“Cameron,wake! You must wake!”
Startled from a deep sleep, Cameron stared with some confusion at Conall, who shook him again.
Roughly.
“Brother, she’s gone! The lass is gone!”
Now Cameron sat upright, rubbing his face and then throwing aside the plain woolen blanket. He had not yet brought himself to sleep in the huge four-poster bed that had once belonged to Earl Seoras, choosing instead a simple cot like the men who now served under him, including Conall. He stared in disbelief at his brother, who nodded his head.
“Aye, gone like a puff of smoke and with no trace of her! I’ve ordered a search of the fortress and came tae wake you straightaway—och, it was one of the maidservants set tae watch her who came running tae find me. She said the lass jumped out of the bed and knocked poor Tobias tae the floor, walloped him on the head, and then ran from the bedchamber before they could stop her—”
“Tell me this is a dream, Conall—a blasted dream!”
On his feet now, Cameron straightened his tunic twisted from sleep and grabbed the plaid breacan he had draped over a chair and wound it around himself and over one shoulder.
He had been so tired, he hadn’t even kicked off his leather boots—a good thing given the need for haste. He retrieved his sword belt and fastened it around his waist while striding to the door, Conall just behind him, when a glance out the nearest window startled him—it was pitch dark.
“By God, what hour is it?”
“One or so before dawn. I came tae check on you after supper, but you were sleeping like the dead, Cameron. I didna see any reason tae wake you—och, until now, even though Uncle Torence wasna happy you didn’t join us—”
“Join you?” Cameron whirled to face Conall, his brother’s somewhat sheepish look making him bristle. “Dinna tell me…”
“Aye, another good reason not tae wake you, besides you getting so little rest these past days,” Conall cut him off, holding out his upturned hands and shrugging. “It wasna my doing. I was all prepared tae send your unwanted guests home, but Uncle Torence insisted that they have supper and stay the night. The poor lasses were tired, Cameron, their horses needing rest, their entourage needing rest—”
“Not a dream, a damned nightmare,” Cameron bit off, pushing past Conall, who once again came after him.
Aislinn gone.
Two clanswomen fancying themselves prospective brides under his roof.
“I suppose you kept them entertained,” he muttered, not surprised that Conall heard him and gave a laugh.
“Aye, it wasna hard tae do. They’re both comely enough, Cameron—one with hair the color of gold and the other a dark-haired beauty—och, but dinna fret! I kept my hands tae myself, though I canna say it was easy. After all, you dinna want a one of them, especially now that Aislinn De Burgh is here. Oh, aye, I saw how you looked at her, and it made my heart glad for you—”
“Conall,enough!” Once again, Cameron had stopped to round on his brother, but Conall skirted him and hastened down the hall toward the tower steps.
“I’ll go check on the search. Where shall I meet you?”
“The great hall at first light. I want tae speak with Tobias first and mayhap search the tower.”
Conall waved his hand in assent and sprinted down the steps, Cameron not far behind.
His brother’s athletic prowess had always astonished him, Conall able to outrun most men, outwrestle them, out-throw them, truly any sort of contest that required strength, agility, or fleetness of foot. And for a man nearly as tall as him and as well-muscled—och, no wonder women couldn’t resist him!
At the bottom of the steps, Cameron did his best to thrust away any thought of the Campbell lasses who’d come to meet him, and focused only upon Aislinn. He could hear Conall, already disappeared outside, roaring to the men searching for her if she’d been found—but no hue and cry came after, which made Cameron’s heart start to pound.
Where the devil could she have gone? Surely if she had run from the tower and out into the bailey, someone would have seen her. No doubt looking like a ghost in that white nightgown and with that startling shock of red hair.
Mayhap she hadn’t come down the steps at all, but was hiding in some room not far from her bedchamber—aye, he could hope! She wasn’t well. She would catch her death from a chill or flare her fever red-hot again.
It seemed a moment more and Cameron had lunged up the opposite tower and burst into Aislinn’s room, only to see the teary-eyed maidservants huddled around Tobias, who sat in a chair, holding his head.
“Good God, man, are you bleeding?”
Tobias nodded, a cut above his right temple that one of the serving maids was blotting with a wadded cloth. At once Cameron saw the brass candlestick that had rested upon the bedside table now on the floor, the wax candle broken in two as if someone had trod upon it.
Aislinn’s weapon, and wielded so skillfully that Tobias, no matter a brawny fellow, hadn’t known what hit him.
