Chapter 29
29
“ A strid, nay, come back!” Thomas shouted at the top of his lungs.
His voice drifted through the darkness and stretched for eternity. Terror swirled through him like a wisp on the moors.
Pushing onward, he slugged through the muck as he chased after his beloved. Each step was like he was trekking through the bog. The mud caked his feet and caused him to sink even deeper into the mire.
He wrinkled his nose at the putrid stench that swirled around him. It was as if he had stepped into the very bowels of hell.
“Thomas!”
The panic and pain in her voice rocked him to the core. He had to get to her. Whatever Chalium was doing to her, he’d stop it and save her. But whenever he tried to forge forward, some unseen force held him back.
Helplessness dropped on him like a boulder.
“Astrid! Hold on, lass, I’m comin’ for ye,” he shouted, determined to reach her no matter what.
It took every ounce of his strength to pull his leg out of the bog. Out of breath and struggling to keep going, Thomas mustered his strength to take the next step.
“Thomas, please.”
Thomas’s chest constricted until it felt as if his heart would explode.
He bolted upright, beads of sweat dripping down his brow as he looked around his room. His heart pounded wildly against his ribs and thundered in his ears as he took in the calm chamber. The familiar surroundings did nothing to ease his troubles. It was Astrid who haunted his dreams.
Whipping his head about, he peered through the veil of shadow. Astrid’s soft, rhythmic breathing was a balm to his weary soul. The dream lingered on him like a bad taste he couldn’t wash down.
Thomas had always prided himself on being an honorable man, but how could he remain honorable when he couldn’t even protect his wife?
How Laird Chalium had managed to corrupt even his most trusted adviser rattled him.
“Thomas.”
Astrid’s voice cut through the silence, and for a moment, Thomas had thought she had awoken. Holding his breath, he leaned closer to her.
“Hush now, me love,” he whispered. “I’m here. Go back to sleep and ken that I’m right here.”
The sight of her resting so peacefully beside him was exactly what he needed. Seeing her safe at his side without the worries of the world weighing on her was all he wanted.
Astrid shifted and twisted her head into the pillow. The dawn was still a few hours away, judging by the embers in the fireplace. He contemplated throwing another log on, or letting it die.
“Thomas, nay, please,” Astrid mumbled.
Thomas placed his hand on her back and gently rubbed in circles to soothe her weary mind. He had hoped that he had satisfied her to the point of utter bliss. He wanted her to rest and not have to worry about anything.
Yet, there was no escaping their troubles. If it was something that was disturbing his slumber, surely it would be something that disturbed hers.
“Hush, I’m here. Ye’re safe. I swear.”
“Dinnae try to save me. I have to do this.”
“Ye dinnae have to do it alone,” Thomas answered, despite the fact that she wouldn’t remember the conversation once she woke up.
“Ye willnae let me go,” she continued. “I had to do it. I’m sorry.”
“Astrid? What are ye talkin’ about?” Thomas asked as panic rose in his chest.
What he had thought was a mild nightmare was turning into something more. Astrid’s words felt like a confession, and if there was something she had up her sleeve, he was going to stop her.
“Ye’re here because ye want to say goodbye,” she murmured, her voice muffled by the pillow. “I’ve said me goodbye. Take care of Melody.”
“Astrid, nay,” Thomas said as he shook her awake.
Her eyes flew open as she bolted upright.
“What is it?” she asked in a panic. “Where’s Melody?”
“She’s in the other room,” Thomas answered, his heart pounding at the implications of her confession.
“Is it yer faither then?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she turned to slip out of bed.
Thomas grabbed her arm gently and shook his head. “Nay, it was just a dream,” he whispered.
Astrid blinked, confusion etched on her sleepy face. “Yers or mine?” she asked.
Thomas slid back beneath the covers and held out his arm to her. Astrid snuggled up against him, fitting perfectly in the crook of his arm. He loved the way her body felt against his. And he loved even more how soft and delicate she felt.
How could she ever think about leaving him?
“Both, I think,” he answered truthfully. “But it doesnae matter. I’m sorry I woke ye. Go back to sleep,. We have a big day tomorrow.”
“Aye,” Astrid answered, and he could have sworn he felt her shudder.
“Ye’re all right? Are ye cold?”
“Nay,” she answered, but her voice lacked conviction.
