Chapter Thirteen
It had been two hours since Daniel had broken his fast and he still hadn’t seen Beth. He’d asked after Lord Munro to set up a meeting with him, but he was out with Lord Chisholm, most likely shooting, which seemed to be their favorite pastime since they’d arrived.
Frustrated at the lack of tying things up to get the advisors—who had already sent two messages to him—off his back, he decided to go for a ride to clear his mind.
He knew the deadline of Beltane had been yesterday. But he had no intention of speaking with them until he’d first seen Lord Munro.
Beth was most likely sleeping late. He smiled, thinking the lass was probably worn out after her introduction to lovemaking.
First he stopped at the lists to make sure the training was going well. Satisfied that everything was well there, he tacked his horse and left.
Everything was going well. His feelings for Beth grew stronger every day and after last night, he couldn’t wait for the wedding to be over so he could have her in his bed every night.
For an untried lass, she was very responsive which, given what he’d learned of his wife-to-be so far, was no surprise.
The air was cool, typical for early May. He rode past the bonfire from the night before, and several of the clan members cleaning up the area. No matter how much he tried to concentrate on other things, problems he needed to resolve, his mind always wandered back to his future wife.
Not too far into the future, if he had his way.
He had to smile at how everything today seemed brighter. The clan’s people he met seemed more cheerful, the vendors setting up their wares smiled more, and even the smells coming from the bakery had his stomach growling.
He stopped and spent time speaking with Freda and Enoch, the owners of the bakery. They were excited to talk about the Beltane celebration the night before.
After leaving them, he began to feel guilty. He had many issues to deal with and he was wasting time riding around like some lovesick lad. It was time to return to the castle and find Beth, see if her da had returned, and get on with his life.
He was about ten minutes from Castle Leod when a man rode toward him, waving his arm to get his attention. Frowning, Daniel pulled up on Atlas’s reins. “Is there is a problem, Ezra?”
“I doona ken, laird. I was asked by Lady Munro to ride to the village and find ye.”
Mayhap she and Beth were planning the wedding and wanted some questions answered. “Thank ye, lad.”
After leaving his horse with the stable master, he took the stairs to the keep, two at a time, to the great hall. He stopped one of the maids and asked after Lady Munro.
“Aye, laird. She is in yer solar and wishes to see ye the minute ye returned.”
The fact that she waited in his solar was unusual. He opened the door to the room to see Lady Munro sitting on one of the chairs, holding papers in her hand. It was obvious she was upset and had been crying.
After closing the door, he walked toward her. Without saying anything, she held out one of the papers to him.
*
Lady Jean Munro had arisen that morning with a very good feeling. The king’s deadline for Laird Mackenzie to choose a wife had been yesterday. Last night, she’d seen Beth and the Mackenzie strolling around the bonfire together, hands joined.
Jean had watched her other daughters with their husbands before they married and the look in their eyes was the same as she saw in the eyes of her youngest daughter and the laird.
Despite her protests about marriage and her reluctance to reconcile herself to this trip to Castle Leod, Beth was in love. And unless she was mistaken, Laird Mackenzie was in love, also.
Like most mothers, she wanted to see all her children settled with a home and family of their own.
She was unhappy that her husband had chosen to go shooting with Lord Chisholm this morning.
She asked him to put it off, but was reluctant to share her thoughts with him about Laird Mackenzie most likely wanting to meet with him.
Men were so dense.
With the help of her maid, Bridget, she’d risen, washed, and dressed.
“Ye seem quite happy today, my lady,” Bridget said as she pulled a brush through Jean’s hair, then fastened it in a chignon at the back of her neck.
“Aye, I am, Bridget. I feel today will be a wonderful day.”
The young maid smiled. “Would this have anything to do with Lady Beth?”
Jean smiled. “Aye. Mayhap.”
“I saw her and The Mackenzie strolling around the bonfire last night. They looked verra happy.”
“They did, didn’t they?” She couldn’t help but share a smile with the maid.
Once she was ready to face her—hopefully happy—day, Jean left her bedchamber. She stopped outside Beth’s room to see if she was ready to go down to break her fast, but decided not to trouble her. She and The Mackenzie might have been out late and the lass needed her sleep.
About two hours later, Jean was still waiting for Beth to join them. Lady Chisholm was unusually quiet, which was quite pleasant, but rare. Lady Alice, sitting next to her mam, was her usual quiet self, spending most of her time staring at her food.
“Where is the laird this morning?” Lady Chisholm asked one of the serving maids.
Jean wondered the same thing. He was generally in the great hall in the morning. But perhaps and most likely he was out on the lists, where he spent most of his time when he wasn’t dealing with clan issues.
And then Bridget came rushing into the great hall, looking upset. She walked up to Jean. “My lady, may I have a word with ye?”
Jean stood and walked around the table and joined the lass who held two pieces of parchment in her hand. “What is it, Bridget?”
Completely against her usual behavior, the young maid put her arm around Jean’s waist. “We must return to Lady Beth’s bedchamber immediately.”
*
Beth awoke cold and confused. She placed her fingers at her throat, which felt exceedingly dry. It was very dark wherever she was. Whatever happened?
