The blanket of exhaustion fell away. “Ye dinna bring her?”
He felt her smile against his chest. “Of course not.”
A seed of worry planted itself in the forefront of his mind. If Magda hadn’t been with Brianna, then where was she?
• • •
Colin’s night of fitful sleep came to an abrupt end somewhere between the rasp of the blanket against his bare legs and the layer of sweat chilling his skin. Brianna slept soundly beside him, her breathing deep, even and suggesting she would not wake soon.
If Magda had not gone with Brianna to Marie’s, where then had she gone? Had she returned to Edzell? The not knowing sank thick knots into his already tense shoulders.
He shifted in the bed to see if Brianna reacted to the movement. She did not stir. Perhaps he could leave to ensure Magda slept soundly in her own room and return before Brianna roused.
He sat up and hesitated.
If Brianna woke and found him gone again, he knew she would be greatly displeased. He grimaced at the thought.
She’d be more than greatly displeased.
And yet, if she knew of her nurse’s disappearance, she would forgive him for breaking his promise.
He knew what he had to do. Quickly, quietly, he slipped from bed and dressed. One quick kiss against her warm forehead and he eased out the door.
The thump of hastened footsteps met his ears, footsteps headed in his direction. Colin took the stairs two at a time, the worry in his mind pounding with each step drawing nearer until he all but ran into Jonathan.
“I was just coming to wake ye,” Jonathan said, his tone quiet. Ominous.
Something was wrong.
Jonathan drew a steadying breath, his cheeks flushed with exertion.
“Magda?” Colin surmised.
Jonathan nodded and turned to head back down the hall. “We’ve found her. She’s waiting in your solar and is very upset.”
Together, Colin and the young soldier sprinted down the quiet halls, through the sleeping household until they reached the solar. Colin pushed open the door to find four soldiers surrounding Magda’s hunched form. Alec held out a steaming mug toward her, his jaw clenched tight.
Jonathan spoke behind Colin. “We found her wandering outside and believe she may have gotten lost. She’s very upse—”
“I wasn’t lost.” Magda protested. She turned toward Colin with tear-filled eyes. “I wasn’t lost. I was taken.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rush nips lit the dark solar and cast heavy shadows across the crowded room. Magda broke away from the circle of soldiers and ran to Colin.
“I was taken,” she whispered again. Her slender body trembled.
Colin turned his attention to his men. “Go back to yer stations. Dinna let anyone in the castle without my permission.”
Jonathan nodded and herded the others from the room. Alec stayed behind, arms stubbornly crossed over his chest. “I’m no leaving,” he said when everyone had left. His gaze settled on Magda. “I promised her I wouldna leave her.”
Colin helped Magda into a seat then lifted the warm mug and pressed it into her hands. “Who took ye, lass?”
Strands of silver hair fell around her face, her neat bun listing to the side. “I don’t know. A black carriage. I didn’t know the men.”
Her head bent forward and a tear fell into her lap. “They asked so many questions. I got so confused, I couldn’t even remember my own name.”
“Did they harm ye?” Alec asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m so tired and I get so forgetful.” She clutched the mug. “I think I said something they wanted because they let me go.”
Colin’s gut tightened. He squatted in front of the old woman, pried a hand from her mug and held it. The heated cup left her fingers hot to the touch. “Do ye remember what ye may have said?”
Her sharp eyes were heavy with exhaustion. “I told them Laird Lindsay’s room stood empty before your arrival.” She cast an uneasy glance at Alec. “And I told them about the woman from the market and how I’ve seen her leaving the castle at odd hours,” she whispered. “That’s when they let me go.”
Colin’s body froze, numbing and tingling, the way it had when he’d jumped into a loch in the middle of winter once. If they thought the earl was dead before Colin arrived, Brianna could be tried for her father’s murder. He took a long, slow, painful breath. Marie was in incredible danger.
They all were.
A harsh sob tore from Magda’s throat. Her hand slipped from his to cradle her face. He got to his feet and eased a hand over her back in comfort. She shook beneath his palm, her small body at the mercy of her tears. His gaze drifted to the graying darkness outside the open window.
Alec’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “That’s enough now, aye? She needs sleep.”
Colin nodded with reluctance. He wanted more answers, but one look at her face told him he would most likely not find what he sought. She was too fatigued, too frightened. She would not remember the details he needed. “Ye’re right,” he said. “Alec, see her to her room, aye?”
He turned to Magda and forced a gentle smile. “Thank ye for yer help.”
Magda’s lips thinned. She glanced away and allowed Alec to lead her from the room.
God willing, her mind would sweep away her memories after some much needed rest.
He returned his attention to the window once more, to where the sun was beginning to peek across the distant hills. Marie had said Brianna’s uncle found an informant, but Colin had not suspected they referred to his wife’s own nurse.
The cruelty of forcing Magda to offer information against her own ward was more than he could bear. He would see Lindsay defeated for reasons other than the threat against his wife. Once this was over, Lindsay would never hurt another person again.
But first, he had to warn Marie.
