Page 143 of Wicked Highland Heroes

“I do not know,” he replied in honesty. He hadn’t thought so after what had passed between them last night.

“Eve often takes walks,” Grace said. “Particularly in the morning.”

“Perhaps we should help find her.” His mother set aside her embroidery.

Erroll shook his head. “I’m sure I will find her.” And when he did, he was going to lock them in their suite and make love to her until she was too weak to go anywhere. Apparently he hadn’t accomplished that last night.

“Have you tried the kitchen?” Grace said. “She has an odd infatuation with that part of the castle.”

“Yes,” Erroll agreed.

Minutes later, Mrs. Henderson lowered a cup of tea from her lips when he entered the kitchen. “Morning, Laird. Have you come for tea?”

“No thank you. I’m looking for my wife. Have you seen her?”

“Oh, not since breakfast. She asked that a small package of food be wrapped. Said she was going for a ride.”

“A ride?” he blurted. “Where to?”

“I don’t know. I was just leaving to tend the garden when she asked. I had Lucy help her, and didna’ stay. Where’s Lucy?” she asked one of the other maids.

“Gone for the reminder of the day,” the girl answered. “She was off to see to her mother. Poor thing is sick.”

“Is something wrong?” the housekeeper asked.

Erroll couldn’t fathom the possibility that Eve had fled as she’d threatened last night. Hadn’t last night meant anything to her? Surely she wouldn’t desert him?

“Thank you,” he told Mrs. Henderson, then fairly ran to the stables, heart thundering in his chest. He found Pete mucking out the stalls. “Has my wife been here?” Erroll demanded.

“Aye,” Pete said. “She asked for Belle, and insisted on saddling the mare herself, so I went back to stacking the hay Rob brought.”

“By God,” Erroll burst out. “You let her saddle her own horse, then ride out of here alone? When did she leave?” he demanded.

“Can’t be more than an hour ago,” Pete said, eyes wide.

“Saddle Lord Chesterfield—and if you take time to unload hay before he’s saddled, I’ll beat you.”

Erroll returned to their suite and made a quick search of Eve’s room for a note, a clue, anything that might tell him where she’d gone. He didn’t find a damn thing. He hurried back through his room and his gaze snagged on the letter from Wiggins sitting on his desk. Eve’s words last night crashed into memory, “Women like Laura Greenwood are more to your liking, are they not, my lord?” and he stopped short. Understanding struck with the clarity of a blind man who could see for the first time.

He hadn’t thought much of Wiggins’ letter being open when he’d read it, but had thought it a bit odd the seal had been broken on the note from Laura. It hadn’t occurred to him that Eve had read the letter. But she had, and naturally assumed the worst.

He’d been right. No good deed went unpunished.

Worse, he had no one to blame but himself for misinterpreting her words.

By the time Erroll reached Tobermory port, the horse was fagged, and Erroll was shaken that he hadn’t overtaken Eve. She’d had a little more than an hour’s head start and should have been easy to catch. Surely she hadn’t ridden at a gallop as he had?

Erroll left his horse in front of the harbormaster’s office and quickly discovered that two ships had sailed from port that morning, both cargo ships bound for England, and neither had taken on passengers. The harbormaster had sold no tickets, nor seen a woman matching Eve’s description—or any woman, for that matter—on the docks that morning. But Erroll wasn’t satisfied, and insisted on speaking with the captains of the half dozen ships at port.

“As ye wish,” the grizzled harbormaster said. “But if you find one of the scoundrels took a woman aboard without my permission, I’ll hang him from the mast.” The old man rose from his battered desk and limped toward Erroll. “In fact, I’ll come with you, and we’ll start with Captain Heller. There’s a man ye can’t trust.”

They found no trace of Eve, and fear gnawed a hole in Erroll’s gut. Tobermory was the main port on the island and the only port Eve would know of; certainly the only one she would dare ride to on her own. Where else would she have gone? Nowhere, he realized with rising panic. Something had happened to her on the road.

Erroll stopped at the sheriff’s office and ordered a search of the city, as well as the road. He didn’t wait for the sheriff to gather men, but sped back to the road, looking for any clues that she had ridden along the road or been forced off it. He reached Ravenhall with not one piece of evidence, nerves ragged and fears running amuck.

He headed for his father’s study, but found the room empty. Then he went to his mother’s chambers, only to find silence there as well. Bloody hell, had everyone deserted Ravenhall?

He went to the kitchen.