“Go back to sleep. I’m right here, ye need nae worry about anything,” Thomas said as he began playing with her hair, his eyes fixed on the beams of the ceiling.
“Thomas…”
“Aye?”
She wanted to say something. He could feel the static between them, like two bolts of lightning striking each other.
“Never mind. I’m tired and bein’ silly.”
“Go to sleep,” he said and kissed the top of her head.
She let out a heavy sigh as she settled beside him. It didn’t take long for her breathing to even out.
His thoughts shifted from Olivia to Astrid and back again, like an endless game of tug of war. He racked his brain for a way to save his sister. Each strategy was more risky than the last, but he had to find a way to free her.
“Ye will sleep safe and sound, I promise,” he whispered as he eased away from his wife.
Astrid didn’t even stir as the mattress shifted.
Thomas dressed swiftly and moved to the door. The last thing he wanted was to disturb Astrid’s peace. The day would bring enough turmoil once she woke up. But right now, she was sound asleep, and he had a job to do.
The second he stepped out of his chambers, he steeled his nerves. He wasn’t Astrid’s husband, but the Laird, and he was going to use his power and position to the fullest.
Marching down the hallway, he stopped before the first guard he came across. “I want ye posted at the Lady’s chamber.”
“Aye, Me Laird.”
“And get three more men. I’ll have her protected and watched.”
“Ye want to put a shadow on yer wife?” the guard asked, confused.
Thomas nodded. He understood all too well how bad it was going to look, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. He wouldn’t risk her life.
“That is exactly what I want,” he confirmed. “I want an eye on her at all times. But be discreet—she’ll nae like it. And see to it that there is a guard wit’ Melody as well.”
“Ye think Laird Chalium is goin’ to attack again?” the guard asked.
Thomas shook his head. “Nay. I dinnae think he’d attack so soon. But I want me family safe. Can I count on ye?”
“Aye,” the guard answered and started down the hallway with a newfound purpose.
Thomas found that he could breathe just a bit easier with Astrid looked after. It was, after all, the best solution he could come up with that would keep her safe without him having to drag her to the dungeons.
As soon as he entered his study, he made for the corner and picked up the scrolls of maps. He unrolled them one by one on his desk. Leaning over them, Thomas was determined to find a route that could get him in and out without Laird Chalium’s men spotting them.
He pored over the maps, committing to memory the trails he could utilize and the places where he’d set traps.
“Me Laird!” a maid shouted as she burst into the study.
Thomas looked up at her and straightened at the sight of her flushed face.
“It’s yer faither. He’s havin’ a spell. Ye need to come quickly.”
“Is Astrid nae already helpin’?” Thomas asked, surprised by the interruption.
He had assumed that Astrid could fix any problems that arose with Tavish, so why then wasn’t she attending to him now?
“Nay, Me Laird. We’ve sent for her, but she’s nowhere to be found.”
“What!?” Thomas rounded his desk and grabbed the maid’s arm more roughly than he had intended. Relaxing his grip, he glared at her. “Say it again?”
“The Lady has nae been seen since breakfast,” the maid answered, her voice trembling with fear.
“And nay one thought to tell me that the Lady is missing?” Thomas shouted.
“There was nay way to ken until she was needed.”
“Where is Melody?” Thomas snapped, trying his hardest to keep his temper under control.
“She’s wit’ yer sister in the drawin’ room doin’ her lessons,” she answered.
Terror shot through him as he darted out of the study. His mind raced through one scenario after another. What could have happened? Did Laird Chalium come in once again under the cloak of night to steal Astrid away? Nay, Thomas was certain that he had enough men to secure the castle. And if he had come, the alarm would have sounded. Nay, it wasn’t Chalium. Unless he sent someone to snatch her from the grounds…
Thomas shook the thought from his mind instantly. No, it wasn’t in the middle of the night that she could have fled. She was with him, warming his bed till morning. It would all determine the last time Melody saw her on how long she had been gone.
He rounded the corner and rushed toward the stairs. If there was anyone in the castle that would know where Astrid could be, it was Melody. Thomas stepped into the drawing room as if he were a tornado ripping things apart. Melody’s attention shifted to the doorway the second Thomas entered the room. Her eyes widened with curiosity and worry.
“Thomas, what brings ye here at this hour?” Eileen asked as she closed her book and set it on her lap.
“I’m lookin’ for Astrid. Have ye seen her?” Thomas asked, directing his attention to Melody.
