“How many children did Lord Dunley and his wife have?”
Ealar thought about it for a bit, then opened his mouth to declare, “Three children, the eldest, Roderick, then Elspeth, and the youngest, Padrig.”
“Were her brother’s bodies accounted fer?”
“Sorry, Logan, I dinna remember readin’ anythin’ aboot their bodies. Ewen was there. Why not ask him?”
Logan nodded. He would. He would ask him exactly what happened that night. Right now, he wanted to believe she was safe with one of her brothers who had survived that night.
They left the small camp and continued west. Logan remembered there was an inn up ahead run by an old woman and her niece.
The place was quiet when they entered. Logan looked around. Why would they leave their shop open so anyone could come inside and rob them of everything?
He called out. A chill went down his spine at the silence.
And then, they heard footsteps hurrying down the hall. A woman! Logan turned to set his thankful eyes on Elspeth.Please, God, let it be Elspeth.
A lass in her late twenties smiled at him. “Logan, ’tis good to see ye.”
“Mary, I’m lookin’ fer someone.”
“Mare,” she corrected him. “My name is Mare.”
Logan closed his eyes and ground his teeth to keep from snapping at her.
“Fergive me, Mare,” he amended with great control. “Tell me, have ye seen—”
But she was no longer listening. Her green eyes had spotted Ealar, and she appeared to forget everything else.
“Lady,” Ealar lowered his voice enough to sound husky.
If the situation weren’t so dire, Logan would have smiled at his brother’s wiles.
“We need yer aide,” Ealar continued. “We’re lookin’ fer a lass. She is wearin’ a blue mantle and has short light hair. She is possibly travelin’ with a man. Have ye seen her?”
“Hmm,” Mare pondered, eager to please Ealar. “Aye, I do remember a lass fitting that description. What do ye want with her?”
“She is his woman,” Ealar told her, pointing to Logan. “The man she is with kidnapped her.”
“Och, I wish I had known,” Mare ground out, “I would have smashed him in the head with one of my weightiest pots.”
Ealar feigned an admiring smile and raised one brow in surprise and curiosity.
“How long ago were they here?” Logan asked her urgently.
As if coming from a spell, she turned and set her gaze on Logan. “They arrived last evening and left when the sun rose.”
“What do ye mean they arrived last evening?” Logan demanded. “That canna be. It would mean he took her from her bed.” Logan turned away, fearing he would be sick in everyone’s sight. How could she be snatched away right under his nose? How could he have failed her so miserably?
“Mare,” he heard his brother say her name. “Think hard, I beg of ye, fairest of all women, was it mornin’ or evenin’ when—”
“Twas late in the evening,” she insisted. “I know because he wanted to pay fer a single room, and she insisted on a double.”
Logan looked at his brother while his belly twisted into a knot. “Let’s go.”
He heard Ealar bid farewell to Mare and then catch up to him on his horse.
They rode in silence, mostly because they rode hard and the bounce mixed with wind would have vanquished their words.
