Highland Warrior (Campbell Trilogy #1)(86)

But he was watching her.

Did he suspect something? Had she done something to alert him?

Perhaps she only imagined it. She bit her lip, the twinge in her chest belying that claim. Maybe it was her own guilt speaking?

Keeping something as important as her brothers’ survival from her husband was tearing her apart. Caitrina wanted to share her joy; instead, it felt as though she were lying to him. I am lying to him.

To make matters worse, since Jamie’s return she hadn’t dared venture to the caves to see Niall and Brian—it was too risky. The reports from Mor were not enough. She missed them desperately and worried for their safety.

Jamie had been charged with clearing the area of outlaws—what would happen if he found them or discovered she’d kept them a secret from him?

Unable to find Seamus, she was just about to return to the kitchens when she caught sight of Mor trying to get her attention from across the room. She could tell from the anxious look on her face that something was wrong.

Dread sank over her. Her first thought went to Brian. No, it couldn’t be him; he’d been getting better.

Caitrina hurried as quickly as she could toward Mor, doing her best not to give any indication of the turmoil burgeoning inside her. She didn’t want to give Jamie any cause for concern.

She took her old nursemaid’s cold hand in hers. “What is it?”

Mor’s eyes flickered around furtively and she said in a low voice, “Not here.”

Caitrina’s chest tightened and her heart pounded even harder, having her fears confirmed: Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Knowing Jamie’s eyes might well be on her, she forced a smile to her face and led Mor out of the great hall, down the stairs to the cellars. With too many people in the kitchen, they passed through the corridor into the buttery. It was cool and bone-penetratingly damp in the cellars. Caitrina pulled her arisaidh around her a little tighter, whether to ward off the cold or chill of premonition she didn’t know.

She tensed, preparing for the blow. “Is it Brian? Did something happen to Brian?”

Mor shook her head. “No, my poor wee lamb, I didn’t mean to frighten you. Your brother is as well as can be expected.” Caitrina didn’t miss the censure in her voice. Like her, Mor thought that Brian should be removed to Rothesay. Relief poured from every fiber of her body—until she heard her next words.

“It’s your fool stubborn brother Niall who’s going to get himself killed.”

“Niall? I don’t understand.”

“I told him not to go.”

Fear splayed like icy fingers across the back of her neck.

“Go?” She clutched Mor’s arm, alarm slicing through her.

“Where did Niall go?”

Mor’s face sagged. The fine lines around her eyes seemed deeper, etched with trouble. “I don’t know. He left with Seamus and the others, and you can be sure they are up to no good.” She paused. “There was a strange man there when I arrived this morning. And the look on his face . . .” She shivered. “ ’Twas feral and filled with such hatred as I’ve ever seen.”

“This man . . . did they mention his name?”

Mor shook her head. “But I’ve no doubt he was a hunted man. If I had to guess, I’d say a MacGregor.”

No. Niall wouldn’t be so foolhardy . . .

Yes, she realized, he would. It was easy to see why he would identify with the MacGregors—he’d seen his home destroyed, his father and brother killed, and he’d become an outlaw.

Niall had changed. The teasing rogue still lingered on the surface, but there was a layer of cold steel in him that hadn’t been there before. She sensed the bitterness and hatred lurking perilously close to the surface. But there was something else. She’d caught him more than once with a strange look on his face—as if he were a hundred miles away—almost as if he were yearning for something . . . or someone.

Oh, Niall! What have you done? “You said Seamus and the other guardsmen left as well?”

Mor nodded. “Aye, and the laird is sure to notice their absence.”

She was right. Jamie would be searching for them now. All of a sudden Caitrina realized something else. “But what about Brian? Who will watch over Brian?”

“Niall said they would be back in a day or two. Brian is safe in the cave until then, being tended to by a lass from the village.” Mor anticipated her next question. “She can be trusted.”

Caitrina tried to think. Dear God, where would they go? Who was this man, and what had he said that would cause Niall to leave Brian—even if only for a short while?

But there was something else that caused her even more trepidation: What would Jamie do when he found out Seamus and the other guardsmen were missing?

Daylight was almost gone. Mist had descended like a heavy plaid, enveloping them in its icy dense fog. Jamie stood outside in the yard, a grim expression on his face to match the bleakness of the day. Seamus and the other Lamont guardsmen had been gone since morning, and the men he’d sent out after them had just returned—alone.

“I’m sorry, my laird,” Will said. “We found no sign of them.”

Jamie cursed. “Why weren’t they followed?”

“They were. My man saw nothing out of the ordinary. He left them chopping wood this morning.”