Hunter reached out tentatively, resting his broad palm on Creighton’s shoulder.
“All is forgiven. Please believe me, Creighton. I want Laurie found safe almost as much as ye. And me mother…” he paused, chuckling. “If she thought I’d put her in harm’s way, she’d castrate me.”
Creighton gave a reluctant snort of laughter despite himself, shaking his head. “I imagine she would. Forgive me, Hunter, I… I just keep thinkin’ that Laurie must have been taken, and that somebody she kent must have taken her.”
“I didnae see anyone,” Nora volunteered, swallowing hard and glancing from face to face. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. I’m sure we’ll find out…” Creighton wavered, frowning. A red-faced man in MacCrimmon tartan elbowed his way through the crowd, puffing and panting. He stumbled past the soldiers and into the bubble of space around the three of them.
“Thomas?” Hunter queried, frowning. “What is it?”
“I sent him to speak to the men at the gate,” Nora spoke up, gaze sharpening.
“And so I did,” Thomas breathed, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “I described Lady Laurie, and they had seen her.”
“They saw her leavin’ the keep?” Creighton barked, fury and worry coiling in his chest.
Thomas nodded eagerly. “She was with a man, and seemed comfortable with him. She was talkin’ to him, and he talked back; it all seemed normal, which is why they didnae stop them. They didnae recognize her, and he angled her so that they only saw the MacColl tartan after they’d gone by.”
Creighton passed a hand through his hair, letting out a ragged breath. “So she was kidnapped, then. And this man, what did he look like? Young? Old? MacCrimmon, I suppose.”
Thomas shook his head. “Nay, me Laird. The men said he wore MacColl tartan and recognized him from when ye all arrived. That was another reason why they did nae stop him—they kent he was one of ye.”
The earth shifted under Creighton’s feet. For an instant, he found himself unbalanced, hand reaching out for support that wasn’t coming.
Or so he thought.
A palm pressed against his, fingers lacing together. The world steadied, and he found himself looking down at Nora.
“Come on, then,” she murmured, nodding. “Let’s go after them. Let’s get Laurie back.”
MacCrimmon Keep fell away behind them. The man and the girl hadn’t taken the path leading away from the keep; the men at the gate had been clear about that. They’d gone left, climbing up a steep slope and disappearing into the trees. The little girl had been struggling, one of the men said, but the man taking her slowed his steps to match hers, pulling her along behind him.
They had described him well, and now Creighton knew who to expect. He paused at the edge of a particularly rocky ridge and looked back. Hunter stood at the base of the hill, giving orders to his men. Nora only went a little way down the slope, climbing steadily upward with her fingers gripping the green turf. She looked up, maybe sensing his gaze, and their eyes met.
Heat tightened Creighton’s chest. Now wasn’t the time for that. He turned away, keeping his face impassive, and continued upward.
The hill suddenly leveled out, and the trees pulled back to show a green, moss-covered plateau. Beyond the next row of trees, he had been told, was the cliff. A person had to be cautious. The ground simply dropped away, a rocky slope all the way down to the boulders below. In the past, people had fallen from that cliff, wandering in the dark, believing they had more space before the edge than they actually did.
I willnae die like that. I cannae let it happen.
There was no time to waste, of course, but Creighton could not afford to rush forward. He had no idea what was waiting for him.
Tentatively, he stepped through the trees. Voices drifted from just ahead, and his spine tightened.
“Wait! Creighton, wait for me!”
That was Nora. Calling out like that was a mistake, of course. Anything could be waiting ahead. He paused, glancing back over his shoulder. She would be struggling up the last part of the climb, a rough, rocky slope that was all shale, with no handholds or footholds to speak of. For every step forward, a person seemed to slide two steps back. It wasn’t an easy climb. He imagined her scrambling upward, pouring with sweat, desperate to reach Laurie, praying that it wasn’t too late.
Briefly closing his eyes against this image, Creighton turned his back.
This is me problem to deal with.
Besides, if Nora were part of this situation, she might get hurt. And that thought… Best not to think about that.
Creighton pressed on, walking carefully now. Moving through the forest silently was a knack. A person couldn’t simply puttheir feet carelessly. That would lead to crackling leaves and snapped twigs. No, that wouldn’t do. That wouldn’t do at all.
The line of trees was thin. Creighton paused at the edge of daylight, watching it sparkle through the trunks. Beyond was a small strip of greenery, and past that was nothing. Sky. Empty sky, and a terrible drop below.
