“Let me guess,” Callum said tartly. “Ye have found her. She’s here. Was she in her room this whole time?”
Jane offered him a blank stare. “Nay, me Laird. She’s nae in her room. Her things are not missin’, so I daenae believe she has packed up and gone. Her horse, Faun, is missin’ from the stables.”
Sophie glanced sharply at her grandson. “Ye gifted her Faun? Elsie’s old mount?”
Callum cleared his throat. “It does nae matter. Well, then, has she simply gone for a ride, Jane?”
“Well, I spoke with the groom,” Jane explained, still struggling to catch her breath. “He said that she departed with Thomas early this morning.”
Callum rose slowly to his feet, frowning. “What? Why?”
“I could nae find out. But they left the keep early this mornin’, and have nae returned.”
A worrying, prickling feeling gusted down Callum’s spine. He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to breathe in and out. Sophie glanced at him, chewing her lower lip anxiously.
“Callum? What’s all this? What does it mean?”
“It means that Thomas has blamed me for years for the death of his daughter,” Callum muttered grimly. “And now he sees a chance to get his revenge.”
White-faced, Jane let out a gasp. Sophie glanced between her and Callum.
“But do ye believe that Thomas would do such a thing?” she whispered.
“I daenae ken what to believe now, Grandmother. Jane, go ahead of me to the stables, and get the groom to saddle up Thunder for me.”
Jane nodded again and hurried off down the hallway once more. Callum made to stride after her, but Sophie grabbed at his arm with gnarled, weak old hands.
“I daenae believe that Thomas would do somethin’ terrible to Melody,” she whispered. “Grief paralyzes folks. It doesnae spur them onto vile deeds.”
“Aye, perhaps so, but is grief not connected to anger, bitterness, and resentment?”
“Thomas cares for ye, lad, nay matter what ye say.”
“Me brother cared for me, too,” Callum shot back, gently untangling his arm from Sophie’s hand. “Or so I thought. Grandmother, I will see ye soon. Pray for me, eh?”
Thomas’ cottage had seen better days. The cottage had once been a sweet, cozy place, with ivy rambling over the front door, the thatch clean and neat, and a pretty kitchen garden sprawling around it.
Now, there were holes in the thatch. The ivy had taken over, choking the whole building. The chimney was crooked, and the garden had long since been taken over by nature once more. Thomas himself did not live there.
After his wife’s death, he and Elsie had come to live at the keep, traveling back only occasionally to maintain their cottage. They had tenants at one point, but Callum had no idea what had happened to them.
He reined in Thunder, slipping hesitantly down from the saddle. Should he call out? No, that seemed like a bad idea. Why should he give Thomas a warning? There was no sign of a horse, or Faun, or Melody. In fact, if he’d only been riding past, he would have assumed that the house was abandoned.
Inching hesitantly down the pathway, Callum moved his hand to rest on his sword hilt.
Without warning, the door swung open. Thomas appeared in the doorway, muttering to himself. He clutched a broomstick in one hand and a clump of old leaves in the other. Tossing the leaves out onto the pathway, he began to sweep off the doorstep. He froze at the sight of Callum, glancing up at him in surprise.
“Oh, Callum. I did nae expect to see ye here.”
Callum swallowed thickly. “What are ye doin’, Thomas?”
“Sweepin’ out the place. I’ve let it go to rack and ruin, have I nae? Me Helen would be furious. She loved this cottage. It was always too small for Elsie. What a life I’ve had, eh?” he added, chuckling bitterly. “Tryin’ to please me wife, who wanted to live here and have a small life, and tryin’ to please me daughter, who wanted to go to the keep and see me as councilor and herself as Lady MacDean. I did manage to keep them both happy, in the end. I’mglad Helen never saw Elsie die, or the wee babe. I should come back here, should I nae? I’m nay great councilor. Another could take me place…”
“Nay, Thomas, that’s nae what I mean. Where is Melody?” Callum’s grip tightened around the hilt. “I ken that she came here.”
Thomas blinked at him. “Well, I thought ye might. She must have gotten back to the keep at least half an hour ago.”
“I daenae understand. Why did she come here?”
