Page 9 of Passion

Chapter 5

The following morning,Caeleb sunk his ax into a fallen tree and scooped up the cloth that lay on the ground beside the level tree trunk where he was splitting logs. He wiped the sweat from his face and bare chest. His muscles burned with the last two hours’ exertion, but that’s what he wanted, what he needed. Caeleb tossed the cloth aside, then placed another log on the tree trunk. He pulled his axe from the wood and swung it down onto the top of a thick log. The log cracked but didn’t split. Caeleb yanked free the axe, swung again, and this time the axe cut halfway through the log.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a warrior crest the hill to his right. With one hand, Caeleb braced against the log, then yanked the axe free. The warrior reached him as Caeleb swung the axe again and split the log in two. The two halves fell from the wood platform onto the ground.

“What is it?” Caeleb asked. He picked up half of the log and set it on the platform, then split it in half.

“A missive arrived for you,” the warrior said.

Caeleb glanced at him as he picked up the second half of the log and set it on the trunk. The warrior extended a letter toward him. Caeleb split the second half of the log, then swung his axe, embedding it in the tree trunk. He took the missive, which was sealed with wax.

He looked up sharply at the warrior. “Who delivered this?”

“A lad from the village. He said an old woman gave it to him with instructions to deliver it to ye.”

Caeleb broke the seal and unfolded the paper.

You will find Gwendolyn at Maggie’s inn at Cromerth village.

A Friend

A Friend.Signed the same as the missive warning of the Donald attack, but the handwriting was different.

“Who is the boy that delivered the letter?” Caeleb demanded.

“The son of David MacLeod, the smith.”

Caeleb knew the boy and his father. They were both loyal MacLeods. Someone had randomly picked the boy to deliver the message. What the bloody hell kind of game was someone playing? Did the writer truly know where Gwen had gone? Had Gwen confided in someone? In the two years Gwen had been with them, she’d kept to herself. Caeleb couldn’t think of a single person she might have confided in.

Why didn’t this friend simply come out and tell them? Was this a trick? The letter warning about the Donald attack hadn’t been a trick, but this letter had been written by someone different. Did the writers know each other? Why not leave the letter in the great hall as the first writer had done?

Was it possible Gwen really was in Cromerth? His heart began to beat fast. The village was but half a day’s ride. If he left now and rode hard, he could be there in a little over three hours.

Caeleb looked at the warrior. “Where is Manas?”

“He is on the wall, laird.”

“Send him to my library.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later,Manas told Caeleb, “If Tommen were here, he would agree with me.” Caeleb had told him about Gwen. “Tommen bade you stay while he searched for Gwendolyn,” Manas went on. “He would want you to stay and let me go to Cromerth.”

Caeleb shook his head. “I must go.”

“Ye said you didn’t want the clan to know what was going on until you found out the truth. If you go, they’ll ask questions.”

“I needn’t explain my every move,” Caeleb said. “No one will question me.”

“Laird—”

A knock on the door interrupted him.

“Enter,” Caeleb called.

The door opened and another warrior entered. “Laird, Jacob MacKinnon is here to see ye.”

“What the devil?” Caeleb burst out.