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alive.
    “What the hell was all that about?” Brodie demanded, his jaw stiff with rage.
    He advanced toward Taliesan, and she backed up so quickly that her lame leg buckled. Her limbs got tangled and she went down hard.
    “Brodie,” Bowen said sharply. “You’re frightening the wits out of the lass.”
    Brodie scowled harder, but he stopped his advance and then, to Taliesan’s obvious befuddlement, he reached down and scooped her up, setting her upright once more.
    “Are you hurt?” Brodie demanded. “My apologies, mistress. ’Twas not my intention to frighten you. I am angered by what I just witnessed, and I’m puzzled as to why no one put a stop to it.”
    Taliesan swallowed with visible effort, her eyes flashing nervously among the four men standing before her.
    Behind Taliesan, Genevieve’s tormentors scooted discreetly in the opposite direction, but Bowen called them down.
    “You’ll not leave this hall without my by-your-leave,”he said in an icy tone. “And I’ll not give it until I have an explanation for the disparagement of the lass.”
    The McHugh man’s lips curled, and anger lit up the woman’s eyes. She fairly seethed, and her hands went to her hips.
    “ ’Tis not disparagement if ’tis the truth,” the woman said in a haughty tone.
    “And yet she championed you,” Bowen said softly. “I wonder why she bothered.”
    The woman flushed, her cheeks growing red. Her eyes lowered in shame, and the man shifted uncomfortably beside her.
    “She is naught but Ian’s whore,” the man muttered.
    Bowen exchanged glances with Teague, Brodie, and Aiden. Then his gaze settled on Taliesan. It was obvious he would find no answers here. None that would satisfy him at any rate.
    “Where would Genevieve have gone?” Bowen asked.
    His brother looked surprised. Brodie looked puzzled by Bowen’s question, and Bowen supposed he could understand their confusion. He had very abruptly turned the topic of conversation. But the truth was, he couldn’t stomach standing in front of Genevieve’s tormentors. What measure of person would seek to humiliate another in such a fashion?
    They had the matter of the McHugh holding to determine, as well as the fate of the clansmen, and yet he was inquiring as to the lass’s whereabouts. He wasn’t even sure himself why he’d asked, but the look in her eyes, the absolute desolation that had washed the color right out of her face, still haunted him.
    “She oft spends her time alone,” Taliesan whispered. “Usually in her chamber.”
    “And where is her chamber?” Bowen asked patiently.
    “ ’Tis up the stairs,” Taliesan stammered. “All the wayto the end of the hall. In the tower. Next to Ian’s chamber.”
    Bowen noted the hesitation in her voice, saw the way her gaze skittered sideways when she mentioned the proximity to Ian’s chamber.
    He wondered how much truth there was in the taunts of the others. The idea that this woman had been Ian’s mistress turned his stomach. How could she give herself willingly to an abuser of women? She well knew what had happened to Eveline. She’d been the one to point Graeme to the dungeon. And yet she’d willingly give her body to such a monster?
    His disgust nearly choked him.
    He glanced at Teague. “Have Taliesan give you a tour of the holding. Ensure that she suffers no pain or injury.”
    Taliesan flushed, her eyes cloudy with embarrassment over Bowen’s matter-of-fact reference to her damaged leg.
    To Bowen and Aiden he said, “ ’Tis a good idea for you to accompany Teague. We will meet in the courtyard after you’ve viewed all there is to see. Call the clansmen together so that we may address everyone in residence.”
    “And where are you going?” Teague asked, his brows drawn together as he stared at his older brother.
    “I have matters to discuss with Genevieve,” Bowen said.
    Genevieve sat rigidly on the small mat that served as her bed. She hadn’t bothered lighting a candle or pulling the