Page 92 of Wedded to the Twisted Highlander
“At breakfast. She said she was goin’ to be pickin’ herbs for yer faither’s tonic,” Melody answered. Thomas’ body went cold.Astrid wasn’t in the garden, he would have seen her through a window. Or at the very least one of the servants would have. If Astrid wasn’t in the castle or the garden, where was she?
Thomas’ heart pounded relentlessly against his chest as his mind raced. .
“What is troublin’ ye, Braither? Ye look as if yer about to lose yer lunch,” Eileen asked as he searched every corner and nook.
“Nay one has seen Astrid,” Thomas mumbled, stopping only to flash Melody a smile to ease whatever trouble his news would bring her mind. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her to worry. But with each passing moment and still no word, Thomas was growing nervous.
“Surely someone has seen her around,” Eileen answered as the weight of the situation dropped on her shoulders.
“Seems nay one has since breakfast. Tell me, lass, is there any place she would go? Maybe a secret place she likes to go just to be alone?” Thomas asked as his heart pounded relentlessly against his chest. He didn’t want to believe that Laird Chalium had come for Astrid, but if she was gone, then it meant she had left him. The thought was far too painful for him to wrap his head around.
“Like the balcony in our chambers?” Melody asked, her little face bright with hope. “She likes to step out there a lot.”
“And when did ye see her there?” Thomas asked as hope sprang like a fountain in his chest.
“Well, I picked Melody up an hour ago, I dinnae see Astrid then. Was she outside on the balcony?” Eileen asked as she glanced at Melody.
“Aye. But come to think about it, she did mention she wasnae feelin’ well,” Melody said as if the thought just popped into her head. “She’s been sick, lately. Ye might find her takin’ a bath somewhere quiet.”
Thomas’s heart leaped in his throat before it plunged into the abyss.
“Thank ye, Melody,” he said as he planted a kiss on top of her head. “Eileen, I’m goin’ to need ye to tend to Faither. He’s havin’ a spell again, and if Astrid is ill…”
“Aye,” Eileen agreed as she closed the book and set it to the side. “I dinnae ken what I have to do, but I’ll do what I can.”
“I can help,” Melody offered. “Astrid showed me how to make tonics.”
“That would help. Ye go wit’ Eileen, I’ll fetch Astrid, and hopefully one of us will get Faither under control again,” Thomas said as he marched out of the room with a new sense of purpose.
His heart skipped and fluttered as he hurried up the stairs to their chamber. He didn’t know if he should knock or barge in. His body tensed as a foreboding feeling coiled in the pit of his stomach.
Swallowing hard, Thomas entered the room. A cold chill greeted him that could only be accompanied by emptiness. There was no sign of Astrid.
His heart shattered as he spotted the parchment on her writing table. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to ignore it, to turn away. But it drew him in like a moth to a flame.
He picked up the note and held his breath as he read it.
“Astrid… What have ye done, lass?” he mumbled as he reread the note to ensure that he had read it right.
“Guards!” he barked, his voice carrying through the chambers and down the hall.
The sound of armor rattling down the hallway reached his ears. He turned around and caught sight of something flapping violently in the wind.
Thomas felt numb. The letter slipped from his fingers as he swept his eyes over the bed.
“Me Laird,” the guards answered in unison as they barged into the room.
Thomas paused before the balcony doors, refusing to believe that she would run from him. Yet, as he pulled them open, his worst fears were confirmed.
Tied to the granite balustrade was a makeshift rope.
Thomas shook his head as the warmth drained from his being.
“Is the castle sealed?” Thomas asked.
“Aye,” the guards answered with a salute that gave him the confidence to believe them. Still doubt clung to him like seaweed.
“Are ye sure? Ye got every gate and door closed off. Nay one has entered?”
