He moved to the other side of the bed where he could better talk to Calla while Mistress Hillman washed the blood from her hair. "Do you truly think Claybourne has your son?"
"I don't know. I don't see how he could've stolen Jamie from his aunt and uncle.Glenhavenis an earl with heavy guard."
"Claybourne may have been lying to get you to agree to go with him."
She pressed her eyes closed. "That's true, but I couldn't risk it," she whispered.
"What else did he say?"
"When I asked where my son was, he said, 'In a safe place, but only as long as you come with me peacefully and pay your debt to me without complaint.'"
What a whoreson.Rebbie'swhole body tensed with outrage. He would make the bastard regret every ounce of torment he'd ever given Calla. "How did you get outside these walls?"
"MacFadden came here and told me… that you wished for me to meet you in the orchard."
"Damn the man." Rebbie wanted to strangle him. "I need to go find out what he knows. He's being held in the dungeon."
"Very well. I ken I shouldn't have believed him, but I thought…."
Rebbie nodded. She'd wanted to see him, meet with him in the garden, as they'd done before. For a kiss. Looking into the vulnerability of her pale gray eyes, he felt lost for a moment… but also as if he'd come home. "Watch over her, Mistress Hillman, and let me know immediately if she passes out or feels more pain."
"I will indeed,m'laird."
"I'll return in a few minutes. And have no worries; we'll find your son," he told Calla.
Sudden tears glistened in her eyes and she blinked. "I thank you."
He wanted to kiss her forehead and her lips, too, but couldn't with Mistress Hillman there.
Once he'd closed the door behind him, Rebbie rushed down the stairs and met Lachlan and Alasdair in the great hall. Before he could say anything,MacDadehurried in from outside. "MacFadden has escaped!" he announced.
"What?" Rebbie demanded. "How did that happen?"
"He snatched one of the guards' daggers and stabbed him with it. MacFadden had vanished by the time we found Graham dead."
"That bastard." Rebbie ground his teeth. "Send out a search party and find him. I want him brought back here alive. I need to question him."
"Aye,m'laird."MacDadehastened out the door.
Rage tearing through his veins, Rebbie felt like throwing something. "Unless they find him, we can only guess atClaybourne'splans. We need to head out at first light."
"Will Lady Stanbury be well enough to travel by then?" Alasdair asked, a frown contorting his dark brows.
"I know not. She has a head injury, and her shoulder gives her pain. We won't be able to travel as fast." On second thought, he probably couldn't allow Calla to leave her bed for a few days.
"Would Claybourne take theladto his estate?" Lachlan asked.
"If he could get his hands on him, aye, to use as leverage to make her do whatever he wants. But I'm hoping he was lying simply to get her to go peacefully with him. One thing you should know—Calla thinks he may have murdered her husband. He often gambled with Claybourne. And Stanbury was found stabbed in Edinburgh."
"'Slud! What was the motive?" Alasdair asked.
"We don't have an inkling… other than his lust for Calla. But the two knew each other long before Stanbury married Calla. Claybourne ruined Stanbury, bled him dry. The estate cannot be sold and is held in trust for the lad."
Lachlan nodded. "Where does Claybourne live?"
"Calla said he lives south of Perth, at a place calledBonnyridge."
"I was thinking Alasdair and I could take half the men and follow Claybourne. We'll try to catch up to him before we reachDraughonVillage. If we can't, we'll find out where he is and keep an eye on him. We'll learn whether or not he has Calla's son. If we can safely grab the lad, we will, and take him toDraughon. But we won't put his life in danger. We have children of our own, so we know how serious this is."