Then it all came back to her in a flash. She’d been kidnapped! Lady Chisholm had appeared in her bedchamber with some man who had dragged her naked from her bed.
She could hear water dripping and smell the dampness of something underground. She shivered at the sound of the skittering and squeaking of rodents who were probably not happy with their new guest.
Her surroundings told her she was in a dungeon. She was so scared when it all happened that she wasn’t completely sure where this dungeon was.
Then she shook herself, remembering what had happened after they’d dragged her from her bed. They went down—stairs after stairs, until she thought they would be going outside.
Then Lady Chisholm had said she would remain hidden until Daniel married Lady Alice.
She knew the woman was unbalanced, but it appeared she was actually deranged.
Beth shifted around and realized Lady Chisholm had at least brought her bedding with her so she wouldn’t freeze. She had wrapped herself in it during the night. Now she stood and shook it out to see what vermin slept with her.
Her shift fell to the floor. Apparently when the woman rolled up all the bedding, her shift, that Daniel had removed, got caught up in the bundle. After shaking it out, thankful to have something with which to cover her body, she slipped it over her head.
More awake now, and starting to think about her predicament, she wrapped the bedding around her and began to shout. Someone had to hear her.
All she heard was her voice coming back at her, bouncing off the walls. She swallowed a few times, trying to keep the panic away.
Lady Chisholm said she would remain here until Daniel married Lady Alice. Since yesterday had been the deadline according to the king’s edict, and with Beth missing, it appeared Lady Chisholm thought Daniel would marry Lady Alice instead, switching brides like he was choosing a pair of shoes.
She had more faith in Daniel than to think he would do that. However, it did make her wonder what Lady Chisholm had planned to have Daniel do as she wished.
Beth shivered and spent time yelling again, until her throat became more sore without any water to ease the pain. She leaned against the wall and slid to a heap on the floor, tears running down her cheeks.
She brushed at something else crawling up her arm.
Daniel. Can your heart hear mine? Please, come for me. I’m scared and I doona want ye to go along with the unbalanced woman’s plan.
I love ye.
*
Daniel glanced down at the papers Lady Munro held fisted in her hand.
“What is that?”
She shook her head and held one of the papers out to him. With a shaky hand he reached out and took it. His eyes scanned the note addressed to him.
I am sorry, my laird, but I have decided to visit my sister who is not too far from here. I have to think things over. Please don’t come after me.
Beth
It took him all of ten seconds to say to Lady Munro, “This is fake.”
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “How would ye ken?”
Since he no plans to tell her mother that he and her daughter had anticipated their wedding vows the night before, he merely said, “I asked Beth to marry me last evening and she was quite certain when she said yes. I have no reason to believe she’s changed her mind.
And especially to be so foolish as to ride off in the middle of the night. ”
Lady Munro jumped up. “We must go to my daughter Lady Alisa Grant’s home and see if Beth is there. If she is no’, then where is she?” She began wringing her hands and walking in circles.
“May I see yer note?” He reached out and Lady Munro handed him her wrinkled, damp parchment.
It was a note similar to his, just as short. He slapped the document against his hand. “I doona like this. There are several reasons I find these to be fake.” Before she started to speak he added, “However, I will ride to Castle Grant and fetch Beth back if she is there.”
He closed his eyes briefly and thought of the look on Beth’s face when she reached her women’s pleasure and afterwards when he held her in his arms. There was no doubt she was certain enough to not change her mind so quickly.
Their walks around the bonfire and the bed sport following had left a tired and satisfied Beth sound asleep when he’d climbed from her bed and returned to his bedchamber so as not to be discovered.
However, he didn’t think it necessary to tell Lady Munro why he was certain Beth wasn’t visiting her sister. Since he had few ideas as to where the lass was, the ride would give her mam some peace and him time to quell the panic and clear his mind.
Without raising notice, he ordered the castle and the keep searched. If that didn’t turn the lass up, the men he’d dispensed were to search the woods, abandoned bothies, and every tree and blade of grass from the castle to the village.
He also requested another horse readied since he planned to ride as quickly as possible, and Atlas was most likely worn out from their morning trek. So as not to cripple the animal, it would take him two to three days each way to make the journey to Castle Grant.
He slapped his fist in his palm. He was wasting time riding to Beth’s sister. But to calm Lady Munro down, it had to be done.
Lady Chisholm was sitting in the great hall, embroidery on her lap that she was ignoring as he strode through the room. However, she was giving him a great deal of attention.
He knew in his heart that she had something to do with Beth’s disappearance and it scared him to death that while he was riding back and forth to Castle Grant, Beth was most likely in danger.
The idea came to him while he was getting travel food from Cook to bring with him. He swiftly turned from the kitchen and hurried out to the lists.
He signaled Gregory over from where he was working with a young new warrior. He jogged up to him, wiping sweat from his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“What do ye need, Daniel?”
Daniel studied him for a moment, considering his plan and deciding it was the best thing to do. He wrapped his arm around his cousin’s shoulder. “I need ye to take a trip to Castle Grant.”