“You can come along on one condition. I’ll have yer promise that you’ll no enter the castle gates. I want yer word that you’ll remain outside, where you can make yer escape if it comes to that. Will you swear to it?”
Excitement danced like the reflection of the flames in Dermid’s eyes as he shook his head up and down, his mouth stuffed overfull with the last of the meat and bread Malcolm had given him.
Malcolm sent up a brief prayer to Odin that he might not regret the decision he’d just made.
Twenty-three
I’VE A FEELINGI don’t like. A bothersome gnat of worry pestering away at the back of my mind.”
Dani glanced to the woman at her side as they hurried down the hallway, her stomach fluttering with its own share of pesky gnats. She was stressed enough about Malcolm and his stubborn-headed plan all on her own. But having the Faerie confirm her concerns? That was enough to push her right over the edge.
Elesyria patted a hand to her hair as they approached the carved wooden door of Malcolm’s solar.
“I’m sure I’ll feel better once we’ve had a talk with Patrick.”
Dani wished she could muster the same kind of confidence in Patrick that Elesyria demonstrated.
Though the door itself stood ajar, it was the angry voice blustering out of the opening that stopped them a few feet away.
“What do you mean, you canna find him?”
Dani pushed aside Elesyria’s outstretched arm to step closer. Close enough, in fact, to allow her to see who was on the receiving end of Patrick’s tirade.
Rauf.
“What kind of sorry excuse for a groomsman are you that you’ve lost my brother? Yer only task as far as I can see is to watch over him.”
Not that she should care that Dermid’s groomsman was getting royally reamed. The man absolutely gave her the creeps, always showing up at every corner she turned, like some cartoon spy.
But from here, observing his face, it was obvious the man was utterly distressed.
“Dani!”
Elesyria’s whisper of caution went unheeded. Damn, but she hated always feeling sorry for the underdog. Rauf might be a weasel of a man, but there was no way she was going to stand here and allow this browbeating to continue while the man in there visibly shivered in discomfort.
“What’s going on in here?” she demanded, pushing the door open and stalking into the room, Elesyria at her heels.
Patrick arched an eyebrow in their direction. “Am I to believe that in yer homeland, my lady, people dinna knock before they enter?”
Snide was so not going to work with her.
“Oh, we knock.” Dani moved fully into the room to stand at Rauf’s side. “But we’re not kept out by bullying blowhards. Now, how about we have this discussion without all that yelling.”
For a moment she wondered if Patrick might not turn his anger her direction, especially when Elesyria reached out to clasp her hand.
Instead, he sat down at the table and steepled his hands in front of him, his usual mask devoid of emotion firmly back in place.
“Though I dinna recall having invited you to be part of this discussion, perhaps you can assist Rauf here in explaining how he’s managed to lose track of my brother’s whereabouts. Especially considering that Dermid’s whereabouts were the only thing he was tasked with keeping track of.”
His mask appeared to have a crack or two in it.
“As I’ve already tried to explain, Master Patrick, I searched the entirety of the castle when I awoke and realized yer brother had no slept in his bed. It was near sunrise by the time I found his horse was gone as well.”
“What?” Patrick was on his feet again, his fist pounding down on the table.
No mask at all now, only raw emotion on display.
Elesyria dropped her grip on Dani and skimmed around the table to place a hand on Patrick’s shoulder. “More flies with honey,” she murmured.
