After only a brief hesitation, Emily quickly stripped off her plaid and shift. Cait tied both bundles to the free end of the rope before lowering it out the window. Once that was done, she disappeared out the window herself. Emily climbed on the table and then leaned out to watch her friend's progress down the dangerous climb.
The fact that Cait was naked wasn't nearly as disconcerting as how far she would have to fall if her hand slipped on the rope. But Cait reached the ground faster than Emily would have thought possible and then it was her turn.
She climbed out the window, focused on the task at hand and not how far down the ground was. Without her dress on, she could wrap the rope around one leg, giving herself a sense of security, even if it was false. She also wasn't as heavy without her plaid and thought Cait must have considered that.
She used the knots in the rope as natural resting places and took a lot longer to reach the ground than Cait had. A cold wind buffeted her nakedness, but the exertion from the climb kept her from getting chilled. By the time she reached the ground though, her arms were shaking from the strain and she was grateful for her friend's help untangling from the rope. She dressed quickly, noting Cait had already done so.
They left the rope dangling. Although Emily knew they wouldn't use it to reenter the castle, there was no way to hide it. If Drustan or Lachlan found it, they would most likely assume the worst and believe she and Cait had left it there to help Talorc inside the keep. She doubted they would suspect the women had used it for escape instead.
The skies were gray with clouds that threatened rain, and she and Cait hurried as they avoided the path and the Balmoral cottages on the way to the loch. They stayed in the shelter of the trees as they circled to the other side of it.
Suddenly the big gray wolf from the day before was there, right in front of them. Emily gasped, but Cait ran forward to hug her brother's neck.
"We've got to talk to you," she said to the wolf.
He looked over at Emily and then back at Cait. She sighed and stood. "I think he wants us to turn our backs before he will change. It is considered a very private matter for our kind."
Emily turned away, thinking Cait had been softening the truth. No doubt Talorc did not care if he changed in front of his sister, but an Englishwoman he'd already rejected as a possible wife was another matter.
"What is she doing with you?" he demanded and both women turned to face him.
He was naked. She should have guessed he would be, but she felt herself blushing and averting her gaze. The Chrechte were a lot less concerned about nudity than the English.
"Trying to prevent war between my new clan and my old one," Cait said with some asperity.
"She has mated with the Balmoral."
"No, I haven't," Emily said, "but that's not important right now. Your sister is a Balmoral and she doesn't want war. She is my friend and for her sake I want to see it averted as well."
"I will never take you for a mate now."
She rolled her eyes and then met his gaze. "That is hardly news. We established that before your sister and I were ever kidnapped."
He grunted. "True."
"We need to know if you saw who killed the Balmoral soldier," Cait quickly slotted in.
Talorc frowned. "I did, though I was too far away to prevent it. The killer approached me afterward."
"He approached you? Why?" Cait demanded, sounding as shocked as Emily felt.
"He wants me to kill the Balmoral… he wants control of the Balmoral clan."
Cait's face flamed with fury. "Drustan would never do that!"
"I did not say it was your new mate."
"But who else would believe they could take over the clan?"
"Ulf," Emily guessed.
Cait just stared at her and Talorc nodded.
"We humans don't think we are nearly as incompetent and useless as the Chrechte do."
Cait looked affronted. "I didn't say you were useless."
"No, but you never guessed a human would believe he could take over a clan with a pack in it and yet isn't that exactly what MacAlpin did when he betrayed the Chrechte? Only he took over all of Scotland."
"You are smart… for an Englishwoman," Talorc said. He turned to Cait. "She's right. Our stepmother was another prime example. Look at the damage she did and she wasn't even of Chrechte descent."
"But Drustan would kill Ulf."
"Not if he blamed your brother for Lachlan's death," Emily said.
Cait's face drained of color as she met Talorc's serious gaze. "He would support the murdering pig out of loyalty and try to avenge Lachlan's death by killing you."
"Yes. Ulf is a murderer, too. The young soldier did not even have a chance." Talorc's distaste was obvious. "He suspected nothing before the first knife thrust straight to his heart."
"The rest of the cuts were to make it look like an animal had done it. You as a wolf."
"Yes, but if it worked, I'm wondering what kind of fool your new laird is."
"So does Ulf, all the time," Emily said.
"But why do you?" Cait asked.
"Why were you so sure I had not done it?" he asked her in place of an answer.
Cait stared. "You're my brother. You would not murder an untried soldier."
"If he had surprised me, I would have killed in self-defense."
"But he could not have surprised you."
"This is true," Talorc said arrogantly. "But there is another reason I believe you were so sure it was not me or one of my soldiers. Perhaps you did not realize it at the time, but if you saw the body, it played into your certainty."
"You have more Sinclairs here?" Emily asked.
Talorc shrugged. Thunder cracked ominously in the sky.
"I did see the body." Cait looked like she'd just grasped something. "If a werewolf had done it in wolf form, he would have torn out the soldier's throat and he would have left a scent."
"Yes. Now, why hasn't your new laird realized that, I'm wondering?"
"Maybe because I suspected you'd done the killing and wanted it to look like a human had done it instead," Lachlan said as he stepped from the bushes. He was glaring at Talorc with fury-filled eyes.
"How long have you been there?" Emily asked, wondering if he had heard the name of the murderer.
Lachlan ignored her, his gaze never leaving Talorc.
"How did I get close enough to use a knife?" Talorc asked. Before Lachlan could answer, he went on, "Your soldier would never have let me get that close. I could have thrown the knife, but even a young werewolf would have heard it whistling in the air and ducked. Then he would have yelled, or run… but regardless, I could not have gotten close enough to kill him without leaving a scent. No, he was killed while I watched, helpless to prevent it, from the other side of the loch."
"And you would have me believe you would have stopped it?"
"The boy was Balmoral, but he was also Chrechte. Yes, I would have stopped his death if I could. For the same reason you chose to kidnap my sister and wed her to Susannah's brother rather than declare war between our clans."
"It was a more fitting form of reparation."
"And an effective one. I'll miss seeing my sister daily and watching her child grow up."
Cait made a soft sound at that. "You will not demand custody of my babe?"
He shook his head. "Do you not know me better than that? You're my sister. I would not hurt you by taking your child. He will be raised to know our ways among the Balmoral just as he would among the Sinclair pack."
"Yes, he will," Cait promised, her relief palpable.
"Your father would have gone to war over the perceived insult," Talorc said to Lachlan.
"I am not my father."