Page 63 of Claimed Highland Brides

KIDNAP AND RANSOM

While Delwyn had left his sister’s room trying to find out where she was, he heard a loud scream. “What’s going on?” he asked a passing footman.

“I don’t know, my lord. Shall I find out and let you know?”

Delwyn hesitated, wondering if he had the patience to wait until the footman had gone to see what happened and come back to tell him. He shook his head. “I’ll go myself and have a look.” Could something have happened to his sister?

The noise was coming from the north wing where his sister’s chambers were in addition to his parents’. He quickened his footsteps as another scream rent the air. It sounded like his mother and his heart pounded in fear even as he increased his pace.

He skidded to a halt in front of Maegan’s open door as he caught sight of his mother sitting on his sister’s bed, head bent, hands fisted around a piece of paper.

“Wha..?”

He took a tentative step into the room. “Mother?” he whispered.

Bronwen began to sway from side to side. “Mother?” His call was louder as he became fearful as to what could have transpired. “Do you know where Maegan is? I was looking for her.”

To his surprise, his mother thrust the paper at him, not bothering to look up. He slowly took it from her hands and then straightened it out to read it, his face paling with every word.

“Where did you find this?” he asked, heart sinking.

His mother pointed to his sister’s pillow. How did he not see that himself? He just saw that she was not in the room so he assumed she would be somewhere else in the estate.

“Where’s Father?”

His mother just wailed louder.

He looked down at the note.

Dear Family,

I am in love and we have eloped. Please do not worry about me, I shall be fine.

I love you all.

Maegan

His brow furrowed as he read it again and again as if new information would emerge if he just read it enough times.

“I do not understand.”

“I have summoned her lady’s maid.”

Delwyn brightened. “Yes, that is a good idea.” He wondered where Maegan could possibly have met her beau. As far as he knew, she never left the compound unaccompanied either by their mother, a chaperone, or her lady’s maid and a footman.

Who can this man be? And how did he get to her?

He flexed his hands, feeling as if he should be doing something but not sure what. His older brother, Aaren, appeared next to him, eyebrows raised. “What is happening?”

Silently, Delwyn passed him Maegan’s note. As Aaren read it, his eyebrows rose higher and higher until Delwyn thought they might disappear into his hairline. “Where’s Father?” he asked, looking at Delwyn with urgent eyes.

Delwyn shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Aaren looked around his sister’s chambers where their mother continued to rock herself, crying softly. He sighed, gave the note back to Delwyn, and hurried away.

“Where are you going?” Delwyn called.

“To get Father,” he called as he disappeared down the corridor.