tower prison or the dungeon, the outer bailey, the inner bailey, the stables, and the wall walk, most of the castle is off-limits to the film crew,â Duncan said.
Dark and Dangerous made it clear that the private quarters wouldnât be accessible. And thatâs where Julia needed to be. Every deviation from the plans had to be preapproved by Ian MacNeill himself. From what Duncan MacNeill said, there would be no deviation. She figured that meant herâalso.
After laying down the law, Duncan cast a glance at the party of men and then at Maria and Julia, as if punctuating his rules to each and every one of them, and measuring them to see if any would cause the clan any difficulty. His gaze briefly stopped on Maria. He frowned. Straightening her petite stature, Maria stared right back at him, not one to be intimidated. But Julia wondered why he was considering her for longer than was necessaryâmaybe he was interested in her after all?
Then his attention shifted to Julia, and the furrows in his brow deepened further. A shiver of warning penetrated her bones, but she held his dark gaze, trying to brush off the unwelcome feeling. He didnât like it that Ian seemed to be interested in her, she figured.
Duncanâs forbidding expression didnât waver, but he returned his attention to the director, gave a stiff nod, ignored the production manager, turned, and stalked off with his men-at-arms. At least thatâs the way Julia considered them, like lethal bodyguards if theyâd been in the States, guarding some very important person. Even though he didnât look like he needed anyoneâs protection.
She sighed. She felt at home in Scotland already, despite Duncanâs attitude. Her ties to the Campbell and MacPherson clans through her fatherâs roots, and the Fraser clan through her motherâs, had stirred an interest in all things Scottish all over again. Everything about the castle felt right as far as the atmosphere, the look of the handsome Scots, and the feel of the stone fortifications with green moss clinging to them and softening their rigid look.
Now, she just had to get inside the keep and take notes about the rest of the place, find the secret niche while she was at it, and sheâd be done.
As long as she didnât get caught.
After standing on the wall walk issuing orders, Laird MacNeill hadnât even bothered to come down to speak to the production manager. Not even to see her up close, which told her the way of things. Once she was here in the capacity of working with the film crewâat least thatâs what heâd assumeâshe was bad news. Was coming down here to at least meet with the director beneath his lairdship? But how long would that last once the filming began?
She imagined there wasnât any way Laird MacNeill could control everything that went on during the filming. Would he stand on the castle wall walk, as he did now, way up above with his arms crossed over his broad chest and wearing a mighty scowl while he watched the proceedings? And if things didnât go as planned, perhaps he would motion to the archers lining the wall walk and a rain of arrows would pour down upon the movie crew.
She had too vivid an imagination.
Miscalculating the human equation, she had falsely assumed the people living here would be excited to have a film produced at their castle and would greet the director with enthusiasm and support. Where movies had been filmed at other castles, websites had proudly proclaimed the fact. Up until now, at every place the film crew had been, the Scots had been generous and friendly. She imagined there would be none of that here. In fact, Maria had said that the MacNeills didnât even have a website. After doing a little research, Julia had found that the castle had never been open to the public. Under siege and breached a few times during major strife, yes, but never willingly open to the public.
That made her
Dark and Dangerous made it clear that the private quarters wouldnât be accessible. And thatâs where Julia needed to be. Every deviation from the plans had to be preapproved by Ian MacNeill himself. From what Duncan MacNeill said, there would be no deviation. She figured that meant herâalso.
After laying down the law, Duncan cast a glance at the party of men and then at Maria and Julia, as if punctuating his rules to each and every one of them, and measuring them to see if any would cause the clan any difficulty. His gaze briefly stopped on Maria. He frowned. Straightening her petite stature, Maria stared right back at him, not one to be intimidated. But Julia wondered why he was considering her for longer than was necessaryâmaybe he was interested in her after all?
Then his attention shifted to Julia, and the furrows in his brow deepened further. A shiver of warning penetrated her bones, but she held his dark gaze, trying to brush off the unwelcome feeling. He didnât like it that Ian seemed to be interested in her, she figured.
Duncanâs forbidding expression didnât waver, but he returned his attention to the director, gave a stiff nod, ignored the production manager, turned, and stalked off with his men-at-arms. At least thatâs the way Julia considered them, like lethal bodyguards if theyâd been in the States, guarding some very important person. Even though he didnât look like he needed anyoneâs protection.
She sighed. She felt at home in Scotland already, despite Duncanâs attitude. Her ties to the Campbell and MacPherson clans through her fatherâs roots, and the Fraser clan through her motherâs, had stirred an interest in all things Scottish all over again. Everything about the castle felt right as far as the atmosphere, the look of the handsome Scots, and the feel of the stone fortifications with green moss clinging to them and softening their rigid look.
Now, she just had to get inside the keep and take notes about the rest of the place, find the secret niche while she was at it, and sheâd be done.
As long as she didnât get caught.
After standing on the wall walk issuing orders, Laird MacNeill hadnât even bothered to come down to speak to the production manager. Not even to see her up close, which told her the way of things. Once she was here in the capacity of working with the film crewâat least thatâs what heâd assumeâshe was bad news. Was coming down here to at least meet with the director beneath his lairdship? But how long would that last once the filming began?
She imagined there wasnât any way Laird MacNeill could control everything that went on during the filming. Would he stand on the castle wall walk, as he did now, way up above with his arms crossed over his broad chest and wearing a mighty scowl while he watched the proceedings? And if things didnât go as planned, perhaps he would motion to the archers lining the wall walk and a rain of arrows would pour down upon the movie crew.
She had too vivid an imagination.
Miscalculating the human equation, she had falsely assumed the people living here would be excited to have a film produced at their castle and would greet the director with enthusiasm and support. Where movies had been filmed at other castles, websites had proudly proclaimed the fact. Up until now, at every place the film crew had been, the Scots had been generous and friendly. She imagined there would be none of that here. In fact, Maria had said that the MacNeills didnât even have a website. After doing a little research, Julia had found that the castle had never been open to the public. Under siege and breached a few times during major strife, yes, but never willingly open to the public.
That made her
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