Chapter 16
In hindsight, Ryder thought that he was pretty lucky not to have received an elbow in the gut or perhaps a fist to the nose. He wasn’t sure what had prompted him to sneak up on her that way.
It was too late now, of course. Megan’s entire body tensed, and he heard her suck in a breath.
She took a step forward, turning to face him, and there was a plain wariness on her face.
She bloody should be wary, he thought, with a burst of anger.
“Didnae expect to see me here, did ye?” Ryder said after a moment. He flashed a grim smile, which she did not return.
“Nay,” Megan said at last. “I didnae.”
“I heard word that there was movement in the Keep,” he said grimly, even though she hadn’t asked.
“I heard that there was a wee bit of to-ing and fro-ing. Imagine me horror when, after havin’ gone to check on me sisters, I found two of the guards insensible outside of Alaina’s door.
Nae drunk, mind ye, drugged. I forgot the name of the herb that was used to drug them.
It gave them a very nice sleep, apparently. ”
Megan went red. “I didnae drug the guards!”
He rolled his eyes. “If I thought that ye were behind me sister sneaking out of the Keep, ye would have woken unconscious in the dungeon, I can promise ye that.”
She reddened further and glanced away.
Ryder wondered briefly if he really had meant that. Would he have thrown her into the dungeon?
He’d spotted Alaina first, before he approached Megan.
Alaina was standing by the dancers, clapping and laughing.
She looked happy and safe, and so Ryder had not withdrawn his sword and plunged, point-first, into the crowd to find her.
She was safe for now, so he could rein in his panic and fury and concentrate on finding answers.
“I saw her sneakin’ out,” Megan confessed, meeting his eye and holding it, “and I thought it best to follow her instead of lettin’ her disappear.”
“And ye never thought to inform me before she left?”
“There wasnae time. And besides, I thought I was meant to be helpin’ her trust me.”
He eyed her for a moment, chewing his lower lip.
There’s somethin’ she isnae tellin’ me, he thought, but what that something was remained to be seen.
“Ye helped her run away,” he said at last, hearing ice creep into his own voice. “It is nae her trust ye should care about at this moment. It’s mine. Right now, Megan, ye daenae have a single scrap of me trust.”
He put weight into his voice. He wanted her to understand just how seriously she had erred.
But Megan only lifted her chin, still holding his gaze.
“That’s nae quite true, is it, Ryder?” she murmured quietly. “Ye do trust me. At least a little. And I can tell ye now that Alaina is safe and happy with me.”
He folded his arms tightly across his chest. “Ye daenae seem to understand the weight of all this, lass. Ye daenae seem to understand just how bad this is.”
“I understand that if ye hadnae locked up yer own sister like a captive in her own castle, she wouldnae have had to escape ye just to have a wee bit of fun.”
“Fun?” he snarled. “Fun? Aye, all right, we’ll put it on her gravestone, eh? Died for a wee bit of fun. Will ye be happy then?”
“Ach, give over. Nobody’s dead. What’s more, ye ken fine well that she was safe here, and I had it all under control.”
“This place is dangerous. Do ye truly nae see the danger? Look at all these people. Anybody could slip in and out of a crowd like this. Somebody could enter the square, knife somebody in the side, and then slip out again, unseen, before the body even fell to the floor.”
“Perhaps so,” Megan shot back, visibly irritated now, “but she is safe! I’m here! And so is she. Look, she’s just over there.”
Both of them glanced in the direction Megan had pointed.
There, by the side of the dancing platform, stood…
Nobody.
Alaina was gone.
A rush of anxiety tightened Ryder’s chest. Swallowing hard, he glanced around. She must have just wandered off. She couldn’t be far, surely?
“She… she was right there,” Megan stammered, an edge of worry in her voice now. “She was, truly.”
Heat swept up Ryder’s spine. It was a familiar feeling, one he was used to enduring just before a battle or a particularly nasty council meeting. It was his body’s way of getting him ready for action, flooding his limbs with coiled strength. Getting him ready for anything.
“I brought some soldiers, but nae a whole troop,” Ryder muttered, his hand shooting to the hilt of his sword. “I had nay idea what to expect. And knowin’ that ye were with her made me worry less.”
Why am I tellin’ her this?
It was too late to stop, though. Words kept spilling out of his mouth, more and more of them.
“I trusted ye. Trusted her, I suppose. And those guards… they’ll be punished.”