• • •
The marketplace crowded with merchants preparing for their day, but Colin hardly noticed them. His gaze assessed Marie’s rented room and the darkness of the windows. She’d slept late since he’d known her, but there was something unnatural about how tightly the windows were shuttered against the warm air. He drew closer, and the prickle of unease gave way to alarm.
Her door stood ajar.
He pushed his way in and was hit with a wall of thick perfume, stronger then he’d ever smelled. The bright glow of the morning sun behind him touched the room with gold, lighting the decadent pillows and silks strewn across the floor, the costly jars and bottles tipped on the table. An oily residue streaked the floor, blue shards of broken glass resting in the thick fluid. Marie’s perfume.
All of it confirmed what he already knew.
Marie was not there.
She had put up a valiant fight from what he could see, but her efforts had been in vain.
First Magda, now Marie. Was Lindsay so close to striking?
A lone scarf lay upon the ground. Colin pinched the red silky fabric between his fingers and balled it in his fist. He would find Marie.
And he had a damn good idea where to start looking.
The low groan of wood creaked beneath someone’s feet. Colin whipped his blade from its sheath between his shoulders and spun around.
A boy no taller than Colin’s waist stood in the doorway, his wide ears framed by the light outside. He pulled his bottom lip in his mouth and studied Colin with a wary brown gaze.
“Are you looking for the French lady?”
Colin nodded. “I am.”
The boy’s stare dropped to where he rubbed the scuffed toes of his shoes against one another. “I saw someone pull her into a carriage this morning.”
Just as Colin had suspected. “Can ye tell me what happened?”
The lad sucked in a deep breath, and the lower lip he kept tucking into his mouth quivered. “I heard her scream, but I couldn’t help.” His head bent low. “I was too afraid.”
He approached
the boy and knelt in front of him. “I think ye were verra brave in coming here this morning.”
Large eyes rose to meet his. “I wanted to help.”
“Ye still can. Did ye see the carriage?”
The boy nodded.
“Glossy black?” Colin surmised.
The boy shook his head so hard, his smooth blond hair moved with the action. “No, this was a rented carriage. The kind I’ve seen before on the street.”
A rented carriage? Why would Lindsay have paid for a rented carriage when he had access to his own?
“They weren’t the usual men either.” The small voice cut through Colin’s thoughts.
“The usual men?”
“Yeah, the guys that pick her up during the day. These men were different.”
Had Lindsay sent other men? “Different how?”
The boy’s shoulders lifted. “They spoke with words I didn’t know. Words like the pretty lady uses sometimes.”
French. Colin’s head ached like it was being squeezed in a vise. If Lindsay’s men had not abducted Marie, who had?
“Is there anything else ye can think of that might help me find her?” Colin asked.
The boy’s mouth twisted to the side, and he looked up toward the ceiling in concentrated thought. “No.” His shoulders sagged. “I guess I wasn’t much help.”
“Ye’ve told me more information than I would’ve found on my own, lad.” Colin pulled the dirk from the side of his belt. The dagger was basic, plain steel with a leather wrapped handle, but its weight was solid and the blade sharp. “No warrior should be without a weapon, aye?”
The boy reached slowly toward the gift, his eyes wide with the disbelief of a boy who couldn’t believe his luck.
“Be careful with it, lad, it’s verra sharp.” He waited for the boy to tuck it into the waistline of his pants before speaking again. “If anyone else comes here, dinna speak with them and tell no one of seeing me.”
Colin’s request was met with a vigorous nod.
“If ye see anything else or happen to learn anything, please come to me with the information. Ye can find me at Edzell Castle.”
Widened eyes grew larger. “Edzell Castle? Are you—”
Colin grinned and ruffled the boy’s hair.
The little head bowed reverently. “Yes, laird, you have my word.”
Hopefully the boy could uncover important information. Colin would need all the help he could get in finding Marie.
And he would find her.
Chapter Thirty
Colin pressed his shoulder to the door of the chamber he shared with Brianna and eased it open. Perhaps she still slept and had not noticed his absence.
He stepped into the room and found his wife sitting in the middle of the bed. Sheets tangled at her waist and legs, leaving her bare torso rising from their bed like a goddess from a cresting wave. Tousled brown waves fell around her, wild and beautiful. She curled her hand around, shielding her naked breasts.
She stared at him, imploring, wounded. “You weren’t here.”
Her gaze followed his approach to the bed and her hand tightened against her arm.
“I’d hoped to still find ye sleeping.” He smiled down at her, though he knew not a lick of it would do any good. “I’m sorry, lass. I couldna sleep.” He sat on the edge of the stuffed mattress and turned to her. The warmth of her body beckoned him, tempted him to curl into bed beside her.
“Has something happened?”
Colin hesitated. He wanted to reply in the usual fashion, to reassure her everything was fine, to placate her until the issue had been resolved. Until Marie had been safely recovered.
Brianna peered over the mattress to Colin’s boots. “You’ve been in town,” she said softly. “The mud there is a lighter color than at Edzell.”
“I dinna want to tell ye, but ye’ve made it clear ye want the truth.”
Her legs shifted beneath the sheets and she sat up straighter. “Please tell me, Colin.”
