Chapter 16

In a corner of the kennels,Lily sniffled as she watched her favorite puppy play with the others. They were still tiny, but their eyes were beginning to open, and they were beginning to wiggle around like they were trying to learn to walk.

Normally, she'd love watching them. Now, though, all she could think of was the fact that Ailis was leaving. She'd only been here a few days, and now she was going away again!

Even worse, Ailis seemed to be angry with her father. She might not understand everything, but she could see how Ailis never spoke to her father and sometimes pretended not to hear him. Lily knew how to do that too, and what it meant when someone behaved that way.

What if Ailis never came back because she was mad and her father couldn't make her happy again?

She sniffled again, then looked up as a shadow fell over her. She was hoping it was Ailis or her father, but it was just a guard. Lily frowned.

She knew the guards, especially the ones who were usually assigned to watch over her when her father and her uncle Jack couldn't. Guards like Connor or Leith or Brian. But this man was a stranger.

Lily started to back away when the man gave her a friendly smile. "Och, lass, I didnae mean to frighten ye. There's nay need to leave if ye dinnae want to."

Lily hesitated. "Dinnae ken ye. Faither says nae to speak to folks I dinnae ken."

"Aye, and yer faither's a wise man who's raised a braw and bonny lass. But as it happens, ‘twas yer faither who sent me to watch over ye. And if it puts ye at ease, me name's Braden."

She didn't know any Braden, but there had been a lot more guards on the walls lately. Maybe he was telling the truth.

"Where's Connor?"

"I think he's with the fellows patrollin' the borders, lass." Braden crouched down to her level. "But if ye dinnae mind me sayin' so, ye look fairly distressed about somethin'. Will ye tell me what it is?"

"Ailis is leavin'."

"The lady in the carriage?"

"Aye." Lily felt tears well up in her eyes and wiped them away. She didn't want Braden to think she was a weepy, little bairn. "She's nice, and I dinnae want her to go."

"Well, I'm sure she'll be back. But did she tell ye where she was goin'?"

"Goin' to visit her friends. I wanted to go with her, but she said it's too far." Lily pouted.

"Too far? For a bonny lass like ye?" Braden frowned. "Well, I can see ye're a strong, little lass. Mayhap she was just sayin' that because yer faither wants to keep ye close?"

"He's always keepin' me close! I wanted to go with Ailis!"

"Well, if that's the case…" Braden frowned. "I ken yer faither said ye're to stay within the castle walls, but… he told me to keep ye happy and give ye whatever ye desire…"

His frown disappeared. "Well, ye ken, Lady Ailis cannae be goin' far, nae in the carriage. Less than a day's ride, like as nae. Which means that if we hurry, we can catch up to her. Then ye could meet her friends and have some fun, and be back afore the Laird kens ye've gone out."

"But Faither said I'm nae to leave the castle."

"Aye, but did ye get punished when the Lady took ye?"

Lily felt a sudden burst of hope. "Nay…"

Her father had scolded her, but he hadn't made her stay in her rooms for days, or given her nasty chores or extra lessons. He hadn't even forbidden her from having dessert or given her a warning swat to her bum.

"He's cautious, the Laird is, but ye'll be with me, as well as Lady Ailis and her guard, so ye'll be well safe on the road. And I'll let ye ride with me, so ye'll be safer still. I think we could manage fairly well."

"But… what if Ailis… She told me to stay…" Lily bit her lip.

"Och, that was like as nae to placate yer faither. I bet she'll be well pleased with the surprise if we were to follow her. Only, we'll have to hurry if we're to catch up to them."

Lily thought about it.

Braden was right. Her father hadn't been that angry when she'd gone outside to the sea with Ailis. It might be all right. And Ailis liked surprises. She was always happy when Lily brought her flowers or honey cakes to share.

"Well, lass? We need to get movin' if we're goin' to catch up to the carriage." Braden stood up. "Do ye want to go with Lady Ailis?"

Lily considered a moment, but the siren call of adventure and Ailis's presence were too much to ignore. She jumped to her feet. "Aye!"

"Well then, let's bundle ye up in me cloak until we get past the walls, and we'll go join her."

Lily huddled close to Braden's side, grinning as he led her to a small side gate and swung her up onto a horse. She might get into trouble later, but for now, she could have some fun.

And maybe, when she and Ailis came back safe, her father would finally see she wasn't a wee babe. He might start letting her go out more often.

Filled with excitement, she never realized that Braden hadn't spoken to any other guards, or that the path they took was different from the one that Ailis's carriage took.

* * *

Duncan watched from the wall as the carriage with his betrothed rolled down the road toward the borders they shared with Clan MacDean until the carriage itself was a mere speck against the backdrop of the woods. He watched, straining to catch just one more glimpse of Ailis's fire-bright hair, until she'd long since disappeared from sight.

With a growl, he turned away from the wall and stomped his way down to the courtyard. After a moment of consideration, he turned in the direction Lily had run after saying goodbye to Ailis. His daughter was fond of the woman he'd brought into their lives and was likely to need some consoling.

Assuming that she wasn't as furious and determined to ignore him as Ailis was.

Children, as Jack had reminded him a few nights ago, often picked up on the moods and behaviors of those around them.

Still, he would offer his daughter what comfort and reassurance he could. Perhaps he'd even suggest she has an extra honey cake and choose one of the puppies as her pet when they were a bit older.

