“The bastard knocked on my door and struck me when I opened it,” his father-in-law explained.
“Is that the truth?” Mathe eyed his laird. “Tell me it isna, please.”
“Get yer fooking hands off me,” Alex demanded, able to jerk himself free. “My wife is missing. Organize search parties. Find her.”
The MacKay and Oliphant guards dispersed.
“Do ye have a hand in this?” Alex asked scathingly.
Laird Oliphant snorted. “If I wanted my daughter to leave this place, I’d not do it in the middle of the night like a coward. We’d walk out the front doors in the morning.”
Alex clenched his hands, the urge to hit the laird growing.
“My father is telling the truth, Alex,” Broc said.
“And why should I believe ye?”
“Will ye walk with me?” Broc asked.
Alex swallowed the bile in his throat and wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “Aye.”
“Father?” Broc gazed at his da. “I think ye should get dressed. We need to find Keely.”
The old man threw Alex a disgusted look before he retreated back to his room and slammed the door.
“Never strike my sire again without cause.”
Alex sized his brother-in-law up. The man had earned his respect and had every right to defend his father. Though Alex wouldna directly apologize, he nodded.
It was enough to satisfy Broc. “I know my sire is difficult enough to make anyone want to punch him. But he fully intends to bless your union with my sister.”
“Then why has he waited so long?”
Broc shrugged. “He drinks enough ale to ferment his own mind. I canna give ye a reasonable answer.”
They could finish this conversation later. Alex wanted to find his wife. “Ride with me.”
Broc gripped Alex’s upper arm. “Aye.”
They hurried belowstairs where a number of the guards had gathered in the main hall. Jamie and Mathe were busy organizing the search parties. There was nothing for Alex to do. He gestured at Broc.
“We can cover more ground alone.”
Broc agreed and crossed himself. “May the Lord have mercy on us and my sister. Because unless she’s been kidnapped, I’ll throttle her myself.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
They had crossedinto Sutherland territory an hour ago. Keely knew her way to Dunrobin Castle, but in case she forgot, Petro had brought a map with him. It would take three days of hard riding to reach their destination. Though she was comfortable astride a horse, she dinna have the physical strength required to gallop over the unforgiving terrain without stopping often. The weather had deteriorated– the sun was hidden behind thick, gray clouds and a steady rain pelted her already soaked clothes.
Petro slowed his mount and waited for her to catch up. “Tis time to rest, Lady Keely.”
“Not yet,” she said.
The scholar gazed heavenward. “If I am a fair judge of the signs in the sky, this light rain is only the beginning. We should seek shelter.”
Villages were located between there and Dunrobin, but the closest was still half a day’s ride away. Caves and the occasional hut could also be found, but Keely dinna want to waste their precious time finding one. If the scholar could brave the elements, she too must try.
“I am willing to keep riding, Petro.”
