“I told him not to go.”
Fear splayed like icy fingers across the back of her neck.
“Go?” She clutched Mor’s arm, alarm slicing through her.
“Where did Niall go?”
Mor’s face sagged. The fine lines around her eyes seemed deeper, etched with trouble. “I don’t know. He left with Seamus and the others, and you can be sure they are up to no good.” She paused. “There was a strange man there when I arrived this morning. And the look on his face . . .” She shivered. “ ’Twas feral and filled with such hatred as I’ve ever seen.”
“This man . . . did they mention his name?”
Mor shook her head. “But I’ve no doubt he was a hunted man. If I had to guess, I’d say a MacGregor.”
No. Niall wouldn’t be so foolhardy . . .
Yes,she realized,he would.It was easy to see why he would identify with the MacGregors—he’d seen his home destroyed, his father and brother killed, and he’d become an outlaw.
Niall had changed. The teasing rogue still lingered on the surface, but there was a layer of cold steel in him that hadn’t been there before. She sensed the bitterness and hatred lurking perilously close to the surface. But there was something else. She’d caught him more than once with a strange look on his face—as if he were a hundred miles away—almost as if he were yearning for something . . . or someone.
Oh, Niall! What have you done?“You said Seamus and the other guardsmen left as well?”
Mor nodded. “Aye, and the laird is sure to notice their absence.”
She was right. Jamie would be searching for them now. All of a sudden Caitrina realized something else. “But what about Brian? Who will watch over Brian?”
“Niall said they would be back in a day or two. Brian is safe in the cave until then, being tended to by a lass from the village.” Mor anticipated her next question. “She can be trusted.”
Caitrina tried to think. Dear God, where would they go? Who was this man, and what had he said that would cause Niall to leave Brian—even if only for a short while?
But there was something else that caused her even more trepidation: What would Jamie do when he found out Seamus and the other guardsmen were missing?
Daylight was almost gone. Mist had descended like a heavy plaid, enveloping them in its icy dense fog. Jamie stood outside in the yard, a grim expression on his face to match the bleakness of the day. Seamus and the other Lamont guardsmen had been gone since morning, and the men he’d sent out after them had just returned—alone.
“I’m sorry, my laird,” Will said. “We found no sign of them.”
Jamie cursed. “Why weren’t they followed?”
“They were. My man saw nothing out of the ordinary. He left them chopping wood this morning.”
“And they weren’t missed until the midday meal?”
“They did not usually return before then. I’m sorry, my laird, we should have kept a closer eye on them. But the old man had stopped his grumbling. Clearly he was loyal to the lady and seemed to have accepted the changed circumstances.”
Jamie shook his head. “ ’Tis not your fault.” If anyone was to blame, it was himself. He’d suspected Seamus’s acquiescence was too good to be true. “I took the man at his word.” And had assumed, like Will, that he’d be loyal to Caitrina.
“Where would they go?” Will asked.
He could think of a few places, none of them good. “With the risings after the MacGregor’s death, my first guess would be to the Lomond Hills.” But what could have provoked the Lamont guardsmen to risk their lives? Would they risk so much for the MacGregors? Possibly, but there could be another explanation. He tensed. They would risk much for a Lamont.
Will frowned. “But why now?”
Jamie clenched his jaw. “I don’t know. But I intend to find out.” He spun on his heel and headed into the keep, his body hard with purpose.
He prayed that his suspicions were wrong. He didn’t want to think that Caitrina had anything to do with this, but she was hiding something from him, of that he was sure. He tamped down his anger, not wanting to rush to judgment.
As there was still some time before the evening meal, he began his search for her in their chamber. She’d returned earlier than normal today from Ascog with her serving woman. He recalled thinking that the old woman had looked distressed about something, but as Caitrina appeared in good spirits, he hadn’t given it much thought. Until now.
He’d survived this long partly because he didn’t believe in coincidences.
