“Boyd.” Isla put her hand to her chest, her shoulders sagging with relief. She hadn’t seen the man for three years but with his long black beard, he was instantly recognisable. “Good Lord, did you have to scare us so. My heart was about ready to burst.”
“I see Hendry was mistaken when he said you had lost your sight.”
“The problems with my vision are only temporary.” She narrowed her gaze. “What are you doing down here? Did Lachlan send you to find us?”
Ivana’s fingers curled around Isla’s forearm. “You know this man?” The odd hitch in Ivana’s voice troubled her as the lady usually held her calm demeanour even during intense situations.
“Of course. Boyd is the steward at Carrick Hall.” Isla turned her attention to the tall, scrawny man in front of them. “When we leave you can help us move the boulder back to block the entrance. It will save me troubling Lachlan.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be leaving here, Miss Maclean. As your friend said, when men are desperate they often resort to immoral means to achieve their goals.”
Isla shook her head, hoping she had misheard. “I don’t understand.”
“He intends to leave us down here,” Ivana replied, her tone brimming with reproof.
Isla gasped. Her frantic gaze locked with his. “But why?”
Boyd fiddled with his cravat, untied the bow and began unravelling the excessively long strip of material wrapped around his neck. “I’ll tell the villagers I saw you heading out on the road to Crieff with your companion,” he said ignoring her question. “Everyone likes to gossip. They will tell Lachlan they saw you, make up a reason for your unexpected visit. Lachlan will go looking for you. He’ll not rest until he knows you’re safe and well. In his desperation, he’ll not think to look down here. By the time he does it will be too late.”
Isla struggled to comprehend what she was hearing. For the first time in the three years, she wished she still suffered from the blood affliction. She would love nothing more than to bare her fangs and watch the blackguard plead for his life.
“That still doesn’t explain what this has to do with me?” she said, drawing on the courage that had kept her sane these last few years.
“I suspect it will have something to do with money,” Ivana said calmly. After battling with Nikolai, Boyd must seem rather tame in comparison. “Or the sort of deep-rooted jealousy that makes a man act like a depraved lunatic.”
Boyd sneered. Reaching into a small leather scabbard at his side, he withdrew a dagger. “I’d say your friend is a good judge of character.” Boyd used the blade to split the cravat into two similar sized pieces. “Put the lantern on the floor beside you.” Demonstrating the dagger’s menacing slash as a means to intimidate, Boyd threw a piece of material to Ivana. “Tie Miss Maclean’s hands behind her back.”
Ivana straightened. “And if I refuse?”
“You won’t,” he replied confidently. “I’m rather skilled with a blade.”
&
nbsp; “It is not the first time a man has threatened me in such a manner,” Ivana said with some arrogance. “I am sure it will not be the last.”
As Boyd waved the dagger back and forth, the sharp edge glistened in the subdued lighting. It suddenly occurred to Isla that Boyd was the one responsible for slaughtering the cattle. “You were the one who turned the villagers against me. You made me out to be a monster when you were the one terrorising the livestock each night.”
Boyd shrugged. “I had to find a way to distract Lachlan. You have always been his weakness. Either the need to prove your innocence would consume him, or he would run back to Edinburgh and drink himself to death. Both scenarios suited my plans. The fact you refuse to go out during the day made my task considerably easier.” He waved the knife at Ivana. “Enough talk. Now tie her hands.”
Ivana inclined her head.
Against her better judgement, Isla placed the lantern on the floor and let Ivana wrap the cloth loosely around her wrists and knot the ends. With her hands now tied behind her back, she was powerless to offer any objection.. She cursed inwardly.
Boyd gestured to the floor with his dagger. “Sit down.”
Begrudgingly, Isla complied. “I still don’t understand why you want rid of Lachlan. Or what any of this will achieve.”
Boyd shrugged. “Not that it is any of your business, but I don’t need him snooping around the accounts.”
“What did I tell you,” Ivana said with a hint of arrogance. “The man is desperate for money.”
Boyd’s face crumpled with disdain. “How can a man better himself when faced with obstacles at every turn? I have spent the last ten years pandering to Ewan Carrick with nothing to show for it but ink-stained fingers and an aching back. Six more months was all I needed to secure new premises for the distillery. But then Lachlan came back and …” He shook his head and grumbled to himself. “I’ve said too much already.”
Ivana cleared her throat. “I often find those with a history of criminal activity cannot wait to bare their soul. The need to justify one’s actions is a sign of man fraught with doubt and uncertainty.”
“I’ll cut you from throat to navel if you don’t shut that smart mouth,” Boyd barked. “Now turn around.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Ivana said as she turned to face the wall. “When they find us they will wonder why our hands are tied. It is a physical impossibility to do such a thing unaided.” Ivana winced and sucked in a breath as Boyd pulled the knot tight at her wrists.