Free Entwined by Elizabeth Marshall Page B

to open given the look on his face.
    “Aye, that we could, but should this child fall into the wrong hands its power could be dangerous.”
    A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes and for a moment I thought he would say more, but silence fell over us. I felt afraid. My mind whirled with a million questions but I couldn’t think which one to ask first.
    “Maybe driving a knife through Angus’ ribs did us all a bigger favor than we thought,” I said.
    “Hmm, perhaps not,” he replied, lowering his eyes from the door to meet mine. “Angus was attempting to manipulate the legend to suit his own agenda, so, yes, it is best that he is gone. But he worked for the Dark Circle and they expected him to find something.”
    “Do you know what it was?” I asked hesitantly, for I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to know.
    “Yes, we think we do know. Duncan and I think he may have found it and kept the discovery to himself.”
    “Simon, I don’t understand. Why would he do what they wanted him to, and then not tell them?”
    “Corran, we think he was trying to manipulate Rose into bearing the child from the legend.”
    “Does she know?” I said, feeling suddenly faint as the pulse at the side of my neck quickened.
    He lowered his head, casting his eyes to the ground again, unable to meet my look.
    “Aye, she knows.”
    “Is she alright? Why didn’t someone tell me? It wasn’t fair to leave her to deal with all this on her own. She’s been so kind and all she’s done is ask after me and the baby, when this whole time she must have been beside herself with terror.”
    “No lass, she is fine, really.”
    “I doubt that,” I muttered under my breath, vowing to talk to the girl as soon as I got the chance.
    “So why did you grumble when I suggested that getting rid of him was a good thing?” I asked.
    “Because Angus was our only link to the Dark Circle.”
    “Ahh,” I replied. “There must be another way to infiltrate this group.”
    “I don’t know, but I am working on it and so is Duncan. We have to find them first. That is… assuming they haven’t figured out who we are yet.”
    “You don’t suppose they know I killed Angus do you?” I said, suddenly realizing the danger we were all in.
    “I am almost certain they know that something has happened to him.”
    “Oh dear God,” I groaned, with an exhausted sigh. “How much danger are we in?”
    “A fair bit, lass, and that is why you need to stay away from this damn shop.”
    “What about Rose? What happens if they know what Angus was planning?” I whispered.
    “We are quite sure that they have no idea about Rose. If they had, she would be dead now. However, I need you both to stay off the streets. If you don’t, there is little I can do to protect you.”
    “But surely if they have figured out it was us who killed him then they will know by now where we are?”
    “Aye, now that you have shown your face in the shop again there is a fair chance they will know exactly who you are,” he said sardonically. “So you tell me, Corran, what am I supposed to do with you now?”
    “I’m sorry, Simon. I wish you had talked to me about all this sooner, then I would have understood. I just thought -”
    “I only sought to protect you, lass. The less you know, the less harm you will come to. I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again: you, Duncan, and that wee one are my world, and I will fight to the death to protect the lot of you.”
    “What are we going to do now?” I asked, prizing myself out of the ancient chair and moving to stand in front of him.
    He rested a hand gently on my swollen belly and kissed the side of my cheek. “We are going to find a coat that fits you. It’s going to be a long winter and this coat is already too small,” he said.
    I laughed, gently resting the palm of my hand over his and felt the baby move. “Did you feel that?” I asked, as another little flutter told me our baby was moving closer to the warmth of our