Page 36 of The Cursed Highland Bride

Adamina’s eyes widened in fear as she whispered her thoughts, “She has nae been happy.”

Dunn gritted his teeth. His wife had been ignoring him for days, and now he could not find her. It was hard not to believe what his siblings were suggesting. “She is nae happy, o’ that we are all certain, but I cannae believe that she would bring such shame tae her family or tae her people as tae flee.” Even as he said the words, he was not completely certain of them.

“Is anything missing from her bedchamber?” Tor asked Dunn.

“I dinnae ken.” He looked to his sister for help.

“I will go and look.” Adamina left the hall with her brothers right behind her.

They entered Katarina’s room and scanned its contents. Dunn opened their mother’s wooden chest and saw that everything was still there except for the dress that Katarina had been wearing that morning. Finding nothing, Adamina sat down on the edge of the bed, a tear slipping from her lashes. Her body shifted the mattress and exposed something sticking out from beneath it, catching Dunn’s eye. He walked over and lifted it to find a handful of weapons.

“What is this?” he asked, his brows furrowing in question at the scene before him. There was a sword, a dirk, a sgian dubh, and what looked like a knife from the kitchen. “Tor, do an inventory of the weapons in the armory. If nothing is missing there, make discreet inquiries among the men if they are missing anything. Adamina, take this knife down to the kitchen and ask the cook about it.”

“What are ye going tae do?” Adamina asked, uncertainty in her eyes.

“That depends upon what she intended tae do with these.” Dunn was not certain whether to be angry at his wife or concerned for her. If she was so afraid of danger that she had stockpiled weapons to defend herself, then she had his sympathy. If she was planning to leave him or harm his people, then he would make her wish that she had never considered such a notion. “I will nae harm her if that is what ye fear.”

Adamina nodded. “She would nae harm anyone. I ken it in my soul.”

“Let us hope that ye speak true.” Dunn’s heart felt heavy as he removed the weapons from their hiding place and followed his siblings from the room. Wherever his wife was, when she returned, she would have a lot of explaining to do.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

By the time Katarina had decided to return to the castle, the storm had reached such ferocity that she could no longer see her way safely. Floundering around, she attempted to find shelter in the natural landscape. Somewhere along the way, she got turned around and ended up someplace she did not recognize. She had not yet explored every aspect of the island so was not certain where she was in relation to the castle, but she was able to make out the dim outline of a manmade structure ahead. Bowing her head against the wind, she trudged through the rain.

The structure turned out to be a stone-built house of small proportions but substantial enough to provide shelter and a cozy life for whoever had built it. She felt her way along the rough stone until her hand made contact with a wooden door. Pounding on the door, she prayed that whoever lived within would be able to hear her above the storm. She could smell smoke from a fire, so she was fairly certain that someone was home.

A brief moment later, the door opened to reveal a beautiful dark-haired woman with brown eyes so deep in hue that they were almost black. The woman looked her up and down from head to toe before stepping back and motioning for her to enter without uttering a word. Katarina did not need another invitation. The storm outside felt as if it were about to swallow her whole. Relieved to have found shelter, she scurried in out of the rain. Crossing over to the fire, the woman motioned for her to warm herself. Katarina obeyed. The woman opened a chest and removed some dry clothes, handing them to her. Her eyes widened as she recognized the clothing of her own people.

“Romani,” she whispered, meeting the woman’s dark eyes.

The woman nodded, her eyes staring back into Katarina’s as if she could see down to her very soul. “I am.” Her voice was seductive and smooth, matching her beauty perfectly. “As are ye.”

Katarina’s eyes widened in fear. She shook her head vehemently and edged backward toward the door.

The woman lifted a hand to stop her. “Yer secret will nae be revealed by me. I have kenned ye would come for some time.”

Katarina was not certain if it was from relief or from being with one of her own people again, but she crumpled to the floor in a sodden puddle and began to sob.

Instead of helping her to her feet, the woman joined her on the floor, sitting across from her. “Tell me,” she instructed. Her voice was stern, yet her eyes held compassion.

Everything that Katarina had been holding inside came flooding out, tumbling forth as water over rocks in a troubled stream. She told her of her family, their slaughter, her sisters, Alistair Morgan, and how she had come to Orkney as the Lady Katherine wed to the clan’s laird. She told her everything, and when she was done, she looked up at the other woman and sighed. “I do not even know your name.”

“Esmerelda,” the woman answered, her eyes filled with knowledge beyond her years. “My name is Esmerelda.”

“Katarina Buckland,” she answered in turn.

“Ye have faced great pain tae be here, Katarina.”

“I have.”

“For that, I am sorry.”

Katarina shook her head. “You had no part in it.”

“That is where ye are wrong. It is I that wished for ye.”

Katarina’s brow furrowed in question. “How can that be so?”