Malcolm stroked his chin for a moment, worry warring in his expression. “Perhaps ye are right. Ye are worried aboot yer sister, arenae ye?”
“Aye,” Edna said tearfully. “I cannae put mah family in danger. If Neacal finds me...” He wouldn’t stop until he had her, either in his bedroom or in his dungeon.
Malcolm’s jaw clenched. “Then we go tae McPearson land.”
Edna drew in a breath. Her family was there too, but it would draw Neacal away from making any sort of threats to her clan if she wasn’t there. He could threaten, but his attack would be looked at as cowardly to attack a peaceful clan.
“Alright,” she finally said. “But I want tae warn mah family at the first opportunity.”
“Aye, we will,” Malcolm promised.
Edna joined him on the horse, and they turned back the way they came, heading west toward McPearson land.
McGregor Keep
Erik strode into the keep, finding his laird near the fireplace, watching the flames dance against the stone. “Any word?” Kaiden asked lightly.
“Nay,” Erik replied tightly, hating that he didn’t have any other news than the fact that his daughter was still missing. Finlay had just returned from her nephew’s coronation as the new laird of the McPearson clan, and he could see the weight of her daughter missing and her aunt’s passing starting to press down on her with each passing day. He wanted to give his wife something good to look toward, but he had nothing.
He felt helpless, far too much than he cared.
“She’s still out there,” Kaiden said softly, placing a hand on Erik’s shoulder. “Ye have trained her well, and she is a McGregor. She’s not going tae give up until all hope is lost.”
Erik let his shoulders slump, glad that he could show his weakness to his longtime friend and laird. “I dinnae know wot tae do,” he stated as Kaiden squeezed his shoulder. “I dinnae know wot tae tell mah wife.”
“She will come home,” Kaiden insisted. “She will be safe and sound.”
Erik nodded, staring off into the fire. He had sent out missives far and wide, to every laird with Kaiden’s help, asking about the whereabouts of his daughter. A few had responded in the time that Edna was missing, but the more concerning thing that Erik had struggled with was he hadn’t heard from the warrior, Malcolm, either. Given Malcolm’s skill set, he would have thought that the warrior would have contacted him by now.
Or whoever had Edna. Was it because Malcolm hadn’t found her yet, or had something horrid happened to him as well? He was a man of honor, so Erik knew that he didn’t need to worry about him abandoning the quest, but he would have thought...
Well, it didn’t matter. The knot in his stomach would not disappear until he held his daughter in his arms and knew that she was safe. He would not rest until they could see her, whether it was alive or if she had passed on somehow.
Even then, the pain wouldn’t stop. He might be able to know where she would be at, but to even consider her death?
No, he wouldn’t go down that path. Not yet. She had been missing a matter of weeks, not years. There was still the hope that flared deep down that she could be brought home, and until he knew otherwise, he wouldn’t consider her dead.
“Come,” Kaiden was saying, leading Erik toward his study. “I have some fine Scot’s whiskey that we can sample.”
“The last time I sampled anything with ye,” Erik replied, grateful to have something else to think of, “I ended up sick in mah bed for two days.”
Kaiden chuckled as they walked into the study, a room they had spent many a day going over strategies for the clan, the warriors, and for themselves. Erik couldn’t even begin to count how many times he had seen his friend settled at the table, pouring over some sort of ledger and making a decision that would affect the clan.
“Aye, we are no longer young Scots, are we?”
Erik settled into his favorite chair before the table that Kaiden used to conduct his business. “Nay, we arenae. The effects of the whiskey stay far longer than I care tae admit these days.”
Kaiden poured them both a hefty glass full of the amber liquid before passing one to Erik. “I wish ye would allow me tae send mah warriors after her.”
Erik shook his head. “Ye cannae have the clan and this keep unguarded.” There had been many a rumbling about the clans starting to rise against each other again, small skirmishes breaking out along the borders as some of the clans had decided that the period of peace should end and the powerful clans should take control of all of Scotland. Erik knew that some of the skirmishes were far too close to the McGregor land, and with the threat, Kaiden could ill afford to have them searching for his daughter.
“Still,” Kaiden said firmly, anger radiating from his eyes, “I cannae stand not helping.”
Erik lifted his glass to his laird and friend. “Aye, but ye are. Now ye might have tae tell mah wife how ye helped me back tae mah manor afterward, but this is helping. Yer support is helping.”
Kaiden chuckled as he clinked glasses with his friend. “Aye, I’ve incurred yer wife’s wrath before. I think I can survive it again.”
Erik shook his head before he took a long draw off the whiskey, letting the smooth liquid slide down his throat. He would allow himself this small measure of time to forget his troubles, wishing that he could drink whiskey in celebration for his daughter’s safe return instead. Kaiden was right. She was going to come back to the clan safely.
