Claimed By A Charmer (The Pith Trilogy) (28 page)

Douglas was beside himself. He knew
Isabel had been too quiet and calculating. He should have known that she would
do something rash. Nathaniel helped him search for two days, and he had no idea
where she’d gone. He grew distant toward everyone. His only concern was to find
his wife, and when he did, he was going to give her hell for putting him
through this.

“I swear I’m going to smack her
delightful bottom when I find her.”

Nate had been disappointed when
he’d shown up for the wedding celebration to find his sister tone.

“You will not. That’s my sister
you’re talking about, although the idea has merit. Do you think she went to the
asylum?”

Douglas’ head snapped up. “Damn me,
I didn’t think of that. She’s stubborn enough to.”

“I’ll gather the men and we’ll ride
there.”

They left that day with Douglas’
and Nate’s entourage of soldiers riding along. When they reached the hellish
confines of the asylum after riding for days, they stood transfixed. There
wasn’t a person to be found, not inside, outside, anywhere. Even the small
abbey behind the asylum was vacant.

Douglas became dejected, and a cold
bleakness settled inside him. He’d hoped she would be there, and he could at
last vent his anger—rage was more like it. He leaned his head against his
saddle as he stood beside his horse.

Nate put his hand on his shoulder. “Maybe
she went home.”

“Where does she think home is?” Douglas’
frustration set in.

“We’re not far from my keep, a few hours’
ride.”

The men remounted and rode for
Raven’s Hill. Nate called to his guard-post and the gates were opened, and they
were told that Lady Isabel hadn’t returned.

“Where the hell is she?” Douglas
roared.

“I have no idea. Let’s eat and
regain our strength and we’ll set out in the morn.”

“And where do you propose we look
for her?”

Nate had no knowledge. “We won’t
stay here doing nothing. I doubt she’d come here, not after what our father
did. She must have gone to somewhere she felt safe.”

“Are you saying she didn’t feel
safe with me? Now you are insulting me.”

“Not at all, Douglas. Calm down,
being surly won’t aid in finding her. Has she met anyone at your keep that
would help her, someone she would feel safe with?”

“All my clan would honor her.”

“Did she befriend anyone unusual, someone
that you wouldn’t think of?”

“I don’t know, there’s my sister,
my mother, and … cosh, Brendan. Mayhap she went to him. They became friends,
but she’d have no knowledge how to get to him. He’s roaming the borders. She
can’t have gone to him.”

“Might I make a suggestion then?” Douglas
gave him a sedate glare. Nate continued, “I say we ride back to your clan, wait
there until we hear from her. She might even be there now. It’s obvious someone
went to the asylum. Mayhap it was her. Where would she take the girls?”

“Aye, she must have rescued the
girls and taken them home. We’ll leave at first light.”

*****

Douglas was beyond chagrined. Almost
a week had gone by that he’d been home, not a blessed word of his wife’s
whereabouts came. He was so incensed that he had a frown plastered on his face
from sunup to sundown. Even his mother hadn’t been able to get him to release
his aggression.

His mother touched his arm, and he
looked up from his tray, pushing it away.

“Don’t worry so, lad. She’ll come
back.”

“Ah, you have such confidence. Wish
that I had. I just hope she is safe.”

“I’m sure she is. Is her brother
still here?”

Douglas grumbled. “Aye, he won’t
leave until she returns. I wish I told Isabel how much I loved her when I had
the chance. Doesn’t seem likely I’ll have the chance now.”

His mother gasped. “I just thought
of a way you can show your love for Isabel. Why didn’t I think of this before? Aye,
I know what you should do.” She whispered in his ear, and for the first time
since returning empty handed without his wife, Douglas laughed.

Nate and Gil walked inside and
joined him.

“What’s so amusing?” Gil asked.

“My Mother has a strange sense of
humor. What are ye thinking, Nate? You’re too quiet.” Douglas noticed his
brother-in-law’s grim expression.

“‘Tis the truth, women. I was
thinking what a pain in the arse my sister is.”

Burk entered the hall, wearing a
sour expression that instilled a tightening in his chest. Douglas’ concern for
his cousin became more worrisome as each day passed. He was almost afraid to
ask what the news was.

“I’ve a message from Julianna.” Burk
thrust the message at him.

“Has Bonnie been found?” Shelagh
asked.

“Nay, Milady Kerr.”

Douglas read the message. All
watched him as a multitude of expressions crossed his face, but he continued to
look at the parchment. He finally lifted his head and laughed. “I know where
she is.”

“Where?” Shelagh, Gil and Nate
asked at once.

“Isabel is safe. She went to
Julianna, and convinced her to send Father Tomas to aid the girls. Then she
went to make sure they were safe at Parkville convent. Father Tomas took her to
the Gordon’s.”

Nate swore. “She was never one to
await anything.”

