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William had been involved with the reconstruction at the base of one of the wall turrets for quite some time before one of his sentries came down from the rampart and sharply saluted him. He gave the man his attention.

“My lord,” the soldier said. “You had asked that we keep watch over your wife.”

William nodded. “And?”

The soldier did not look worried, merely puzzled. “She and Lady Hage seem to have disappeared. They rode into a group of dead trees and we have yet to see them emerge. Should we send out a party?”

“How long have they been missing?” William asked.

“A while, sire,” the soldier admitted. “Mayhap over a half hour.”

William wasn’t overly concerned. “They probably stopped to rest a bit. Give them another half hour and if they still have not returned, inform me.”

The soldier bowed and dashed off. Without another thought, William returned his attention to the wall.

A half hour later the soldier was back. “My lord, they have still not come out.”

William glanced overhead, noting that the sun was low and soon the gates would be closing. He was sure nothing was wrong, that the women had simply lost track of the time and he did not want to go pounding into the trees upsetting them. The last thing he wanted on his hands was an angry, pregnant wife. With a wry frown, he scratched his head.

“Notify me when the sergeant intends to close the gates,” he told the man. “If they still have not returned, then I will go and fetch them. You have not seen any movement at all?”

“None, my lord,” the soldier replied.

Women. He shook his head at their thoughtlessness and dismissed the soldier. They were probably sitting on the ground gabbing their heads off and forgetting about everything else. He had to smile at himself, afraid of upsetting his wife. What on earth was he afraid of? That she would slug him? Or, worse, yet, that she would cry? Most likely the latter was the reason. He hated to see her cry.

Paris had scared him with horror stories of her mood swings during pregnancy, he realized with a chuckle. But Paris always did manage to blow things out of proportion… didn’t he?

The soldier returned not an hour later to inform him that the gates were preparing to be secured and his wife still had not returned. With a muttered curse, William told to the soldier to hold the gates and went to the stables. The stable master met him, leading a saddled warmblood.

“My lord.” the older man exclaimed. “Your wife and Sir Kieran’s wife have not yet returned from their ride and I was….”

“Give me the horse,” William took the reins irritably. “I shall go find them.”

The warmblood was a big, hearty animal built for stamina. William galloped the horse from the outer bailey and out into the fields beyond, taking the general direction that the sentries had indicated. Dammit, he would find them and give them a good tongue-lashing for being so inconsiderate. Then he would take Jordan to bed and make love to her, if she was still speaking to him.

An hour later he was still searching. The sky had grown dark and there were a multitude of torches blazing atop the walls waiting for him to return. With the gates still open, they were vulnerable and anxious.

Kieran and Michael saddled up and rode out to find him. They met him on the road coming back.

“What’s wrong?” Kieran demanded.

William’s face was gray. “They are nowhere to be found. But I found these.” He held up two dirty riding dresses.

Kieran felt sick as he gazed back at his wife’s burgundy garment. “Oh, God, William,” he whispered urgently. “What in the hell has happened?”

The hand clutching the dresses fell limply to his side. “I let them go riding. Alone.” He could not believe this was happening. “They begged to go by themselves and I saw no harm in it as long as they stayed within sight of the castle.”

Kieran could see how miserable William was with his confession. He, too, was rapidly slipping into fear and agony.

“Where are they, then?” he demanded.

“I do not know; I found these dresses half-buried under some dead leaves.” William was having a difficult time controlling himself. “But we search now. Michael, mount the knights and bring as many torches as you can carry. The horses are gone, too, and we can track them by their shoes providing it doesn’t rain. Come; we have no time to waste.”

He and Kieran went back down the road to where William had come across the dresses. They could see fairly well in the full moonlight as Kieran dismounted and began hunting around with grim determination.

“You will find nothing,” William said dully. “There is no blood, no signs of a struggle. The dresses aren’t even ripped.”