Chapter 12
“H
ow in blazes can there be nae trace of her?” Laird Cawley thundered, slamming his fist against the long table of the great hall.
The sun was beginning to set. It had been a full day since Darina had disappeared from the Beltane festivities, and Cawley’s panic had increased with every moment of her absence.
Likewise, Darina’s sisters had taken to pacing the hallways nervously or forlornly staring out the windows of their bedchambers in the hope that they might spy a horse and rider approaching with her.
But they had witnessed no such thing, and now sobs and wails were beginning to echo in the corridors of the castle. Cawley was doing his best to maintain his composure, but inwardly, his soul was making the very same noises that were emanating from his remaining daughters’ rooms.
Logan and Cameron stood before their father. Both of them wore looks of shame and fatigue.
“We have scoured the lands,” Cameron told him, “and asked after her at every farm and village. Nay one has seen any sign of her whatsoever.”
“Indeed, they seem every bit as concerned and frightened by her disappearance as we are,” Logan added. “She is well-loved by our people, as ye ken.”
“If they love her so much,” Cawley roared, “then they should be forsakin’ all rest or refreshment until they find her and bring her home!”
“I got the distinct impression that many of them intend tae do precisely that, Father,” Cameron assured him. “Only…” He trailed off uncertainly.
“What?” Cawley demanded. “What is it? Speak, damn it!”
“Even if they undertake such a task,” Logan said, “and even if they do it as diligently as they can, eventually, they will reach the farthest edge of our borders. And there they will go nae further, fer tae do so would be tae venture into McDougal lands, risk their own necks, and perhaps even provoke an attack from Laird Oliver in exchange fer that trespass.”
“Which could well be what Oliver has in mind,” Cameron observed grimly.
Cawley scowled. “What on Earth is that supposed tae mean, eh?”
“We ken that Darina did nae leave of her own accord,” Cameron went on, his brow furrowed.
“She was perhaps unhappy aboot the prospect of being sent tae London tae marry but nae so upset that she would run away from home like some silly child. Finn took her. Old Lennox saw all of it. But fer what purpose?”
“Oliver is most likely behind all this,” Logan pointed out.
Cameron let out an anguished cry. “Finn, that bastard, must have been some agent sent tae carry our sister off. And fool that I am, I invited him into our home! Allowed him tae borrow my clothes, fer heaven’s sake! How could I have been so stupid tae trust a total stranger during a time of war?”
“You must nae blame yerself, Cameron,” Logan told him, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Ye have been bereft of companions lately, and ye had a good instinct aboot the man.”
“A pitifully wrong instinct, as it turned out,” Cameron seethed.
“Even so,” Logan pressed on, “if his entire purpose in comin’ here was tae take her from us, then it is likely he would have made his move eventually whether ye had invited him tae the festivities or nae.”
“Aye, and perhaps he would have failed because he hadn’t been presented with such an easy opportunity when the rest of us were too distracted with dancin’ and feastin’ tae notice,” Cameron growled.
“Or perhaps, given more time, we might have discovered his true intentions and prevented him from actin’ upon them. Now we will never ken, will we?!”
“Nay, we will nae, that is true,” Logan agreed readily enough, “so further speculation and self-flagellation on the subject seems useless, especially since it will nae bring her back tae us.”
“Why would Oliver choose to kidnap Darina?” Cawley fretted. “Puttin’ aside the grave dishonor of such a reprehensible and underhanded act, how can he possibly believe such a thing would benefit him?”
“As I say, he could mean tae lure us into a full-scale assault on his keep,” Cameron said.
“But how would that further his cause?” Logan mused. “The war has ravaged his lands and diminished his forces even more than it has our own. He would very probably lose such a conflict.”
“Perhaps,” Cameron replied, “or he feels that he can raise our ire tae the point where we will behave recklessly and charge in without thinkin’. Perhaps he means tae lay a trap fer us.”
“Or perhaps he has simply ordered her kidnap because he is a mean-spirited monster, and it would please him tae hurt me by hurtin’ her,” Cawley spoke up miserably. “How can we begin tae accurately guess the motivations of such a blackguard as Oliver McDougal?”
“And more tae the point,” Logan said, “if he is the one behind it, what course of action ought we take tae see Darina safely retrieved?”
None of the men in the room seemed to have any satisfactory answer to such a question, and they lapsed into a tense silence once more.
A guardsman appeared in the doorway, and the three men turned to look at him expectantly, their hearts in their throats.
All of them clung to the same hope: That the guard would report that Darina had been safely returned and that the cause of her absence had all been due to some silly comedy of errors.
