Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)

‘Of course not,’ I dismissed. A niggle of worry gnawed away at me. I wouldn’t put anything past Aifric Moncrieffe; he might change the law to suit his own purposes, although I couldn’t imagine that he’d get away with marrying someone off in absentia. Even he wasn’t that crazy. But the Moncrieffes were still in debt and they’d been counting on the Scrymgeour gold.

Morna laughed without much humour. ‘The other Clans would never let him do that. We’re living in the twenty-first century, not the first. And Byron is a decent boy. He wouldn’t permit it.’

‘He hasn’t seen or heard from his supposed fiancée in weeks and yet he’s apparently letting the wedding proceed,’ I pointed out, disgust in my voice.

‘He knows I’m here,’ Tipsania said dully. ‘My father knows I’m here and he’s going to force me to leave.’

Taylor shook his head. ‘He can’t. He couldn’t get past the border.’

I swung my head towards her. ‘Does he know you’re here?’ I asked sharply.

She sank down, her shoulders dropping in defeat. ‘I don’t know. It’s not like I left a note. I wasn’t followed here, I made sure of that.’

‘Did you tell anyone you were coming?’

Her face was completely miserable. ‘Only Candy. And Byron knew as well, of course, because he brought me.’

I exchanged glances with the others. ‘When was the last time you spoke to Candy?’

‘Last month.’ She gave me an icy glare. ‘If the phone signal was better…’

Exasperated, I pushed back my hair. I couldn’t solve all the problems in the world, regardless of what everyone thought. If all we had to worry about was the lack of a mobile phone mast, we’d be laughing. ‘Would Candy have confided in anyone else?’

She scowled. ‘If you’re asking whether he’d betray me then the answer is no.’

I hoped she was right. ‘Who else knows that the pair of you are together?’

‘Only Byron.’

I blinked in surprise. ‘Really?’

‘Byron wouldn’t know but for the fact that he walked in on us a while back. He didn’t care. He wasn’t interested in me in the first place and, unlike most Sidhe, he’s not against inter-species relationships.’

My heartstrings twanged with joy. It had been a long time since I’d believed that his relationship with Tipsania was anything but a farce but knowing for certain still made me feel like dancing on the ceiling. Lexie gave me a knowing glance and I immediately sobered up.

‘We should find out what’s going on,’ I said decisively. ‘I’ll investigate.’ I rather liked the idea of being Hercule Poirot; maybe I could invest in a moustache to twirl at appropriate moments. Hot pink, of course.

Taylor blew air through pursed lips. ‘It’s far too dangerous. What if someone sees you?’

It probably wouldn’t be wise to suggest my Poirot disguise idea. I pointed at Tipsania. ‘Hello? Invisibility?’

‘It won’t last for more than a few hours. That won’t even get you past Perth.’

Tipsania’s mouth flattened. ‘She can take my Gift from me. As much as she needs.’

‘You might regret that later,’ Brochan rumbled. He had a point. I didn’t want to draw on Tipsania’s Gift unless it was absolutely necessary. I’d already taken more from her than I probably should have when I ventured across the Veil to retrieve Matthew MacBain’s bones. ‘Besides,’ he continued, ‘a wedding is not that big a deal. It’s certainly not worth risking discovery over.’

‘You green-skinned oaf! It’s my wedding we’re talking about here! My life!’ Tipsania yelled.

‘But you’re here,’ he said calmly. ‘You can’t marry Byron Moncrieffe if you’re not at your own ceremony.’ His heavy shoulders rolled in a shrug. ‘So who cares?’

Even without the narrow glance he shot me, Brochan’s meaning was clear. I cared – whether anyone else wanted me to or not.

‘It’s not going to be difficult. All I have to do is get far enough north to get a signal and call the Bull. He’ll tell me what’s what.’ I smiled at Tipsania. ‘I can make sure he cancels the wedding.’ I had his true name, after all; I could make him dance the merengue with a stoor worm if I so wished.

‘You can’t compel him unless you’re face to face, and you can’t do that without him realising that you’re still alive.’

True. ‘Then I’ll meet him face to face. I’ll command him to keep my resurrection a secret.’

Taylor shook his head. ‘You’re putting too much faith in your ability to bend the Bull to your will. There are ways around those sorts of things. He could still drop enough hints to Aifric to make him doubt your death.’

‘I’m not sure the Bull is that intelligent.’ I realised I was casting aspersions on Tipsania’s father but she wasn’t listening. She was too wrapped up in her own panic and worry, pacing up and down and causing various haggis to flee out of her path with alarmed squeaks.

Brochan folded his arms. ‘You can’t take that chance.’

‘Much as I hate to say it, Tegs,’ Speck interjected, ‘I think he’s right. And we all know that you’re not concerned because of Tipsania. You should let Byron go.’

Lexie frowned. ‘Why should she?’

‘Well, for one thing he thinks she’s dead.’

‘That can be easily solved,’ she scoffed.

Somehow I doubted that. Even if I told Byron the truth, he’d probably never speak to me again. ‘This is about more than Byron,’ I said, not sure whether I was being honest with myself or not. ‘Something must be up for the wedding to be going ahead in Tipsania’s absence. We can’t allow Aifric’s machinations to continue and we need to know exactly what he’s up to. Knowledge is power, people.’

Bob beamed. ‘Indeed it is! I am a supremely knowledgeable being. It’s only natural that you’d want to be as wise and knowing as I am.’ Nobody acknowledged him but it didn’t seem to matter. He snapped his fingers, magicking up a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles and a mortar board.

‘Much as I hate to say it,’ Morna said, ‘I think this is worth investigating. Aifric Moncrieffe never does anything without good reason. Something worrying is going on here and it would pay to know what. It would be nice to think that you can hide here for the rest of your days but it’s completely unrealistic.’ She nodded. ‘We can kill two birds with one stone: find out what’s going on with the wedding, and make sure you have a decent enough handle on your Thievery Gift.’

Before the others could protest again, I said, ‘So it’s settled. And who knows? Maybe we’ll find what we need to bring Aifric down for good. We can get in touch with Angus, too. He might have other insights we can use.’ Suddenly, I felt buoyant with optimism. I clapped my hands. ‘Now all we need is a plan.’

Taylor looked as if he wanted to argue some more but in the end he just sighed. ‘We need to be sensible and make sure the odds are in our favour. The longer everyone believes in your death, the better.’ He jerked his chin at Brochan. ‘I think that has to include the Bull, too.’

May squeaked, no doubt sensing my excitement and I grinned in response. This could end up being a lot more fun than leaving the safety of the Adair Lands just to make a phone call. ‘No problem.’