“I don’t know if I’m angry with her
or not. Hell, she should have had faith in me. I was going to rescue the
lassies after I finished …”

“But you didn’t tell her that, she
didn’t know what you planned. This is all your fault.” His mother frowned at
him.

“You’re aright, Mother. I know
exactly what I will do.”

Everyone looked at him expectantly,
waiting for him to expand on his remark, but he didn’t.

The evening meal was more joyous
than that of previous nights. Douglas sat smiling, and ate heartily, his
appetite returned. Many of his soldiers and clans-people attended the meal, and
he was in a much better mood. He didn’t appear to be in a hurry to get to his
ill disciplined wife.

“Why are you not on your steed, riding
to England? She’ll not send you a blasted invite.” Nate hadn’t stopped
pestering since earlier that afternoon.

“I’ll leave when I’m ready. Besides,
she’s not going anywhere. Mayhap I’ll leave her to worry a bit before I go, serves
her right for disobeying me.”

“But, you didn’t tell her she
couldn’t leave the keep. Did you?”

Douglas laughed. “Nay, I didn’t, but
a wife should know better than to leave the safety of her clan. I’ll make sure
she follows that dictate in the future.”

Nate grinned. “And how are you
going to ensure that? My sister is disobedient.”

“Aye, I love that about her most.”

“Shouldn’t ye go? Please, bring her
home.” His mother hadn’t stopped badgering him either.

“Mother, I suppose you’ll nag me to
death, until I do. I know exactly what I am doing. I’ll bring her home, only
she’ll want to come.”

Shelagh smiled. “This is where she
belongs, it’s her home and—”

Douglas pushed his chair out, then
strolled toward the door, and called to Cedric. “I want you to deliver a
message to Laird Gordon.”

“Where are you going, Douglas?”
Nate shouted. “If you are going after my sister, I am coming, too.”

“I’m not going after her. She’ll
come to me. I’m going to see Lowrie.” Douglas’ voice held a tinge of arrogance.

Shelagh walked to him. Her smile
couldn’t be wider, her eyes twinkled. “Douglas, Lowrie?”

“Aye, Mother, Lowrie.”

“Does this mean you are going to—”

“Aye, I’m going to show her how
much I love her.”

Douglas was taken aback when his
mother suddenly threw herself in his arms, hugging him.

Nate smiled at them. “But how are
you going to get her to come to you?”

“Nate, that’s just it, she won’t
know she’s coming to me. It will be quite simple. I know you want to see her,
you’re welcome to stay here until we return.”

Nate nodded. “I’ll wait here. I do
wish to see her before I return home.”

“I’ll catch up with Brendan, and
help look for Bonnie,” Gil said.

“Aye, Gil, he needs your help now,
more than I do. I’ll see you when we return and hopefully you will have found Bonnie
by then.”

Gil nodded and left. Douglas was
overcome with anxiety to get to Lowrie. The sooner the deed was done, the sooner
he could depart. Lowrie made haste in his chore and by nightfall, he had
completed the task.

Before Douglas left for his own
secret location, Cedric relayed that his message had been delivered. All would
be done as he ordered. He set out on his quest, driving his horse beyond its
limit before stopping to rest. As he sat beside a large tree, watching his men
take rest, he smiled thinking of his plan. Isabel hadn’t been cared for during
her life. What kind of childhood had she had growing up with that whoreson of a
father? She’d been on her own for such a long time, but she wouldn’t be alone
any longer. He would reassure her of that. Aye, Isabel didn’t trust anyone, least
of all him. It was time she started trusting him. It was time to tell her so.

He rode through the walls of the
Gordon’s keep and didn’t notice anything unusual. The guard waved him on, and
Douglas watched the Gordon’s patrol head out for their nightly duty. He stabled
his horse himself, as did the five men who rode with him. Instead of heading
directly for the keep, he went to Scottie’s cabin.

Scottie Gordon, Stan’s nephew and
second-in-command, lived in a small thatched-roofed cabin. Hut was more like
it, as small as it was. His wife, Anna, let him in at his knock. Douglas felt
like a giant standing inside their small living quarters. He greeted him with a
grin and Scottie motioned for him to sit and he poured him a taste of brew, the
Gordon’s specialty, which had the smoothest taste in the Highlands. Douglas
savored the small taste Scottie gave him and put his cup forward again. Scottie
scoffed and filled his cup to the brim. He grunted his approval and immediately
set to drink it.

“You’re finally here. Does Stan
know you arrived?” Scottie finally asked.

“I haven’t seen him yet. You can tell
him I’m here later.”

He laughed. “I can’t believe you’re
not running to the keep to see her. I’d be.”

“I’m going to let her wait a wee
bit longer.”

“If she was my wife, well now, I
tell you she wouldn’t have run away to begin with.”

Douglas’ laughter clamored, which
made Anna grimace. “Ahhh, but you see, Scottie, she didn’t run away, she was on
a rescue mission.”

“Stan said that he knew you’d have
formed a plan to win her back by the time you got here.”

