Chapter 30
It had been a long time since Kaden was this excited to share news with somebody.
If he were being honest with himself, it had been a long time since he had been moved to attempt to help somebody in this way.
But with how excited Emily had been about getting all of those books delivered, and the way they had shared their evening last night, he figured that his news would be very well received, indeed.
Only, Emily wasn’t at breakfast, and he hadn’t seen her sneaking toward the library.
Arrogantly, he wondered if their wedding night antics had exhausted her and she was sleeping in. The very few nights they had spent in one another’s company did show that she was a rather heavy sleeper, but he didn’t want to assume anything at this point.
Shona had given him some really great insight that he might have otherwise overlooked.
All of the books that they had ordered from the bookshop would only have the official documentation and records.
They were written either by other lairds or councilmen, so of course, they would be heavily biased toward whatever clan they were being authored from.
But Shona had reminded him that there was another perspective he ought to look into.
Just like how children tended to snoop on adult conversations when they were young, or delighted in knowing things that they ought not to bother with, the servants in most castles were the same.
It would be another whole perspective for the chapters that Emily was presently working on.
Shona had said that she would reach out to some of the servants to see if any of them would be willing to speak with her or to perhaps be interviewed by Emily directly about the things they had seen or heard about how the Lairds handled conflicts, or whatever other interesting tidbits that she might be able to include.
Of course, they would have to ensure that there would be no repercussions for whatever they would choose to say, but it was somewhere to start.
Emily had said that she wanted to have something that would give her a leg up on books of similar content, and he thought that this might be the thing to help her achieve that. Never mind that one could tell a lot about what sort of man a laird was from the way he chose to treat his servants.
Kaden had the cook prepare a tray of breakfast and a fresh pot of tea to take up to Emily when he realized just how much time had passed and she still hadn’t come down to join them.
He pushed open the door to her room and backed into it, tray in hand.
The room was still dark, but warmed from the fire burning low in the grate.
If anything, it was only further proof that she was still sleeping.
“Emily?” he called softly, wanting to wake her as gently as possible.
He placed the tray down on the table beside her books, clearing a small space for it so that nothing would be damaged.
It was a little strange that her journal wasn’t sitting on the top of the pile like it usually did. He wished that he could remember how her things had been laid out the night before so that he might be able to tell if anything was different in her workspace.
Kaden turned his focus to the bed, where the covers looked the same as they had been when he had left, but as he drew closer, he could see that it was merely the way the pillows were arranged and that Emily was nowhere to be seen.
Something in his gut twisted.
Something wasn’t right about this, and while it was just a feeling, he had learned that his gut instinct was rarely wrong.
Even more strange, Maggie wasn’t here to weave between his ankles. She wasn’t yipping to go outside or sleeping anywhere on the bed while waiting for Emily to return.
Perhaps he had missed Emily on the way out to the grounds? Only, the leash that she had made for Maggie was still resting over the back of the far chair, like it had been every other time she had been indoors.
Despite the urge to worry, he tried his very best to remain calm as he went out of the room, down the stairs, and headed to the door that led to the gardens. On his way, he ran into Skye, who was humming absently as she did whatever she was doing.
“Have ye seen me wife?” he asked.
“Hm. Wife. I daenae ken if I will ever get used to hearing that word from yer lips, Braither,” she teased with a wry grin and a wink.
“Aye, well, ye can leave yer teasing for another time. I am being serious, have ye seen her?”
Skye’s smile dropped at his tone. “Is something the matter?”
“Well, I willnae be able to figure that out if ye insist on refusing to answer me question now, can I?” Kaden said, irritation bleeding into his words. He couldn’t do anything to stop it.
“I saw her only for a moment this morning before breakfast. She seemed distracted and hurried off toward her room,” Skye answered, but she almost sounded like she was questioning her own memory.
The muscle in Kaden’s jaw ticked.
“Did she say anything to ye?” He studied his sister’s face carefully. “Anything at all? What she planned to do? Where she could be found?”
Skye shook her head. “Nay. Braither, ye are frightening me. What has happened?”
“Did she have Maggie with her when ye saw her?” he demanded, his worry growing.
“What? Who is Maggie?”
Kaden grunted in frustration. “The pup! The white beast that’s always following her around.”
Skye shook her head once more. “Nay, she was alone. Now, tell me what this is all about!”
But Kaden didn’t have time to explain himself, not when his wife was so clearly missing.
What could have possibly happened? Where could she have gone so early in the morning without saying something to anyone?
Surely, somebody had seen where she went or knew where to find her, and all of this would be just some huge misunderstanding.
She wouldn’t just up and leave the day after their wedding, would she?
`Kaden swallowed against the growing panic. He needed to locate Peter and speak with the guards to see if anyone had seen what had happened to her or where she had gone.
Perhaps they could start with a search of the village to see if she was there.
It was the only place that was actually close enough for her to have ridden on her own.
At least he thought so. He would have to see if she had taken a carriage, then he might have even more cause for worry.
But all of her things were still in her room.
More than anything, he hoped that he was just worrying for nothing.
When he found Peter and a few of the guards sparring out in the grounds, he called them over immediately and explained what was happening. Peter and the guards were off in the next breath as he called for a stable boy to ready his horse.
The alarm bell was rung. He didn’t much care for the way it was all starting to feel like he was heading into battle. He knew that the castle would be searched, and that was a good start. If something had happened to her—
No, he couldn’t think about that for even a second.
He was going to head to the village. That was the only reasonable thing to do. She would be there. He might even get word while he was halfway there that she had been located in some corner of the castle, reading, and that would be that.
But his gut instinct told him that something was very, very wrong.