A puppy would keep her mind off Ailis and make her happy. She was certainly old enough to start learning how to care for young animals.

Plan in mind, he made his way to the kennels. He was fairly certain that was where his daughter had disappeared. If not, he'd search the gardens, her rooms and the kitchens. Then he'd check in Ailis's room and the library, where Lily'd taken to spending most of her time when she and Ailis weren't outside.

Lily wasn't in or near the kennels when he arrived. He was about to go search the gardens when something made him pause and take a closer look at the ground near the litter.

There, in the dirt, were clear signs of a child's footprints, along with an impression that suggested she'd been sitting there for a while. Duncan frowned.

Lily was the only child in the castle at present. He'd suggested the servants who had children leave them at home or in the care of another while they were occupied with their duties. The footprints were clearly fresh, which meant Lily had definitely come this way.

But Lily loved the puppies. Most of the time, she had to be coaxed, cajoled, or all but dragged away from them. Which meant someone else had to have taken her somewhere.

Duncan examined the ground more closely. Sure enough, there were signs of another person and places where larger boot prints scuffed the ground around Lily's smaller ones. Someone had been with her, and from the looks of it, the person had stood quite close, as if talking to her.

That wasn't so unusual, of course. Lily was the darling of the castle. Most of the guards were friends with the lively youngster and thought nothing of conversing with her. The sight shouldn't have made alarm bells ring faintly in his head.

Except that most guards would stand back where they could keep proper watch, even when talking to Lily, unless they had a partner or someone else was with her. But he'd been trying to talk to Ailis, and Jack had been supervising the carriage and the guard rotations for the day.

And no guard would have taken Lily away from one location to another without letting him know. It was one thing when she ran off on her own—something she was far too inclined to do—but any guard watching over her would have left word of her whereabouts.

The faint alarm bells grew into a sense of unease deep in his belly. Duncan crouched down to look closer at the footprints before rising to follow the faint trail.

Lily's shoes, walking side-by-side with an adult, and closer than normal. She was practically walking on top of the person's feet. Duncan followed the trail and felt his blood turn to ice as he realized where the footsteps were headed.

The trail led straight toward a small, disused side gate, which led out into the moors. Hunting parties used it to take the dogs out without getting their noses muddled with scents from the village, and servants went that way for berry-picking in spring and summer.

There should have been a guard at the gate, and Duncan felt a surge of anger as he realized it was unprotected. He started toward it, ready to pour his fury out in full force if some fool of a guard had slipped away from his post for a moment.

"Duncan?" Jack appeared beside him, his face filled with concern. "Ye look ready to murder someone. I ken ye're nae happy about Ailis leavin', but?—"

"Lily's missin'." Duncan let out the words in a harsh snarl that cut through Jack's soothing prattle like a hot knife through soft cheese.

The younger man actually stumbled. "What?"

"Lily's missin'. She went to the kennels after sayin' farewell to Ailis, but when I came to find her, she wasnae there. There are signs she was, and she headed toward the gate with someone wearin' heavy boots—like a guard."

Jack put a hand on his shoulder, and Duncan shook him off with a growl as he fought back the red rage that filled him.

Jack's expression tightened. "Och, Duncan, ye ken she's always wanderin' about with the guards. They could have gone anywhere…"

"Nay guard would take her away from where she is without tellin' me. Especially since I gave the order seven days ago." Duncan gritted his teeth. "And nay guard would be leadin' her toward the walls."

Jack frowned, following his gaze along the trail of footprints. "'Tis strange, aye, but mayhap she coaxed them into takin' her to where she could watch Ailis leave. Or even… ye ken Ailis has taken Lily with her afore. Mayhap she sensed that ye were out of sorts and thought she was helpin' by takin' Lily?"

Duncan continued toward the small gate. "She wasnae in Ailis's carriage. And Ailis kens I wouldnae want her to take Lily beyond the walls."

"Never stopped her afore." Jack hurried to keep up with him. "Surely it wouldnae hurt to send a note to Laird MacDean to see if she turns up with yer betrothed."

"Shut up." Duncan reached the gate and tested it. It was open, and he cursed loudly. "The gate shouldnae be open… and where's the guard?"

Jack looked around. "I dinnae ken. Might have needed to relieve himself or somethin' of the sort."

"There should be a stand-in in that case, even if ‘tis only the stable boy." Duncan flung the gate open and stormed through it.

A few feet away, he found a guard slumped down and barely breathing. There was an ugly wound on his head, and the tartan sash he should be wearing was missing.

For a long moment, all Duncan could do was breathe, held in place by a paralyzing combination of fear, rage, and self-loathing. "They took her…"

"Braither… ye dinnae ken…"

"Who else would steal Lily, or feel the need to knock out a guard in the process, to take her without my knowledge?" Duncan whirled around and slammed a fist into the wall. The pain of the blow was nothing compared to the ache in his heart.

"Duncan…" Jack started to reach out for him, then stopped. "What will ye do?"

"Gather the warriors and prepare to go to battle. We're marchin' on Clan Fraser."

"Are ye sure?"

Duncan felt his jaw clench. "I swore an oath to Daisy, and I'll nae fail her, nay matter what it takes to protect Lily."

Nay matter what… I'll bring Lily home.