“Aye,” Crissy agreed. “The sooner the better. Come, hen.” She smiled. “I cannae wait tae be haeme!”
Grace felt a stab of guilt. “We‘re going somewhere else first, Crissy,” she said, sighing. “Sit down please.”
Crissy did as she was bidden, but it was clear she was not happy.
* * *
William and Grace spent a tense hour of silence while the coach rolled over the bumpy roads, while Crissy had fallen asleep. She always had this reaction to carriage rides, and Grace envied her. She could sleep nowhere but in her own bed.
“I wish we were there, Will,” she said restlessly. “I can’t help thinking about what Fergus might be going through. He may be in awful pain, or tied up… or in the dark. He hates the dark. They—they might have killed him, Will. What am I going to do then? I love him so much.”
William watched as tears glittered in Grace’s eyes. He felt infinitely sorry for her, but also infinitely helpless. Robert had told them he had sent out search parties, but there had seen no sign of any men at all, and he doubted that anything was being done to find Fergus. He did not have to be told that Robert was lying; he felt it in his bones. But he had to give Grace some hope.
“Grace, they may have done nothing at all,” he pointed out. “He may be absolutely fine.”
“But if you think Robert did it—Will, you have said yourself that you don’t trust him, that -” she broke off and gave a long sigh of frustration. “He is an evil man.”
William could think of nothing to say, and there was another long silence.
At last, Grace spoke again, this time trying to inject a little cheer into her voice. “Remind me who your Patterson friend, Callum, is?” she asked. “I don’t think I have ever met him.”
“You have.” William gave his sister a mischievous grin. “You met him when you were ten years old. He was twelve and so was I, and he fell in love with you the first time he saw you. He has carried a torch for you ever since I think. He always asks about you. He never married either.”
“Neither have you,” Grace pointed out, raising her eyebrows. She was glad their mood had lightened a little. “Whom are you carrying a torch for?” She was sure she could see her brother blushing as she gazed at him.
“Let’s sort your life out first,” he said evasively, as the carriage took a sharp turn to the right. “Now we are on the road to Kinkeld Estate.” He frowned and shook his head slowly. “I cannot believe Callum’s family had anything to do with this. They are good people, and they have never had any quarrels with anyone.”
At that moment, the carriage jolted over a rut in the road, and Crissy yawned and woke up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around her.
“Sleep well?” Grace asked her fondly.
Crissy nodded sleepily, then looked out of the window. Suddenly she sat up in her seat, frowning. “Where is this place?” she asked, puzzled.
“We are going to see the Patterson family, as I told you.” Grace smiled. “You have not quite woken up yet!”
“For a minute, I thought we were on the road home,” Crissy said sadly.
Grace saw the disappointment on Crissy’s face as she realized her mistake, and put her arm around her friend. “I am sorry, Crissy. But we will be home soon, I promise you. Can you wait a few more days?”
“Aye, I can do that, hen.” Crissy attempted a smile, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and fell asleep again. Grace stroked her reddish brown hair gently, wishing she could fall asleep as easily as her friend could.
“She has been almost as upset as I am,” she told William. “But for my sake, not her own. Crissy is very stoic, though. She never shows it.”
“We are both lucky to have such good friends,” William observed. “They are few and far between.”
“Is your friend Callum likely to be angry with us?” Grace asked nervously. “Because I think I would be if I were him. Imagine someone coming to your house asking if someone in their family had kidnapped your friend.”
William shook his head. “Not angry,” he replied. “Maybe a bit puzzled. He and his family have no love for Robert MacAndrew, but I doubt they would ever attack him. They don’t have the force to, for a start, and as you’ll see, Grace, their castle is quite small and does not have enough guards to mount an attack. Callum will probably laugh at the thought of capturing Fergus because this castle has no dungeons.”
“I see,” Grace said thoughtfully. “I wonder if Robert knows this.”
“I have no idea,” William remarked grimly. “But I have a feeling he does. It strikes me that Robert MacAndrew is the kind of man who has spies everywhere, and it’s the kind of strategy employed by a man who wants to make war.” He looked warningly at Grace. “We may despise him, Grace, but we must never underestimate him.”
20
When Robert had beckoned him into the forest to chase the stag, Fergus had obeyed without thinking, even though everyone else was going the other way. It was only when he followed Robert and Angus under the shadow of the trees that he realized his mistake. As Sandy slowed down, so that they could duck under an overhanging branch, he was suddenly struck from behind by a blow from something blunt and heavy.
He felt a lightning bolt of pain; the stroke had so much force that he was thrown from the horse and landed on the ground with a jarring thud that sent shudders all through his body.