“The guy was a total ass. He believed I was a witch and tried to drown me in the cistern on the roof.” She frowned. “It’s been four years, and I still hear the whispers in the village calling me a witch.”
The color slowly returned to Callan’s face.
“He did not know of me?”
Pausing, Lucy turned to look at him, at the hope and the worry on his face. Without overthinking it, she went over to stand beside him, patting his arm.
“He did not, but … I know he will welcome you when we find him. He has always longed for siblings.”
“I vow to see you safely back to his side.” Callan took her hand in his, a half-smile on his face. “Would you tell me of him?”
She sat beside him on a log, the fire crackling, the sounds of the horses and the stream soothed her.
Wanting to put him at ease, she teased, “Of course, talking about my great warrior husband is one of my greatest joys as a meek and obedient wife.”
He threw back his head and laughed, the sound rich and deep, and when he turned his head to look at her, she was struck again by why she thought he looked so familiar.
“You have the same eyes,” she blurted out as his eyes widened.
Lucy talked and talked, telling Callan about William as he told her of his life and of his mother. Worn out, she moved from the log where they’d been sitting to bed down next to the fire.
Looking up at the stars, she felt the guilt lessen just a bit. Out of all the problems she’d caused by going to the well, if she hadn’t gone, she would have never met Callan. He might have been hanged for his crime of stealing and then William would have never known he had another brother out in the world.
As she wrapped her cloak tightly around her, Lucy decided it would be a nice change to no longer be the source of village gossip.
When the villagers found out that Lord Blackford had a wild highlander for a brother, well, that should keep them talking for the next few years.
With each passing day,Lucy grew more anxious. What if they took a different road from William? Or if he had been kept at court?
That Scottish sound Callan made deep in his throat came from beside her.
“I can hear ye thinkin’ from here, lass. What’s troubling ye?”
The sound she made in return sounded more like a cat hacking up a hairball. How did he do that?
“What if we don’t find them? It’s not like we have phones with navigation.” Lucy sat up straight in the saddle. When she was overly tired, stressed or worried, she tended to revert back to her future speech, as William called it.
“Phone? I know not of a phone.”
Lucy waved a hand around her face. “Don’t mind me, I’m just tired and missing my husband and sons.”
Callan reached across the horses and patted her hand.
“We’ll find him. By now the news of your kidnapping has found him and he’s riding like the devil himself is on his heels. Dinna fash.”
He sounded confident, but Lucy saw hints of doubt in his eyes. Her own disappearance wasn’t the only weight on his mind.
If she found out she had a secret half-sister after all these years, how would she react? While Lucy liked to think that she and her sisters would welcome a sibling, in reality, they’d probably throw a fit first.
As they’d ridden, Lucy had told Callan about Blackford, the history with Clement and Georgina, how Agnes was her daughter by another, and she’d told him about her sons.
On that night, a fierce storm rolled across the land. They took shelter in a cave with the horses, shivering as the wind howled outside.
“Even if we do find William, he’s going to be furious that I’ve caused so much trouble and put my men in danger, not to mention my sweet Margery.” Lucy murmured into the darkness. “Abandoning my boys, putting myself in danger...”
“At first he will be so glad to see you that he willna be angry. But later…” He let his voice trail off.
“Later, what?” Exasperated, she blew out a breath.
