Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Eleanor awoke the following morning to the sound of something being slid beneath her door. She opened her eyes and looked around the dimly lit chambers, and blinked. She could hardly recall what had happened the day before when she glanced to the side and spotted the note lying on the floor.
What on earth could that be?
She groggily pulled herself from under the covers and climbed from the bed. The floor felt cool beneath her bare feet, but she tiptoed over and lifted the note. It was still too dark for her to read, so she carried the scrap of parchment over to the hearth and lit a candle before blinking again.
The writing was neat and slanted, the work of someone who knew how to compose a note.
Her heart began to beat faster when her eyes glanced down the page.
I know where your brother might be. He mentioned to me on our last meeting that he wanted to visit the ruins outside the loch where the two of you used to play as children.
Her breathing stilled. There was no name to the note, no indication of who had written it or why they had even bothered to mention it to her.
The old ruins.
She knew very well what the writer was referring to, but she did not understand why her brother would mention them to anyone in the castle. It struck her like a bolt of lightning that someone had recognized her. Somebody knew that she was the sister of the land agent who had gone missing.
Hamish.
Her eyes widened as her hand encircled the note. He was the only one who had been staring at her as if he knew exactly who she was. There was no other person in the castle whom she could think of who had spoken to her brother other than a member of the council.
“I have to tell Callum at once,” she whispered out loud and hurried to dress.
By the time that the sun was beginning to rise beyond her window, she was fully dressed and on he way to Callum’s chambers across the castle with the note in hand. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing, but then she knocked.
Her heart beat in her ears as she stilled and waited for a response.
An eternity seemed to pass before someone stirred within Callum’s chambers.
She knocked again, wondering if he had fallen back asleep.
“For goodness sake, I am comin’,” he grumbled loudly from behind the door.
Another moment or two passed until the door suddenly opened, revealing a half-dressed Callum wearing nothing more than his breeches. “What do ye…” His voice trailed off when his eyes landed on Eleanor.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Eleanor held out the note as she pried her eyes away from his bare chest. “I received this note under me door,” she quickly added.
Callum’s brow creased into a frown as he looked from her to the scrap of paper.
“Someone kens where me brother is, we always played at the ruins beside the loch,” she blurted out again when he failed to say anything at all.
He remained quiet for a moment before looking up. “Did ye nae see who left the note?”
Eleanor shook her head. “I had just woken up when I heard the note scraping across the floor.”
Lowering the note, Callum looked up with a frown. “Eleanor, I daenae think that…”
“Please, daenae say that we cannae go. I ken very well it may be a trap, but I willnae be able to live with meself if I daenae go and see. I came to ye first because I ken that ye would nae want me to go on me own, but I am beggin’ ye, Me Laird, I have to go…
” Her voice trailed off as if she were about to cry.
Callum’s eyes searched her face, and just for a moment, she wondered if he would deny her request. “Ye said it yerself, lass, it could be a trap. Who in the castle would yer brother have told about the ruins?”
“That is just the thing, he must have kent the person very well to have said soemthin’ of the sort to them. I am hopin’ that he is hidin’ there, but if he isnae, then at least I would have done all I could to find out,” she finished breathlessly.
“And if it is a trap?” Callum raised an eyebrow.
She thought quickly, hoping that she was right. “Then ye shall be at me side. Whoever wrote that note suspects that I would act on me own. Why else would they have given it to me directly rather than givin’ it to ye?”
He seemed thoughtful for a moment before lowerin’ the note. “Aye, ye have a point. Ye are very impulsive, they wouldnae expect ye to come to me first.” He seemed almost shocked himself that she had not just gone and looked on her own.
I daenae have time to worry about ye…
His words came flooding back to her from when she had decided to take a ride on her own. “I didnae want ye to worry about me if I went on me own,” she said softly, knowing that she had subconsciously considered him before just acting on an impulse.
Sighing heavily, Callum ran his fingers through his hair. “Ye willnae rest until we have gone to these ruins, will ye?”
She shook her head, feeling hope spring up in her chest. “This means the world to me, me Laird.”
His expression softened. “Aye, I can see that. Allow me some time to sort things out with Iain. We cannae just walk into the ruins unaided, but we should be able to leave within the hour. Ye may go and prepare yerself for the journey. Meet me at the stables when ye are ready.”
The horses were saddled and ready by the time Eleanor reached the stables. To her surprise, Callum was already waiting for her with two horses.
“Will Iain be joinin’ us?” She asked as she climbed into the saddle.
Callum shook his head. “Someone needs to be here at the castle in case this was a plan to lure us both away. Some of the men will be follwin’ behind at a safe distance.” The horse he had saddled stepped to the side.
Eleanor nodded, though a small part of her had been expecting Iain to appear at any moment. “Aye, that is probably wise.”
Callum glanced toward her. “It is also wise because Iain would spend the entire journey complainin' about me decisions.”
A surprised laugh escaped her. “I thought he agreed with everythin' ye did.”
“Nay. He merely waits until afterward to tell me how foolish I was.”
Eleanor smiled despite the knot of anxiety twisting in her stomach. The ruins, Andrew, and the note all haunted her thoughts, urging her forward. Yet somehow Callum's presence made them easier to bear.
The morning air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. Mist still lingered across the valleys below, curling around the hills like pale ribbons.
For a while, neither spoke. The silence was not uncomfortable as they both seemed occupied with their own thoughts.
