of us setting to our tasks with a dogged determination to have our jobs completed before the men returned.
I’d been paired with Mitsy for the day and found myself with the very easy and enjoyable task of overseeing Jeffrey, Adelle’s husband, Hew, and a handful of other men as they set up tents for the other arriving guests.
“Are you sure I’m not needed anywhere else? I feel a bit guilty, watching these guys work when all of the other women are busy working inside.”
Mitsy placed a hand on my arm to keep me from getting up. “I am absolutely sure. Believe me. Kenna, Rhona, Adelle, and Mary each have control over a quarter of the castle, which is just how they like it. They feel like they’re playing boss, but they won’t be in each other’s way. Bri is busy with baby Ellie, and I’m too hot and pregnant to do much of anything. And I don’t want to be alone, so that’s where you come in.”
“Okay, but are you sure you don’t want to hang with Bri and the baby? I could help with the work that way.”
“No,” she said the word quite urgently.
I realized that her impending motherhood had her scared to death. She didn’t want to be around babies just yet. I understood completely. I’d been much the same way.
“Okay, I’ll stay. It will all be alright, you know?” I relaxed, leaning back against the side of the castle, realizing that it was rather foolish to argue myself into more work. “It’s scary, especially when you didn’t grow up dreaming of being a mother.” She looked surprised that I would infer this about her. “I didn’t either, but I promise, you just take it one day at a time. It will be the best thing that ever happens to you.”
Her lip suddenly quivered, and I reached out to rub her shoulder, understanding all too well the swell of emotions pregnancy hormones could bring.