AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rowan cursed under his breath. The man was right, but he was not going to admit that. “So what do we do now?” he said, sighing in exasperation as he looked down at the ground. If he had had a body to bring back, he could have said that the guards were attacked by bandits, but he could hardly tell the truth, so how else was he going to explain it?
Then another horrifying thought came to him. He had had to leave in a great rush, but what if Fraser were still alive? He could identify him! Damn! He had to find him, alive or dead. His rival might at this moment be telling the laird—or anyone else who might listen—about Rowan’s part in the infliction of his serious injury.
His men had never seen him so angry. He stamped on the footprints and the indentation of Fraser’s body on the ground, then walked around the clearing hacking at bushes with his sword until he had vented some of his rage. It was well known that Rowan had a foul temper when things did not go his way, and they were certainly not doing so at the moment.
“Should we look for him?” one of the group suggested. “There are no’ very many houses here, at least no’ many places wi’ horses. That was no’ a plow horse, so it was no’ a farmer, an’ it was definitely a lassie by the size o’ these prints. It looks as if Fraser’s horse wandered away, so we might find it somewhere.”
Rowan nodded slowly. He could think of no one who could have taken a man as big as Fraser away, but their guards’ uniforms meant that people trusted them and even knew them by name. This meant that many doors would be open to them, and they took advantage of it. However, now that they were on the hunt for Fraser, Rowan realized that their uniforms might prove to be more of a hindrance than a help.
They were able to make inquiries around the local tenant farmers and the village without causing suspicion. However, after having asked as many of them as they could think of, they were still no further forward, and a day later Rowan was becoming deeply anxious. When it was time to go back to the castle, he gathered his men around him.
“We know nothin’ about Fraser,” he told them firmly. “Nothin’ at all. If anybody asks ye where he is, ye shrug yer shoulders an’ say nothin’. Ye don’t know where he is.” He looked around them with a fierce scowl, and there was a mumble of acquiescence.
* * *
For once, Evanna had a good night’s rest, although she had been unaware that Lexie had slept in the chair beside her to attend to any of Fraser’s needs in order to let her sleep undisturbed.
When dawn began to appear over the horizon, Lexie hurried out to prepare the Englishman’s breakfast for him. She looked back with a mischievous smile at his door. She had delivered his meal the night before and was still laughing at the horror-struck look on his face when he had seen her.
The man had been lying on his bed and had looked up eagerly, no doubt expecting a dainty, pretty young woman with waves of brown hair and shining dark green eyes, or someone similar.
Instead, he received a visit from a tall, strapping woman in her middle years with steely grey eyes, reddish hair, and an intimidating attitude. She had slammed his plate and cup on the table and left him without a word, leaving him wide-eyed with a mixture of astonishment and terror.
Lexie chuckled as she went down the corridor, wondering if the Sassenach would be staying another night. If he did, she would make sure she was the one to serve him. Anyone who tried to bother Evanna would have to get through her first.
When she went into the kitchen she found Flora and Donna eating breakfast. Most of the tavern’s trade did not come before noon, so this was not unusual, but now both of them looked anxious. The women who worked in the bar were all good friends and had been for years since they had practically grown up together.
“Is Evanna a’right?” Donna spoke first, but Flora nodded in agreement.
“She is fine,” Lexie answered. “But very, very tired. Will ye two help as much as ye can today? I am truly worried about her health.”
“Aye, we were just sayin’ how peaky she was lookin’,” Flora observed. “Big circles under her eyes yesterday mornin’.”
“That is going tae stop,” Lexie said decisively. “She is tired. Her father’s demands are becoming too much for her. One moment he is sane and his mind is in the present day, sometimes he is like a wee boy crying and shouting because he cannot have his way. As well as that, she has tae see tae the running of the tavern. Of course, we all do that, but it is hard without Bruce’s help.”
Flora stood up with a determined look on her face. “I had no’ realized things were so bad, Lexie,” she murmured. “If ye need me to do any extra work, I will do it.”
“I will too,” Donna chimed in, nodding. “She has been like a sister tae us, an’ if there is anythin’ we can do, just ask.”
“Ye are good girls,” Lexie said fondly. “Now, which one of ye is going tae take Simon the Sassenach his breakfast?”
* * *
Rowan’s men had searched as much of the estate as they could in half a day, and there was still more to do, but with night falling, they had to return home.
“Not a word about Fraser,” he said, his voice low and throbbing with menace. “Keep yer gobs shut or I will shut them for ye!” He waved a dagger in front of them and looked every one of them in the eye with a threatening glare.
The men nodded and sighed. They were used to this, and Rowan’s threats no longer held any terror for them.
If Rowan was looking forward to a quiet evening, he was to be disappointed. He had no sooner finished his evening meal than Laird Gordon Gilchrist sent for him. The laird was an affable family man who had the good fortune to have five sons and only one daughter, which meant that on his children’s marriages he had received five dowries and only paid one. He was well known for giving banquets and ceilidhs because he believed that a person only lived once, and life was for enjoyment. His tenants were well treated and content, and he was a very popular man.
However, if there was one thing he did not compromise on, it was loyalty. He demanded it completely and absolutely, but if any one of his guards, servants, or tenants took advantage of him, they were immediately cut off from his service and could not expect any of the fruits of his generosity.
When Rowan and his men had eaten as much supper as they could, Rowan was preparing to spend his evening the way he usually did. He normally played dice and cards and drank ale with the rest of the men until they all dragged themselves off to bed, but tonight was to be different. Just as he was beginning to feel drowsy and was about to climb into bed, a maidservant came looking for Fraser.
“The laird wants tae see him,” she told them. “Says it is important.”
The men looked around at each other, shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads, then Rowan shrugged. “Sorry, lass,” he said regretfully. “Nobody has seen him since we came back in. Try the turrets. He is a strange lad. Sometimes he goes up there when he wants tae be alone.”
