He kept his pace measured and his gaze ahead. They passed the gallery, but he did not look at the portraits. They passed through the nursery door. He paused for a second, heard nothing, and moved on.
The main stairs opened before them, and they descended in step. The noise in the hall drifted to their ears.
At the foot of the stairs, Troy waited with a straight back and a tight mouth. “All set below, me Laird.”
“Good,” Jack said. “Any news?”
“None.”
Jack nodded. “Post a man at the east corridor. Another at the courtyard gates.”
“For a wedding?” Duncan asked.
“We cannae be too careless now, can we?” Jack argued.
Troy bowed and walked away just as fast as he had come, while Jack and Duncan rounded the last corner.
The Great Hall stood open. Flowers hung from the table, and the multitude of dresses contrasted rather sharply with the walls. Somewhere in the crowd, Jack heard a child’s laughter.
He paused and took it in. The hall looked ready. Itsoundedready, and the people who stared back at him had nothing but expectant smiles on their faces.
Duncan glanced at him. “Well?”
Jack closed his hand over the belt where it lay flat against his stomach, feeling the leather grow warm under his skin. Then, he nodded his head once, as if to a judge only he could see.
“I am ready.”
Duncan smiled at him, a mix of encouragement and surprise. “I didnae expect anything else.”
Jack walked over to the front of the hall, realizing again for the second time that all the benches were full. Lairds sat near the front, and his cousins crowded close. Villagers stood by the doors, some swaying to the music that played slowly and gently in the background.
Duncan, who slowly fell into step behind him, leaned in. “If she doesnae show up, I’ll say I told?—”
Jack turned back, shooting him a cold glare. Duncan shut his mouth and raised his hands placatingly.
For a minute, there was nothing but silence. It was the kind filled with anticipation. The kind you knew could only mean something was wrong.
Emma should have stepped in by now. At the very least, the sound of her footsteps should have been turning heads. Jack exhaled, bringing himself to the brink of exhaustion.
Something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong.
A commotion sounded at the back, and his eyes snapped up, hoping that was the answer to the question at the back of his mind. He watched as Olivia pushed through the crowd with Ava at her side.
Olivia’s hand shook, and Ava was no better off. When they got to the front and drew close enough to see him, they both stopped, panting like dogs in the wild, stark fear etched into their faces.
That was all he needed. That was all it took for him to know exactly what had happened.
The hall fell silent, and he felt the space where Emma should have been. It sat on his chest like a hard stone.
He kept his voice level. “Where is she?”
Ava tried to answer, but no sound came out.
He moved before anyone could stop him.
He took the stairs two steps at a time before anyone could stop him or try to speak some sense into him. The decorative flowers brushed his sleeve as he moved, but he did not slow down. He turned into Emma’s corridor and went straight to her chamber.
Empty.