Eleanor found herself glancing toward Callum more often than she intended. Perhaps it was because she had seen him half-dressed less than an hour ago. The memory refused to leave her mind.
Saints preserve me, but I cannae think of that.
Every time she thought she had forgotten the sight of his bare chest, the image returned with infuriating clarity. His broad shoulders. The tousled state of his dark hair. The sleepy confusion in his eyes when he had opened the door.
Heat crept into her cheeks.
“What is it?” Callum’s voice nearly made her jump in the saddle.
“Nothin’,” she lied quickly.
His eyebrow rose. “Nothin’ at all?”
“I… I was just wonderin’ how far it was until we reach the ruins? We always travelled from Edinburgh. I never approached from this direction before.” She focused her gaze on the road in front of her, hoping that her flaming cheeks would not give her away.
Why am I like this?
Callum's mouth twitched slightly. “Another half hour, perhaps.”
She nodded and looked ahead.
The further they rode, the quieter the world became.
At first, Eleanor paid little attention to it.
The forest surrounding the loch had always been peaceful.
Yet as the minutes passed, an uneasy feeling began to settle in her stomach.
There were no birds, no flapping of wings, and no rustling of creatures in the underbrush.
Only the steady rhythm of hoofbeats against the damp earth.
Even Callum seemed to notice as he rose beside her, his hands tightening on the reins. His gaze swept the trees repeatedly, his posture becoming more alert with every passing moment. “Do ye hear that?” he asked quietly.
Eleanor frowned. “Hear what?”
“Exactly.” His jaw clenched almost painfully.
A chill crept down her spine.
Soon, the trees began to thin as the loch emerged before them, its dark waters reflecting the grey morning sky. On the far shore stood the ruins. The sight stole Eleanor's breath; nothing had changed.
The crumbling stone walls still stood where she remembered them. The broken tower still leaned slightly to one side. Ivy crawled across the weathered stone exactly as it had years ago.
For one brief moment, hope surged inside her.
Perhaps Andrew truly was here.
Perhaps he had hidden himself away. Perhaps...
Her horse suddenly snorted and shifted beneath her, forcing her to adjust her position in the saddle as she shifted to the side. There was no time to let her thoughts wander, not when she needed to keep her wits about her.
Callum dismounted first. “Stay close.”
She barely waited for him before sliding from her saddle.
Together they approached the ruins. Nothing stirred around them, not even the calling of a bird, the song of the frogs and crickets that usually permeated the air. It was almost as if even nature had abandoned the ruins for their arrival.
“Andrew?” she called. Her voice echoed across the empty stones.
No answer came.
She swallowed hard and moved deeper into the ruins.
“Andrew!” She raised her voice slightly, still weary of the fact that it could have been an ambush from the start.
Nothing but silence came back to greet her.
The old courtyard was empty, along with what little of the room had been left standing.
Not even a fire or campsite was anywhere to be seen.
The small chamber where she and her brother used to hide during games of make-believe was deserted.
Dust coated every surface, and grass pushed through the forgotten flagstones.
Only the spiders seemed to have taken up residence as their webs stretched across doorways and half-broken lintels.
Eleanor stopped, her heart slowly sinking. “Nobody has been here,” she whispered out loud.
Coming to a stop beside her, Callum crouched near the ground where it looked as if a fire had once been lit.
Ash still scorched the earth, but the amount of soot indicated that the flames had died away months prior.
“Nay,” he answered softly. “They have nae.” His voice was grim as he brushed his fingers across the earth.
The hope she'd been clinging to shattered all at once as a lump began to form in the back of her throat. “This cannae be right.” She turned in a slow circle, searching against hope that there would still be a sign. “He would have come here. He loved this place.”
“Aye,” Callum seemed to be humoring her as he pushed himself up from his haunches and came up straight.
“Then why send the note?” She turned back to him and fought against the tears that threatened to spill over.
Callum's expression darkened. “That is the question.”
A sudden shout echoed from somewhere behind the ruins, causing a flock of hidden birds to suddenly take flight.
Both of them spun.
One of Callum's men emerged from the trees at a run. “Me Laird!”
Callum immediately reached for his sword, placing his hand on the hilt. “What is it?”
The guard slowed, breathing heavily, his face red from effort. “We found somethin'.”
Fear gripped Eleanor's chest. “What?”
The man hesitated before holding up the scrap of parchment.
The same handwriting.
Eleanor’s heart stopped beating as she glimpsed the confident strokes of ink.
I am glad that ye came, but Andrew was never here.
Callum took it from him, his jaw tightening painfully again.
“What does it mean?” Eleanor demanded, knowing that Callum would have already formed an idea.
For a moment, he simply stared at the page before looking up. His eyes were colder than she had ever seen them.
Eleanor's pulse thundered. “It means exactly what I feared. They wanted to see if you or I would come. Someone is playing a game with us, and we played right into their hands.”
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled on the horizon, bringing a chill to the breeze.
Callum’s eyes met hers. He was not resentful of bringing her there, but she could not help but notice the anger that lurked in the depths.
He hated being used as a pawn, and someone within his own clan had done just that.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded to the clansman.
“Take the rest of the man and head back to the castle. Mistress Eleanor and I will follow behind at a safe distance. Go as if ye were on patrol. There is nae kennin’ who might still be watching us. ”