Highland Scoundrel (Campbell Trilogy #3)(93)

“Archie has men looking for you everywhere since he heard the rumors of your return.” Her gaze flickered to Jeannie. “Please tell me you've found something to prove your innocence.”

Duncan shook his head. “Not yet.”

He repeated what he'd told Jamie, leaving out the part about meeting Jeannie at the alehouse. When the time came, Jamie removed the map and letter from his sporran and handed it to Lizzie who read it and passed it around to the others. Jeannie shook her head when it came to her—she knew what it said.

He could feel the weight of the question that was surely on everyone's mind: With her father and husband implicated, what was Jeannie's role in the plot against him? Instinctively, he moved closer to her, angling his shoulders like a shield, as if by blocking her from view he could protect her.

Not knowing the history between them, Lizzie's husband Patrick asked, “But how did Grant get the map? You said you had it in your sporran.”

Jeannie stiffened at his side, her fingers gripped the edge of the bench. He covered her hand with his, and for once, she didn't jerk it away. “Not the whole time. I removed my sporran when I returned to my tent the night before the battle.”

He was facing his sister and brother, but he could feel the weight of Jeannie's gaze on his profile.

Lizzie and Jamie were watching him with equal scrutiny. It was his brother who spoke first. “No one else could have taken it?”

Jeannie froze, her hand like ice under his. They both knew what his brother was asking: Did he still believe Jeannie had betrayed him?

Nothing had changed. He had no proof with which to disprove his original assessment. No proof but the certainty in his heart.

Jeannie hadn't betrayed him. He'd stake his life on it, which, in a way, he supposed he was.

Ten years ago he hadn't been able to give her the blind faith and loyalty that she deserved. He'd been too young, too unsure of himself, too caught up in ambition and the need to erase the stain of his birth. But he was no longer that unsure lad. He'd achieved everything he'd ever dreamed of—wealth, reputation, infamy—but had lost the one person that had made any of it matter.

It wasn't rational, but what was between he and Jeannie had never been so. It had been passionate and undeniable. A connection so strong he'd never felt anything close to it since.

He loved her and always would. The realization didn't surprise him as much as it should. She'd always been a part of him, even for the years they'd been apart. If there was a small chance for them, it was worth the risk.

He didn't hesitate, meeting Jamie's gaze full force. “Nay. No one else could have taken it.”

He heard Jeannie's sharp intake of breath as shock rippled through her, but he didn't trust himself to look at her. Not with a room full of people. Not when admitting that he'd been wrong meant he'd taken her innocence, promised to marry her, and deserted her. The girl who'd lost her mother and who'd looked to him as a rock to hold on to. God, what had he done?

Lizzie turned to Jamie. “Surely you can do something? Archie will listen to you.”

“I'll try,” Jamie said. “But I doubt it will do any good. You know how stubborn our cousin can be. He's believed Duncan guilty for ten years. It will take more than a map and a vaguely worded letter to convince him otherwise.”

Duncan sensed his sister's rising agitation. “But we have to do something.” Her voice held a frantic edge. Lizzie turned to Duncan. “If you don't find something to prove your innocence before Archie's men catch up with you …”

“Don't worry, Lizzie. I don't intend to make it easy on them,” he said.

Her husband put a hand on her arm to try to calm her down. “From what I hear your brother can take care of himself. He can take refuge in the hills with Niall Lamont if need be. Getting yourself upset won't help him.”

Lizzie nodded and took a deep breath. “I'm sorry. You're right. We should focus on finding proof that will convince our cousin. What of the men in the tent that night,” Lizzie said. “Who would have a reason to see you or the Campbells harmed?”

“And who would my father know to approach?”

Duncan turned to meet Jeannie's gaze, surprised by the observation. He wasn't the only one. Her cheeks heated as Jeannie suddenly found herself the center of attention.

She was right. Grant must have been fairly certain that the person he convinced to steal the map would do so.

“Who was in the tent that night?” Patrick asked.

Duncan repeated the names he'd told Jamie, but when he got to Colin, Patrick and Caitrina reacted instantly. Both stiffened, but where Caitrina's gaze flashed with pain, MacGregor's turned ice cold and deadly. Having learned of Colin's role in both of their tragedies, Duncan could understand why.

Lizzie paled, putting her hand on her husband's arm in a silent offer of comfort. MacGregor cooled a bit, but his eyes still burned with hatred. “If Auchinbreck was there,” he said. “You can be damn sure he had something to do with it.”

Caitrina looked as if she wanted to add to his assessment, but seemed to be biting her tongue.

“Jamie told me what happened,” Duncan said to them both.

“Colin? What has he done?” Jeannie asked, surprised.

Duncan shook his head and murmured that he would explain later. To Patrick he said, “I know you've reason to distrust my brother, but there are others with better motives.”