“Sawny canna be found anywhere. Rabbie said he headed out for a ride this early morn, supposedly for a fresh bath in a nearby loch, and he has no’ returned.”
Adaira’s face twisted. That made no sense. Why wouldn’t he have returned?
“Where is he, then? If he was swimming . . . What if he’s hurt? Or drowning?”
Her voice rose in a fevered pitch.
Sorcha licked her lips and patted Adaira’s hand again. “Ada, his horse was abandoned by the loch, and the Keppochs have spent the entire morn searching for the lad. What they could track, it seems the tracks ended at Loch Eli. ‘Twas no sign of the lad anywhere. No’ in the loch or in the surrounding glen.”
Adaira twined her hands in her skirts. “He might be injured! He might have fallen!” She gripped her mother’s hand. “’Tis waterfalls and stones and crevices –”
“He’s gone, lass,” Seamus’s voice interrupted with tender authority. “He appears to have left early this morning with no intention of returning.”
“Nay.” Adaira shook her head wildly. “’Tis impossible. No matter what this one thinks,” she tipped her head toward the brooding Reade, “Sawny would no’ have left me like this. Something’s wrong. We have to help him!”
Seamus sat on the other side of the bed. She was in the guest chambers on the ground floor. The bed was not as wide as her own and she sunk toward him when he sat. Seamus took her cool, shaking hand in his large, warm one.
“Lass,” he said in a low, quiet tone, “his parents have confirmed the lad is completely gone. Ran off. They are already discussing the return of your dowry. He is well and truly absconded, my sweet. I am so verra sorry.”
She was still shaking her head when her father kissed her forehead.
It was not possible. That was the singular thought that repeated in her head. Despite Reade’s expectations of her intended, Adaira knew Sawny loved her, that it had to be something dire that was keeping him from her. Not that he ran away.
But her mother and father and Reade kept assuring her that was the case, that he used her and left her waiting at the altar.
She was the jilted lover.
Nay,a heated voice said in her head.Nay, it canna be.
“Ada.” Her mother used her hip to shove her father out of the way. “We are going to do everything we can to find the man. But for now, ye must care for yourself. Reade and your father will escort ye to your rooms. I’ll follow with a pot of tea and some oil for your temples. To help ye relax. We will hang up your dress to keep it fresh, and once we have this all figured out, we will resume your wedding.”
Though her mother’s words were commanding and encouraging, Adaira did not miss the shared look Sorcha gave Seamus.
She might talk about resuming her wedding, but Sorcha had not raised her to be a fool. Adaira understood what Sorcha thought about the chance of completing this wedding. It was about the same chance as Reade always believed.
As much as she did not want to let the thought enter her head, that heated voice spoke too loudly.
Sawny had left her at the altar.
Her breath caught in her chest like she was drowning. Shewasdrowning — drowning in emotion and frustration and fear.
It could not be.
In her deepest heart, she knew Sawny had not left her. Something must have happened to him. Itmusthave.
As her father and Reade walked her upstairs, she leaned in close to her brother.
“’Tis no’ fair, Reade,” she rasped in a down-trodden voice.
“Life is no’ fair, Ada. Anyone who says different is trying to sell ye something.”
“Reade, please,” she entreated, ignoring his callous statement. “I canna believe he has left me. Something foul must have happened.”
Reade breathed out a gruff breath to let her know what he thought ofthatidea.
“Listen, he has no’ left me, he canna have done that,” she continued. “I know ye dinna believe him to be true, but I swear to ye, he did no’ run off. Find him for me, please.”
Reade hung his head. Adaira knew her brothers well — she had been playing on their softness for years. A wide-eyed look, a soft smile, a slight plea, and they were pudding in her hands. Previously, she had always done it as a tease, as a way to get what she wanted.
