“There are indeed,” Bryan assured him. “So long as we return by first light, all will be well. We have seen no sign of armies approaching us from any direction, and even if there are foes hidden along the countryside, they will not be able tae get past the gates without an hours-long siege. By then, we’ll have returned, and our men will have them surrounded.” He paused, then added, “The question, Laird Alex, is whether you feel that finding her is enough tae warrant such a large rescue. Do you still believe the two of you will be wed? If nae, then perhaps ‘tis best tae simply send a messenger to the MacDonells, to see if she did indeed go back tae them. Moira might have gone with her.”
“If she has gone back tae her own clan, so be it,” Alex said, though framing the words made him deeply uneasy. He found he did not mean them. Rather, he felt desperate to see Isla again, to have one final chance at convincing her to remain with him.
For he had come to love her, and her anger at her secret being spread around was second only to his own. He wanted to convince her that she was mistaken in her suspicions of him. He wanted to make things right with her once and for all.
He wanted to marry her, and that was the truth of it.
“Until it has been confirmed that she is safe with them, however,” he went on, “her life and safety remain my responsibility. To shirk that could mean war with the MacDonells, and that must be prevented at all costs. Assemble the search parties, Bryan. Ye will lead one, I will take the other, and you may select one of your best trackers and hunters for the third. Kirk, you will remain here in my stead. If anything does happen, I trust you tae manage it until our return.”
Kirk nodded. “Thank you for the trust, cousin. You’ll nae regret it.”
Within the hour, three parties—each consisting of over a dozen soldiers, armed to the teeth—rode out from Castle Oliphant, ready for anything.
As swiftly as their steeds raced, however, Alex’s heartbeat seemed to outpace them by miles.
Try as he might, he could think of no good outcome awaiting him.
Either he had, during their last exchange, ruined all chance of being with her so abysmally that she had fled from him—in which case, he doubted there was anything he could say or do that might change her mind—or something horrible had befallen her.
Which, again, would have been his fault for driving her off instead of mending things with her.
What if she’d been set upon by bandits? What if they had done more than merely robbed her? What if her body was lying beside the road, bleeding from a dozen wounds?
How could he live with himself then?
As these dire contemplations raced through Alex’s head, a fate even more fiendish was being plotted and played out.
19
Isla’s bound wrists had been extended above her head, and secured to a rusty iron ring mounted upon the wall… rusty, but alas, still too sturdy for her to break in order to free herself, for she had tried desperately the moment she’d been left alone.
The men who had ambushed her were positioned outside, guarding her to prevent her escape. Romilly had taken Lachlan out into the woods, so they might hone their scheme—how best to kill her in order to properly incense the MacDonells, and where to place her body so it would surely be discovered by the right people.
The thought of it all repulsed and panicked Isla, and for a moment, it seemed that Romilly would decide to discuss it in front of her just to spite her all the more. But Lachlan could see how that prospect disgusted Moira, and he did not wish for her to see him as a monster, so he convinced Romilly that it would be better for them to speak on it more privately.
That had been over an hour ago, it seemed to Isla, though in her abject terror, it was difficult to keep track. The darkness of night continued to press in from all sides, the guards remainedsilent, and so all she could hear was the occasional hoot of an owl.
Suddenly, she heard a strange scraping sound coming from the corner of the room. She stared at it, eyes wide, wondering what new horror she was about to confront. Things had taken such a strange and gruesome turn that night that she could almost have believed it was some ogre or hobgoblin, heaving itself up from the ground so that it might devour her.
One of the floor’s stones was sharply lifted and slid aside, revealing Moira’s round face, smudged with dirt. She pulled herself up and stood, slinking over to Isla.
“What’s going on?” Isla whispered.
“Lachlan’s conversation with Lady Romilly was making me ill, my lady,” Moira replied in a hushed tone, “so he sent me back here, knowing the guards wouldnae allow me inside. But I know this cottage from my childhood… curse me, I am the one who told them about it, nae thinking they would use it to do something so fiendish…”
She sniffled, holding back tears, and continued. “I knew of a tunnel beneath the roots of some trees, which would prevent the guards from seeing me enter. We can use it tae get you out of here and to safety, my lady!”
“I wouldnae place a wager on that outcome if I were you,” Lachlan’s gruff voice spoke up from the doorway. He stood next to Romilly, who scowled at them.
“It seems you were right, Lachlan,” Romilly said stonily. “Moira couldnae be trusted after all. Quite a shame.”
“Indeed.” Lachlan looked genuinely disappointed, but there was rage in his eyes as well.
Moira put her hands together. “Lachlan, my love… if you could just see that it does nae have tae be like this, that there must be another way for us to…”
He drew his sword and thrust it through Moira’s midsection with the speed of a serpent striking.
Isla screamed long and loud, her face contorting in horror and grief.
