Page 93 of Highland Renegade
“Where is Emily?” he asked as he approached the dais.
“She was not feeling well,” Lorelei replied.
The hairs at his nape prickled. Had someone tried to poison her again? “Did ye check on her?”
“She left a note for Maggie not to be disturbed.”
“But ye didna check?”
“My sister may seem a docile kitten most days,” Juliana said, “but when she is not feeling well, she is more like a lion with a thorn in its paw. Better to leave her alone.”
He’d never thought of Emily asdocilenor a kitten for that matter. More like a she-wolf, protective of her sisters.
“Juliana is right. Emily does not get ill very often, but when she does, she just wants to be left alone.” Lorelei lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Besides, she did say she wanted to take a nap.”
Something didn’t seem right. “When was this?”
“Earlier.”
Ian took a deep breath, willing himself not to raise his voice. “When, precisely?”
Juliana frowned at him. “It was just before Devon came to the solar to fetch Fiona.”
“For what?”
“He didn’t say.”
Ian glanced around for his brother. He wasn’t with Carr and Rory, and Ian didn’t see him anywhere. The hair at his nape prickled again. “Where is Fiona?”
“We have not seen her since she left the solar.”
Ian stared at both of them, then he turned and ran out of the hall toward the back of the castle where Emily’s chamber was. Not bothering to knock, he pushed open the door.
Her bed was empty.
It had not been slept in.
He looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of order. No signs of a struggle. Emily’s slippers lay on the floor by the wardrobe so she must have changed shoes. Then he noticed that her cloak was gone. He suddenly felt like Paden had kicked him with a well-placed hoof in his stomach. Had Devon—he didn’t want to think it—lured her out? And Fiona—Lucifer’s horns!—his sister could not be involved with any plot of Devon’s. Had she gone after them?
He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, not knowing what to do. Then he spotted the note lying on the dresser. He reached it in three strides and picked it up. A moment later he howled at the walls and went racing out.
…
Emily shivered. The night air had turned cold and she’d dropped her cloak when she first began to struggle. She didn’t dare try to reach for it now, since she was already near knee-deep in the sucking goop. Each time she moved, the mess shifted, pulling her down. The rocks couldn’t be more than ten or fifteen feet away, a safe haven. But it might as well have been miles.
A hysterical bubble rose in her throat and she fought the panic that was rising. How could she have miscalculated so badly? The boards—she looked again, trying to locate them but from her location now she couldn’t see them. Or…maybe they had sunk. She had no idea when they had been put into place or how long it took, although, where she had walked should have been dry. The note had said it was. Would Ian still be waiting for her? Or would he think she had decided not to come? He wouldn’t get home until morning. Would anyone think to look for her? She’d left the note for Maggie and her sisters knew to leave her alone… Oh, dear God. She had been such a fool to walk through a bog at night.
She froze suddenly and stopped breathing as the sound of water seeping from the overturned peat began to rise around her boots. For a moment, she stared at it, feeling the hysterical bubble rise in her throat once more.
And then she screamed.
…
Ian was nearly out of breath from running out of the castle to reach the bog when he heard the scream. Damnation! It was faint. He swiveled his head to attune his ears from the direction it had come. He could see nothing at this edge of the bog, but if Emily had wandered in past the boards…
He squinted in the dim light from the moon. The boards had been placed fairly close to the newly turned rows yesterday, since the mud had been like thick soup and it hadn’t been safe to go farther in. They were gone now, and he frowned. They’d been placed near the upturned peat and couldn’t have sunk under the turf. He peered out over the bog and felt his eyes widen as he saw the boards floating a good hundred feet away. How they had gotten that far out he didn’t know, but if Emily had taken them for a guideline and walked into the sodden mess…
Another scream rent the air. It sounded like it came from the far end and he sprinted toward the sound. Several times he slipped and nearly fell as he skirted along the edge. It would have been quicker to dart through, but not safe. The cry came again, ceasing suddenly.Dear God! Don’t let the muck have sucked her under!
