“Me Laird, ye made me a promise. Ye swore ye’d keep us safe. Ye cannae call yerself a man if ye dinnae do this.”
Her words were harsh but truthful. How could he call himself a man if he didn’t try to bring her sister back?
“I’m nae leavin’ ye here alone. Get on the horse. We’ll ride until we catch Stephen.”
“It was an ambush,” Lavina started to explain. “I dinnae ken where they came from. We thought we had gotten away, and then three riders surrounded us. It was as if they kenned exactly what ye would do.”
Theo’s chest tightened as he climbed behind her and cut the rope binding Lavina before grabbing the reins. He couldn’t think about the feel of her warm body pressing against his or the fact that she was safe now, not when there were far more pressing matters at hand.
“Do ye ken what happened to Stephen?” he asked. “To Amber?”
“I dinnae ken, I’m sorry. All I ken is that they took Maisie—tore her from me arms,” Lavina said over her shoulder, her voice barely carrying over the wind as they rode for the keep.
It wasn’t long before Theo caught sight of someone trekking through the heather. When Stephen’s face came into view, hope sprang up inside him.
“Stephen?” he called and rode up to him.
“Me Laird, forgive me.”
“Now is nae the time.” Theo circled him and finally came to a stop. He patted Lavina on the shoulder. “Lavina, love, ye’re goin’ to have to go with Stephen. I’ll go after Maisie, but ye must get back to the keep. Do ye hear?”
“Aye,” Lavina said, slipping from the saddle.
“Where’s Amber?” Theo asked before he spotted his daughter peeking from under the thick heather. “Clever. Ye keep out of sight, ye hear? And get yerselves back to the keep. All of ye. I’ll be back as soon as I get Maisie back.”
“Be careful,” Lavina whispered, opening her arms to Amber.
Theo nodded.
“They are ridin’ west. Ye should cross through Noll lands. Ye can follow the river and cut them off,” Stephen suggested.
“Aye,” Theo said.
He hated that he had to leave Lavina once again. But she had reminded him of his promise. He had sworn to protect Maisie as well as her, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Lavina paced up and down the stable aisle. The scent of hay and leather pressed thick around her and mingled with the stench of manure.
But her mind wasn’t on the fact that the stalls needed mucking out. No, her thoughts were focused on Maisie.
She wanted to kick herself in the foot for thinking her uncle wouldn’t find them. If only she had listened to her instinct and refused to go out. Then, her sister would still be with her, and she wouldn’t need new shoes for stepping in the muck.
“It’s been too long. Theo should have caught them by now. Something has happened, I can feel it,” Lavina said to Stephen as he saddled another horse.
“Ye need to calm down. Theo has dealt with more dire situations,” he answered, tying his sword to the saddle. “He can handle himself now, too. He’s nae a child ye need to coddle, and neither is yer sister. She has spirit.”
“Aye, and it’s that spirit me uncle wants to break,” Lavina muttered.
Her body trembled the second she allowed herself to think of her uncle. The fact that he wanted to marry Maisie off to someone so old made her stomach twist. Theo just had to get her back.
Every breath she took scraped across her dry throat. Violent, wild images flashed through her mind, each one more horrifying than the last.
Micah was a twisted man who found pleasure in the torment of others. No doubt, he’d want to watch his niece be defiled by a horrid man.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Stephen promised before mounting the horse and steering it toward the open doors.
“Nay,” Amber whimpered.
Before Lavina could stop her, the child had bolted out of the stables and disappeared around the corner.