“At breakfast. She said she was goin’ to be pickin’ herbs for yer faither’s tonic,” Melody answered. Thomas’ body went cold. Astrid wasn’t in the garden, he would have seen her through a window. Or at the very least one of the servants would have. If Astrid wasn’t in the castle or the garden, where was she?
Thomas’ heart pounded relentlessly against his chest as his mind raced. .
“What is troublin’ ye, Braither? Ye look as if yer about to lose yer lunch,” Eileen asked as he searched every corner and nook.
“Nay one has seen Astrid,” Thomas mumbled, stopping only to flash Melody a smile to ease whatever trouble his news would bring her mind. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her to worry. But with each passing moment and still no word, Thomas was growing nervous.
“Surely someone has seen her around,” Eileen answered as the weight of the situation dropped on her shoulders.
“Seems nay one has since breakfast. Tell me, lass, is there any place she would go? Maybe a secret place she likes to go just to be alone?” Thomas asked as his heart pounded relentlessly against his chest. He didn’t want to believe that Laird Chalium had come for Astrid, but if she was gone, then it meant she had left him. The thought was far too painful for him to wrap his head around.
“Like the balcony in our chambers?” Melody asked, her little face bright with hope. “She likes to step out there a lot.”
“And when did ye see her there?” Thomas asked as hope sprang like a fountain in his chest.
“Well, I picked Melody up an hour ago, I dinnae see Astrid then. Was she outside on the balcony?” Eileen asked as she glanced at Melody.
“Aye. But come to think about it, she did mention she wasnae feelin’ well,” Melody said as if the thought just popped into her head. “She’s been sick, lately. Ye might find her takin’ a bath somewhere quiet.”
Thomas’s heart leaped in his throat before it plunged into the abyss.
“Thank ye, Melody,” he said as he planted a kiss on top of her head. “Eileen, I’m goin’ to need ye to tend to Faither. He’s havin’ a spell again, and if Astrid is ill…”
“Aye,” Eileen agreed as she closed the book and set it to the side. “I dinnae ken what I have to do, but I’ll do what I can.”
“I can help,” Melody offered. “Astrid showed me how to make tonics.”
“That would help. Ye go wit’ Eileen, I’ll fetch Astrid, and hopefully one of us will get Faither under control again,” Thomas said as he marched out of the room with a new sense of purpose.
His heart skipped and fluttered as he hurried up the stairs to their chamber. He didn’t know if he should knock or barge in. His body tensed as a foreboding feeling coiled in the pit of his stomach.
Swallowing hard, Thomas entered the room. A cold chill greeted him that could only be accompanied by emptiness. There was no sign of Astrid.
His heart shattered as he spotted the parchment on her writing table. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to ignore it, to turn away. But it drew him in like a moth to a flame.
He picked up the note and held his breath as he read it.
“Astrid… What have ye done, lass?” he mumbled as he reread the note to ensure that he had read it right.
“Guards!” he barked, his voice carrying through the chambers and down the hall.
The sound of armor rattling down the hallway reached his ears. He turned around and caught sight of something flapping violently in the wind.
Thomas felt numb. The letter slipped from his fingers as he swept his eyes over the bed.
“Me Laird,” the guards answered in unison as they barged into the room.
Thomas paused before the balcony doors, refusing to believe that she would run from him. Yet, as he pulled them open, his worst fears were confirmed.
Tied to the granite balustrade was a makeshift rope.
Thomas shook his head as the warmth drained from his being.
“Is the castle sealed?” Thomas asked.
“Aye,” the guards answered with a salute that gave him the confidence to believe them. Still doubt clung to him like seaweed.
“Are ye sure? Ye got every gate and door closed off. Nay one has entered?”
“Nay, my Laird,” they answered.
“And nay one has left?” Thomas felt the question scrape his throat as he looked at his men. “Ye havenae seen anyone cross the field? Cloaked or nae?”
“Nay one,” they answered.
“See that the east wall has double the men,” Thomas ordered. If she had left the castle, he’d need eyes on the field between his lands and Chalium’s.
Where are ye lass?
There was nay telling where Astrid was or even how long she had been gone.
He glanced at the strips of sheets she had twisted together. It was a far better rope than the one she had made before. But back then, she had enough time to make it.
“She couldnae have gotten far,” he whispered as he calculated the distance for a moment.
I can catch her and bring her back before she does something foolish.