“That’s hardly fair.”
“And where was the other? There were three guards. Where is the third? It doesnae matter. We must find her.”
“I daenae think she’s been taken,” Megan said, eyes fixed on the dance floor. “She might have gone with somebody.”
“Gone with somebody? That’s the definition of bein’ taken,” Ryder snarled. “We start the search now. Ye go that way; I’ll go this. For God’s sake, hurry!”
For once, Megan did not argue. She gave a sharp, decisive nod and scurried off in the direction he pointed. Ryder paused, making sure that she was looking carefully, and set off in the opposite direction.
Ewan stood by the village gates, grim-faced. He smothered a yawn, probably still dreaming of his soft, warm bed, and Flora asleep in it.
“She’s here,” Ryder stated. “Megan was watchin’ her, but she’s gone off now. Make sure nobody leaves the village, aye?”
“I’ll do me best, but there are plenty of other exits in a place like this.”
Ryder clenched his jaw and gave a sharp nod. “Do yer best. Keep an eye out for Alaina.”
Ewan turned to the men, giving sharp orders, while Ryder turned to face the crowded village square.
He was pretty sure that Alaina had not gone far. He’d seen her as he approached Megan. Whoever had brought her here clearly had no ill intentions. Not if they brought her here. But who knew what might have happened once he took his eye off her?
Some of the villagers had begun to notice that something was up.
They shot him wary, nervous looks, whispering to each other.
He imagined that some of them would have recognized him, and then the news would spread like wildfire through the village—Laird MacCulloch was here, and he wasn’t here for the festivities.
Behind him, a cluster of young women approached the gate, clearly wanting to leave.
Ewan’s voice was firm and clear, telling them that nobody was leaving, not yet.
Ryder strode away into the crowd, away from the women’s panicked voices.
He hoped that Ewan would reassure them that it would all be over soon.
It’s for the greater good, after all, he thought. The crowds parted around him, with people edging nervously away from him. Good, that was good. Ryder wanted space. He wanted them to move out of his way so that he could get a good look around. Alaina couldn’t have gone far.
Beyond the square, darkened houses squatted on their own little patches of land.
A wide, well-used path snaked through the houses to where a well sat, silent and calm in the darkness.
Beyond that was a grassy hillock, with a few trees sprouting out of it.
There weren’t really many places to go in this village, not with so many people wandering around the square.
However, the trees on top of the hillock could provide a little shelter.
Somebody could hide there if they wanted.
All of this, as far as Ryder could tell, was within the village walls. If Ewan and his men had managed to encircle the walls—not that there were enough of them for that—then perhaps they would have been able to prevent Alaina from escaping.
That was a nasty word. Escaping. Thinking of her as being kidnapped was bad enough, but did she really want to escape?
No, no, she didn’t. That couldn’t be true. Ryder pushed it to the back of his mind and set off at a sharp jog down the pathway. There was movement up ahead, and a ray of moonlight shone down on a headful of glossy red hair. That was Megan. She must have had the same idea as he did.
Two sets of eyes are better than one, Ryder thought, and followed her at a distance.
If Alaina weren’t to be found, he would send for more men from the Keep. They would encircle the village and conduct a thorough search. The festival would come screeching to an unpleasant halt, but who cared about that, so long as Alaina was safe and well?
I promised her maither, Ryder reminded himself grimly. I swore I’d keep them safe. How could it be that she slipped through me fingers so easily?
Ahead, he saw Megan climbing the hillock, heading straight toward a clump of trees on the very peak. He paused, frowning. Had she seen something he hadn’t?
At that moment, the fickle moon sailed out from behind a cloud, and silvery moonlight filled the world. There was movement at the top of the hill. A girl with long hair stepped out from behind a tree, turning to smile at somebody behind her.
Ryder’s chest tightened with equal parts relief and anger. It was Alaina; he could see that even from where he stood. Megan was hurrying toward her, probably wanting to get to Alaina before he did.
Good luck with that, he thought grimly. I’ll still be angry by the time she gets down from that hill.
All thoughts ceased when he saw movement in the trees behind Alaina. Ryder’s feet seemed to fix themselves to the pathway, and he could only stand and stare.
A man came out of the trees, his gaze fixed on Alaina. Alaina turned to look up at him, but she must have been frozen in fright, and only leaned back against the tree.