He rubbed his brow where a line of tension stretched taut through his head. “Marie has been taken. By Frenchmen, from what I’ve been informed.”
Brianna gasped behind her hand. “Why would someone take her?”
Colin shook his head. “That’s what I canna figure out.” Alec was already in town, asking questions. Hopefully he would get an idea of who the men were and where they had taken Marie.
Brianna’s fingers remained pressed to her lips. “Why would you not wish to tell me something like this?” Her hand fell away. “I don’t understand.”
He looked down at the palms of his widespread hands, at the hard-won calluses slowly beginning to fade. “I know I can find Marie and have her safely returned. Telling ye would only give ye cause to worry.” His ink-spattered hands balled into fists, hiding away proof of too much time behind a desk. “I dinna keep information a secret to hurt ye, I do it to protect ye. I would rather problems be found and corrected before ye know they exist.” He looked up at Brianna. “That’s how I prefer it.”
Her lips were pursed in concentration. “Like my letters?”
“Aye, like yer letters.” And like Magda’s abduction. If Brianna realized what her nurse had been through, she would be horrified. Magda was already safe at home, and hopefully her memory had cleared itself of the terror she’d experienced. Brianna had no need to be informed. This would be the last secret he would keep from her.
Brianna’s cheeks flushed pink. “I still found a way to get my letters from you.”
Colin chuckled. “Aye, that ye did.”
Her expression grew serious. “I do not want to have to always resort to trickery to get what should have already been shared with me.”
“I would strongly encourage ye to employ the use of your trickery.” He pulled off his boots and grinned at her over his shoulder. “Any time ye want.”
His boots thunked to the floor. He crawled across the bed and slid his arms around Brianna’s naked back. Her warmth, her sweet scent, all of it eased the unrest in his mind and soothed some of his stress.
He nuzzled her ear and caught her earlobe in his mouth. “I happen to enjoy trickery.”
She leaned into him. “You’re not using trickery on me, are you?”
He ran his lips down her neck. God, her skin was so damn soft. He brushed the sheet away from her breasts, and desire rose hard and thick between them.
She leaned away from him. “Colin, what about Marie?” Concern showed in her doe-eyed gaze.
Marie. Colin clenched his jaw. He didn’t want to think of Marie or her abduction or what Magda’s confession held. Right now he wanted to lose himself in his wife’s silky embrace and revel in the comfort of knowing she was safe.
He pulled her toward him and kissed his way down her neck to the round swell of her right breast. “Alec is looking for Marie. Nothing more we can do, but wait.”
Brianna’s heart raced beneath his mouth. “I still want my letters,” she gasped.
His tongue found the peak of her nipple and circled it. “Ye’ll get yer letters.” He teased the tender bud with his lips as he spoke. “But first I need more trickery to persuade me.”
She gently pushed his chest and gave him a shy, ducking look. “Then you should lie down, husband, for there is more I have not shown you.”
He lay back on the bed and pulled her with him. The letters would be the perfect distraction to keep her busy while Alec was in town.
Letters that would still be there after a bit of sport.
• • •
The parchment was smooth against Brianna’s fingertips. Smooth and brittle. She would have to handle it with great care.
She settled against the seated window in her mother’s study and craned her neck over the page.
The words were vaguely familiar. Something she had seen before.
The memory slid into place and a nostalgic grin spread over her lips. Her mother had taught her the complex blend of Greek and French when she was a girl. That Marie
and Colin were able to piece together as much as they had was impressive.
Brianna angled the page toward the glow of sunlight streaming through the lead-cased window and read.
My Elizabeth,
Not a day goes by that I do not think of your beauty, that I do not relive the enlightening conversations we shared. I know I should not be writing to you, yet I cannot bring myself to stay my hand.
The words lanced her heart, and any hope she had of her mother’s innocence bled out from the wound.
The weight of Colin’s stare lay heavy on Brianna’s face. She flipped another page to the back.
“Ye read them quickly,” he said from where he sat on the window seat across from her.
Her eyes were quick across the page, as if the faster-paced reading would make the contents carry less impact. But every endearing, incriminating word blazed itself in her mind. “The marquis was flattering,” she murmured. “Very, very flattering.”
No, not flattering—doting. Insistent. All but demanding Brianna’s mother flee her home and return to him.
“They are but love letters, nothing more.” Brianna forced strength into her dry throat lest Colin regret his decision.
He gently pulled the papers from her hands. “Ye wished they were something more?”
She shifted her gaze across the room to where a chipped flagstone called her attention.
“Brianna.”
The fight slid out of her. “I thought I would find proof of her innocence, that she hadn’t-that she’d been as honorable as I remember.” She stared at the damaged wall. It’d been broken when she was a girl.
The earl paced the room, the air humming with his agitation. “You’re a pathetic excuse of a mother, Whore. Teaching the girl words your lover wrote to you.”
He hefted a marble ball from the desk, the one they used as Jupiter in their lessons, and sent it soaring through the air. The sphere slammed into the wall in an explosion of dust and rubble. A sliver of stone fell away and bounced on the hard floor. His face turned red. “Do you see what you’ve made me do, Elizabeth?”
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