Instead, the look on his face was grave indeed, leading them to immediately draw the worst conclusion instead, that maybe her lifeless body had been discovered.
“We have found a message from the McDougal clan,” the guard reported solemnly. “One of the farmers near the edge of our land’s borders found it pinned tae a tree on his property with a dagger. The blade bore the crest of the McDougals.”
“Too cowardly tae send a messenger tae deliver it in person, the confounded worm!” Cawley exclaimed angrily.
“Hardly surprisin’, given the fate which would likely befall such a messenger,” Cameron pointed out softly. To the guard, he said, “Go on, tell us what it says. Surely it must indicate that our sister is alive?”
Logan shuddered visibly but said nothing.
The guard cleared his throat. “Darina is indeed their prisoner. Laird Oliver means fer her tae marry his eldest son Fergus…who, it seems, was the man who kidnapped her.”
“That scoundrel was Oliver’s son?” Cameron blurted out, furious. “Oh, if I had known, I could have killed him a dozen times over!”
“Ye may yet have that chance,” Logan observed. “But why in heaven’s name would Oliver have his son marry our sister? What could he gain from it?”
“An assurance that the war would end,” Cawley answered sourly. “If our two bloodlines are united, there can be nay more armed conflict between us.”
“But such a plan is ridiculous!” Cameron protested. “It’s insane! What makes him think that she would go along with it?”
“I doubt he believes she would of her own will,” Logan countered, “but under threat of torture, or worse? There’s nay tellin’ what he could force her tae agree tae.”
“She is a strong and defiant woman,” Cameron insisted. “She will nae break.”
Logan looked at him sadly. “She is strong and defiant fer a noblewoman and one who has never endured any genuine pain or hardship. We cannae be certain that she would stand firm, given the methods he might use upon her. We cannae be certain that anyone would, fer that matter.”
“Then what are we tae do?” Cawley demanded. “Steal her back from them?”
Cameron considered this, then shook his head. “That would nae work, I think. First of all, our men are great warriors and loyal soldiers, but none of them are known fer their stealth or subtlety. I would nae depend upon them fer such a delicate task.”
“Fergus seemed tae manage it right enough,” Logan grumbled.
“He did, and it seems tae me that his success was predicated upon luck more than anythin’ else,” Cameron replied.
“Besides that, the only two men I believe might have a genuine chance at engagin’ in such tactics would be ye or me.
And that would never work, fer Fergus kens what we look like, and his entire clan would be expectin’ us tae make such a move.
We were welcomin’ enough, and we did nae anticipate a kidnappin’. They, on the other hand…”
“…will have their guard up,” Logan finished tiredly. “Yes, I suppose ye’re right, at that. So the question remains: What is our wisest course of action?”
“It seems tae me that the direct approach is the best one,” Cawley said with a voice like cold iron. “We cannae sit and wait fer Oliver tae force Darina tae marry Fergus. If subterfuge will nae put an end tae this, then by God, outright battle must! We shall gather our armies and charge the keep.”
“That seems like a dreadful mistake,” Logan informed him, “and one that will almost certainly result in Darina’s death. As Cameron said, that could be the very outcome he is prayin’ for. Even if it is nae, he will likely slip a dagger between her ribs the moment he sees us approachin’.”
“What do ye expect me tae do, then?” Cawley’s face was growing red indeed.
“Sit here powerless and afraid, and do nothin’ while my daughter is victimized?
Every moment we delay could be an added moment of agony fer her.
But if we collect all of our remaining soldiers and lay siege tae that damned keep, perhaps we can put him in a position where he will be forced tae barter her safe return in exchange fer his own worthless life and the lives of his kinsmen! ”
Cameron looked stricken at the prospect, but he nodded just the same. “We have tae try, at least. We cannae allow Oliver’s mad scheme tae succeed. We cannae allow Darina tae be bullied into marryin’ the offspring of that swine.”
“Even if such an action will almost certainly result in her death?” Logan pressed. “Possibly even before our very eyes?”
Cameron put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Oliver is a depraved and evil man, Logan. Whether she agrees tae marry Fergus or nae, he might well plan tae have her killed anyway. There is nay way to predict what wretched madness that man is capable of. I can think of nae other way tae attempt a rescue and confound his scheme.”
Logan sighed, frustrated. “Then I suppose that is the end of it, and there is nothin’ left but tae prepare fer battle…and offer up prayers fer Darina’s deliverance.”
He fervently hoped such prayers would be enough to save her, but somehow, he doubted it.