“Cousin,” Hunter greeted, coming to stand beside Creighton. The soldiers cleared away the gawkers and onlookers to create a little bubble of space around them. People were taking notice now, whispering and craning their necks, eyes wide. Creighton did his best to ignore them.
“Laurie is gone,” Creighton said, without preamble. “Ye must have heard.”
“I did,” Hunter nodded. “Me men are scourin’ the courtyard as we speak. We’ll find her in nay time. She probably just wandered off.”
Creighton nodded, but the words didn’t seem to fit. Laurie was just a child, and children often did foolish things, but wandering off like that felt wrong. She understood that the world could be dangerous. She knew strangers could be dangerous, too. Surely she wouldn’t have wandered off alone, and certainly she wouldn’t have gone with a stranger—at least not without a struggle.
Unless it was someone she kent.
This idea struck Creighton’s mind heavily, like a boulder tumbling down from a height, scattering rocks and turf everywhere, destroying everything in its path.
Who would do this? Who would have anythin’ to gain from Laurie’s disappearance?
Slowly, he glanced over at his cousin. Hunter was speaking quickly to his captain of the guard, a frown drawn on his face.
“Ye,” Creighton whispered. “Ye took her.”
Hunter’s head shot up. “What? What are ye sayin’?”
“He doesnae mean it,” Nora spoke up at once, stepping over to stand beside Creighton. Her hand hovered over his bicep as if she planned to lay her hand on his arm, then seemed to think twice and let her arm drop to her side.
Hunter stared at his cousin, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
“Whatdoye mean, Creighton?”
“Ye are afraid that I’ll do somethin’ foolish,” Creighton whispered, his voice cracking in his throat. “Somethin’ to endanger Skye. Ye are afraid for her safety, so ye took Laurie to make me behave. A sister for a sister.”
Fury flared in Hunter’s eyes. He took a step forward, stabbing a finger toward Creighton’s chest.
“Daenae ye dare throw an accusation like that at me. Daenae yedare!”
“It makes sense,” Creighton snapped back. “Skye was the one who chose to go to Clan Bryden. Ye never approved. She did what she wanted anyway, but now her safety depends on me, and on Nora’s safety. Ye are afraid.”
“Stop it,” Hunter hissed, taking another step forward. It almost brought the two men nose to nose, breathing heavily, rage mirrored in their eyes. “Would ye do that to me, then? Kidnap Skye to keep Laurie safe?”
“Nay, I…”
“Then daenae accuse me of it. I mean it, Creighton. I willnae hear that accusation from ye. I ken that things have been… stiff between us. Two lairds can never quite be friends. But I never thought ye would stoop this low.”
There was a moment of simmering silence between them. Creighton stared at his cousin, and his cousin stared straight back, unblinking. Nora hovered between them, and he could feel her eyes on his face.
“Creighton,” she whispered, when the silence grew too heavy. “It’s nae him. It cannae be. I… I daenae ken Hunter well, but I think that he’s tellin’ the truth. I ken that ye trust him.”
Hunter’s gaze flickered, landing on Nora with a burst of surprise. Creighton watched that surprise chase itself over his cousin’s face, ending in a blink of pleasure.
He’s flattered. He’s pleased that she likes him. He wants her to like him.
For a moment, red-hot jealousy coiled around Creighton’s heart, tight enough to make him feel short of breath, just for a moment. Then the moment passed, and he remembered who he was speaking to. His cousin, Hunter, the man he’d watched grow from a boy.
And Nora.Nora.
“It wasnae me, Creighton,” Hunter murmured, his voice ragged and earnest. The anger had drained from him now and had apparently taken Creighton’s anger with it. Glancing down, he caught Nora’s eye. She was looking up at him, eyes wide and earnest. Hoping. Waiting.
Why does she make me want to be a better man?
There was no immediate answer to that. Swallowing thickly, Creighton turned away.
“Nay, of course nae,” he managed thickly. “I should not have said… I’m sorry, Hunter.”
