“I understand. At least I understand a little.” She smiled, squeezing her grandfather’s hand back.
She stood. It was time to go to bed. Bryce had not yet returned, but she wanted to get away again. She would speak of forgiveness another time.
“Thank ye, Lorna. It means the world that ye should say so. I am sorry.”
“I ken.” Lorna leaned down and kissed him. “And thank ye for that. But ye must trust that I can do things for meself. And I can make decisions about me future.”
He nodded reluctantly, and she left him on his own, clutching a cup of wine and bringing it to his lips. He would be a different man from now on. Or so she hoped.
* * *
“Yer right. I think that drinking does help bring some clarity,” Bryce said to Tobias as they sat in the warm village tavern, drinking ale, and looking over the notebooks. “But ye donnae think that it is too suspicious tae be seen reading these in public?”
Tobias shook his head. “Do not act suspicious, and people will not think you are suspicious. I am certain that they are just assuming I am asking a fellow to assist me with some of my paperwork.” He shrugged, and Bryce turned his eyes to the journals again.
Even though he wanted to focus on the task at hand, he couldn’t stop thinking of Lorna. She forgave him, or so he thought, but there was more to say. Much more. He wanted to make sure that she knew he never wanted to hurt her, even if it did happen again one day. And they needed to make plans before Fergus did something drastic like lock her away from him.
“Find anything yet?” Tobias asked, over the buzz of Bryce’s thoughts. Bryce took a sip from his ale and shook his head.
“Nae yet. These words are beginning to blend together. I see a lot of hints at names, but nae real names just yet. I can guess at a few of these, but ye might ken better since ye have lived here in this area for longer. Perhaps we switch journals and see if that doesnae help and give us fresh eyes?”
“Aye, it is worth a try.” Tobias slid his journal over to Bryce, and Bryce passed his across the table.
He opened the journal from the beginning and began to read. There was a lot of mention of babies being taken away, given away, and God knew what else. “It seems there were many people who had relations they werenae supposed tae. So many babies without homes, unable tae live with their true parents. How sad.”
He sighed, feeling sad for Lorna. But she was able to at least live with family, even if her parents were not there. “Wait a moment,” he said, putting down his tankard, just as he was about to bring it to his lips. “There is something here,” he tapped the page.
“What?” Tobias asked eagerly.
“I donnae ken yet, but it seems that there is a newborn baby without a mother mentioned. I have read nae word about Siusan in the books, but there is mention of the castle, and the Laird’s son. There was a baby. Nae mother.” He looked back up at Tobias, whose eyes had grown wide.
“The Laird’s son?” Tobias asked in a small voice.
“We need tae get back tae the castle. Now.” He closed the journals, his heart racing with fear for Lorna. “We need tae go and have a little talk with Athol.”
“Aye. I am right behind you, lad,” Tobias said as they left the tavern and hurriedly rode back to McAdam Keep.
* * *
On her way up the stairs, Lorna rubbed the back of her neck, feeling tired and anxious. In the last day or more, her life had changed in so many drastic ways, and her body was aching with tiredness. She knew that she had a bright future, if all could be solved with the murders, but it was not yet time. Sleep would do her well.
And I will see Kyla in the morning, she thought with a smile. And Bryce.
Outside her chamber door, she let out a long sigh and turned the knob. It would have been even better if she’d asked for a hot bath to be prepared for her, but she was far too tired to think about bathing at the moment, anyway. She shut the door and with thoughts of Bryce and their lovemaking in her mind, she began to undress.
Humming to herself, dreaming of what her wedding to Bryce would look like, she didn’t notice that her door had opened again. Someone was softly tiptoeing toward her. She was wearing only her shift, and she began to remove the pins from her hair so that her golden locks flowed down her back. Still humming, she pulled out the last pin, completely unaware that the figure was getting closer. It was large and dark, and then suddenly, her eyes widened when she felt a hand with a cloth wrap around her mouth.
She breathed in a sickly-sweet smell, and in seconds, Lorna had fallen unconscious, and the figure lifted her into its arms and took her out the door.
