Yet she hadnochoice! By God, if he ever was blessed with daughters, Cameron swore then and there never to make them suffer as Aislinn might be suffering right now at Lord Butler’s hands—
“Cameron!”
He didn’t stop no matter Conall came striding after him, and he cursed aloud when his brother caught his arm.
“A messenger has come from King Robert! He demands—with regret—that you return Aislinn at once tae Dumbarton and Lord Butler if she has made her way here—”
“Made her way here? What are you saying? Aislinn’s not here—is she?” Now it was Cameron who grabbed his brother by the tunic, his mind racing that such a thing might have been kept from him for whatever reason—yet his heart sank when Conall shook his head.
“No, I would have told you, Cameron. The messenger said that Lord Butler had gone tae the convent two days ago tae fetch Aislinn for her father’s burial—but she wasna there. The nuns in an uproar that she could have escaped without anyone seeing her—”
“Aislinn… escaped.” Such elation gripped Cameron that she was alive—alive!—and yet anguish, too.
Where was she? Two days ago… surely she would have found her way to the fortress by now, for where else would she have gone? Unless she had gotten lost or something terrible had happened to her…
“Dinna invite trouble, Cameron,” Conall’s voice broke into his tormented thoughts as if reading his mind. “Aislinn’s a clever lass. She would remember the way and know well enough tae hide if she sensed danger.”
“Aye, she’s clever,” Cameron echoed, meeting his brother’s eyes. “Did the messenger say anything else?”
“Only that Lord Butler and his men searched around the convent in all directions, but they didna find her. The other thing amiss was that a pony had been taken from a farmer’s pasture.”
“A pony. So she’s riding…” Cameron could not say why, but this news made him chuckle to himself, Conall looking at him as if he had gone mad.
“Canna you see?” Cameron quickly sought to reassure him. “She has her wits about her, brother—her injury not plaguing her so much that she didna know what tae do. But if she’s not here, then where…?”
Conall appeared at a loss, shaking his head, though Cameron felt a sudden niggling of hope that his clever, beautiful, and brave Aislinn might have thought of somewhere else to take refuge.
Mayhap at first she had considered riding north to Campbell Castle, but surely she realized that Lord Butler would have guessed her plan.
“King Robert gives you three days tae bring her back, Cameron, or he’ll send some of his men with Lord Butler tae fetch her. It’s a wonder he hasna done so already instead of the messenger bringing us this news.”
“With King Edward in Carlisle, he willna spare any of his forces unless he must—”
“But she’s not here! None of this is making any sense… unless you’ve some idea of where she might be…”
A long, low whistle escaped Conall before Cameron could say a word about what his gut intuition was telling him, and already he was striding to the entranceway.
“Cameron, do you think she went tae that farm you told me about—where you spent a night after saving the girl from those English soldiers?”
He spun on his heel to face Conall, who had followed close behind him and stopped short, staring back at him.
“Keep it down, man!” Cameron jerked his head toward the great hall. “Uncle Torence will hear you—though he’s probably too drunk tae remember a thing.”
“Och, he’s sleeping in his chair by now,” Conall replied with a shrug. “That’s what you’re thinking, aye? You said the place was a few hours’ ride from Dumbarton and a league off the main route, so even if Lord Butler came north without King Robert’s men, he would never know tae look there—”
“Dinna speak of this tae anyone,” Cameron cut him off as he stepped outside with Conall again following him. The bailey was empty except for guards on patrol, and he shot over his shoulder, “Where’s the messenger?”
“I already sent him tae the barracks—the man was exhausted.”
“Good. I’m leaving you in command just as before.”
“Leaving me in command?”
“Aye. I’m riding out tonight, alone. It will be faster that way. I canna wait a moment longer.”
Cameron heard Conall’s sharp intake of breath, but it would be easier for him as well to hide along the way if the need arose; not so, if he were accompanied by twenty men like the last time he had ridden south toward Dumbarton.
“Send the messenger out at first light with an answer for King Robert that Aislinn isna here, which is the truth—at least for now.”
