Callum's Vow (The Victorian Highlanders Book 1) by Ellie St. Clair

Author:Ellie St. Clair
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Prairie Lily Press
Published: 2020-02-10T23:00:00+00:00

Callum was standing by the edge of the lake, looking out over the water, churning the facts of his cousin’s disappearance over in his mind, hopeful that something would come to him. He was stuck, unsure of what should be his next step. He turned when he heard a disturbance on the path behind him. Not surprised when the scuffled footsteps and cleared brush revealed Victoria, his lips curled into a grin.

“Are ye following me, lass? Our meetings seem to be a common occurrence.”

“No,” she said, sending him a scathing glare. “It’s a small town. And the fact is, I’m here to help you.”

“To help me? You look like the one who may currently need a hand.”

Victoria’s hair had partially fallen and was sticking to her face and neck. Her face was bright red, and she appeared to be suffering with the heat. She tugged at her dress as though perhaps it was uncomfortable.

“How do you expect me to look? You do know that women aren’t naturally put together, but that it takes work? And sometimes that work can be un-done, by heat and activity and—”

“I understand, Victoria,” Callum said, cutting her off before his mind could wander to what kind of activity would make her appear in such a way. He might have teased her about her current appearance, but to his mind, she looked all too inviting.

“Regardless,” she said, cutting into his thoughts. “I heard a conversation last night that I thought you would want to know about. I’m sorry, it completely slipped my mind. We were all caught up in my situation, and this was so important, and yet somehow I just—”

His exasperation at her rambling must have been apparent as she stopped suddenly.

“Right. I’ll move along.” She told him of the conversation she had heard outside the barn the evening before. “And,” she finished triumphantly, “at least one of the men lives at your boarding house! I saw him this morning when I called on you.”

“What did the three look like?”

She described them, and he easily recognized them as the old, craggy Alistair, strong and good-looking Chester, and finally the unkempt Brandon she had encountered that morning.

“Interesting,” he said without much emotion and eyed her suspiciously. “And why, lass, do you assume it is me who these men think ‘knows nothing about his cousin going missing’?”

“Oh!” Victoria flushed a darker red and averted her gaze. “Well, you see, earlier in the evening at the dance I was outside getting fresh air, and I saw you walking with a man. You were talking about finding out information, and then I heard this other conversation, and I thought perhaps the two were connected. That sounds ridiculous now that I listen to myself. I mean, really, what kind of connection could you have to someone who is missing? You’ve only just arrived!”

She took a breath and once more pulled her skirts away from her legs, then shifted her feet as though her boots were paining her. Sweat dripped down her forehead.

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