“So Stan shared all my news with
you, I see. Pour me another drink.”

Scottie saluted him, his bulbous
nose twitching when he sniffed his cup before chugging the contents. Douglas
toasted him back then drank his drink. It immediately relaxed him, that and the
fact that his wife was only a few hundred feet from him.

Isabel had been at her Uncle Stan’s
home for several days and still became melancholy when she thought of Douglas. Even
Romy hadn’t been able to cheer her on the ride from the convent. Her uncle had
been wrath that she hadn’t gone to him about Nigel, but she explained about her
father and sending her to the Asylum. Uncle Stan bellowed his anger and told
her she was wrong to leave her husband. Isabel cried and told him he was right,
but she couldn’t fix it now. She listened to him for hours on end going on
about the duties of being a wife, not that it mattered much now, since she
wouldn’t be returning to the Kerr clan. She told him so and he scoffed, walking
way.

She came down early enough so she
wouldn’t have to eat her breakfast with Uncle Stan’s soldiers and she could
avoid him as well. Aunt Mabel sat at the table, applying a needle to a banner
that she worked on. Isabel took the seat next to her and began picking food
from the tray that sat in the center of the table.

“How are you this morn, my girl?”

“Good morn, Aunt Mabel. I’m fine. I
just—” Isabel stopped in mid-sentence when Douglas walked through the door. Her
eyes widened when he walked past her and he didn’t even stop to glance at her. Her
brows furrowed with the view of his back, he went straight to the barrel. He
picked up a clean cup from the side table, and dipped it.

Isabel stared at his back, trying
to sear him with her yes. She wondered what expression set his face, probably a
blank one. All she really wanted at that moment was for him to walk to her, and
kiss the breath out of her, but he didn’t. She wanted to yell at him for his
rudeness.

Douglas turned, and oh, aye, he had
a blank expression. He walked to the table and picked up a piece of bread. Was
he humming?

“Douglas?”

“Oh, Isabel, I didn’t see you
there. Lady Gordon, good morn. I promised Scottie I’d go hunting. I’m late
meeting him.”

With that, he walked out the door. Isabel’s
eyes dropped to her lap and she tried to understand what had just happened. He
acted as though she was a stranger and he didn’t appear angry. She decided she
wouldn’t ever understand him. She rose and ran to her chamber, where she cried
her heart out into her pillow. She woke Romy and Belle with her sobs.

“Isabel, why are you crying?”

She couldn’t answer, just continued
crying. Romy tried to comfort her, but there was no doing so. Her crying woke
Belle, and the two of them wailed loudly. Romy picked Belle up from her cradle
and left.

When Isabel’s tears lessened and
she only shuddered with her sobs, she threw the pillow to the end of her
pallet. He didn’t love her, and he hadn’t come for her, nor did he care that
she’d left. Well, she wouldn’t care either. Saint’s be praised, how was she
going to do that? She’d never felt so isolated in her entire life. Even when
she had locked herself in her chamber after
the incident
, she hadn’t
felt so alone.

Two could play that game, she
reasoned. If he could act so uncaring and unaffected, she would return the
sentiment. She routed through her satchel for her daggers, because she needed
to release her pent-up frustration and wanted to spend the rest of the day
throwing her daggers. She picked the largest tree in the forest, the one that
most resembled Douglas. When she tired, she returned to the keep in time for
the evening meal, and had to hurry, because the meal was being served.

Isabel reached her chamber and
changed her gown. She purposely wore the gown her aunt had made for her. She
secured her coif with a tie that matched her dress. Once she was finished, she
scoffed in disgust for even caring that he’d be in attendance and left to go to
the hall.

Sitting beside her aunt, she
couldn’t look around the room to see if he was there, though she wanted to. She
concentrated on her meal, but she couldn’t resist, she turned her face and had
an unobstructed view of him. He looked so handsome. She saw him turn to look at
her, but then he turned his attention back to Scottie. He laughed at something
and the rest of the men joined in.

He could sit there and laugh till
sunup. How could he be so unfeeling? He glanced at her again then smiled,
giving her a lopsided grin. She scowled like the devil at him. Laughing, he
returned his attention to Scottie.

Isabel was asked to dance when the
music began. She didn’t dare look to see his expression when she flirted
shamelessly with her partner. She purposely placed her hand on the man’s hand. A
flicker of fire crossed her eyes; she was determined to make him jealous. When
the music ended, she stood next to his table and chanced a look at him. He
acted unaffected by her behavior. She couldn’t resist, she stomped on his foot
and walked away. Douglas’ booming laughter followed.

Isabel was downright miserable. She
had to tell her uncle that she couldn’t stay here, not while Douglas was here. Yet,
there was nowhere else for her to go. She would insist her uncle send him away,
this was her home, not his. Feeling a bit better, Isabel retired and readied
for bed. She didn’t want to face tomorrow, for then she’d see him again. Isabel
had the worst night sleep she’d ever had.