Connor had finally masteredthe French phrases Piper had been teaching him, and Masie had completed an entire arithmetic problem set without complaint. They’d earned a break.
“Now we just need to find yerbrother,” Piper said, scanning the gardens. “Connor? We’ve found Masie! Ye can come out now!”
Silence.
“He always hides for ages,”Masie said, rolling her eyes. “Thinks it makes him the winner if he’s the last one found.”
“Well, let’s go lookin’then.” Piper started toward the area where she’d last seen Connor running. “He cannae have gone far.”
They searched the gardens first—behindhedges, under benches, in the small folly near the pond. No Connor. Then they checked the stables, the forge, even the kitchens, where Cook shooed them out with a wooden spoon and a lecture about children underfoot.
Still no Connor.
“Connor!”Piper called out, her voice echoing across the courtyard. “The game is over! Come out!”
Nothing.
A prickleof unease ran down Piper’s spine. “How long has it been?”
“I daenae ken.”Masie was starting to look worried, too. “Maybe half an hour since we started lookin’?”
“And we were hidin’for about fifteen minutes before that.” Piper’s worry intensified. “So, he’s been gone for forty-five minutes at least.”
“He does this sometimes,”Masie said, but her voice lacked conviction. “Hides for ages just to prove he can.”
“Masie,where else might he go? Places he’s nae supposed to be?”
“The east tower,maybe? Or the armory? He likes lookin’ at the weapons even though he’s nae allowed to touch them.” Masie paused. “Or the old apple tree by the loch. He climbs it sometimes, even though Da told him nae to.”
“Show me.”
They were hurryingtoward the loch when a familiar voice called out behind them.
“What’s goin’on?”
Piper turnedto find Elijah striding toward them, his expression concerned. He must have been coming from the training yards; there was dirt on his shirt, and he had his sword at his hip.
“We’re playin’hide and seek,” Masie said quickly. “Or we were. We cannae find Connor.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“Forty-five minutes. Maybe longer.”Piper tried to keep the panic out of her voice. “We’ve looked everywhere—the gardens, the stables, the kitchens. Masie thinks he might have gone to the old apple tree by the loch.”
Something flickeredacross Elijah’s face, worry, quickly masked. “I’ll help ye look. Come on.”
He setoff toward the loch at a pace that had Piper and Masie nearly jogging to keep up. When they reached the water’s edge, Elijah’s gaze swept the area with practiced efficiency.
“There,”he said, pointing toward a large tree about fifty yards away. Its branches stretched out over the water, thick with leaves. “I see movement.”
Piper squintedand saw it too, a flash of color that might have been Connor’s shirt.
They approached the tree,and sure enough, there was Connor. He was about fifteen feet up, clinging to a branch that extended out over the water.
“Connor Quinn!”Elijah’s voice was like a thundercrack. “What in God’s name are ye doin’ up there?”
Connor’s head jerked up,his eyes wide with fear. “Da! I… I was just hidin’.”
“Get down. Now.”
