Page 107 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

The question died before it reached his tongue.

He could not ask.

I have nay right to after askin’ her to leave last night.

He still battled with his longing when Lileas looked up and grinned at him.

“Me Laird!” she called, immediately pulling away from Jane to hurry to him.

Gordon managed a nod then lowered himself to a squat to greet the girl. He ruffled her hair and smiled at her. “How are ye?”

“Happy, Me Laird,” she answered with a grin. “Brochan is growin’ really big. Jane says he is a wee menace, but I think he is bonnie, and he likes to play.”

The hedgehog sniffed indignantly at Gordon and scurried closer like he wanted Gordon to stroke him. Gordon almost smiled, but he stroked the hedgehog a little then pulled upright again.

Jane greeted him with a curtsy as he walked past them and headed up the stairway. His gaze drifted along the paintings hung on the walls. He had meant to thank Ailis for the thoughtful gesture, knowing that his work would never have seen the light of day without her courage.

Gordon had thought of it more than once, yet each time he found himself near her, words failed him. The paintings had given him something he had not known he had lost: the right to remember.

His gaze lingered upon the faint image of his mother.

Thank ye, Ailis.

He turned toward the staircase, hoping to head to his chamber for a warm bath. His muscles ached from the day he had spent in the village, and even though he had hoped it would distract him from Ailis, it had done little in the end.

“Gordon.”

He stopped in his tracks when the panicked tone called for him.

Marion hurried toward him when he turned around. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with terror as she panted.

“Is there a matter?”

“Ailis… I havenae seen her all day in the castle,” she answered. “Have ye seen her?”

His stomach dropped at the question. A tight knot took root inside him, cold dread traveling through him, settling beneath his ribs and gripping hard. “What do ye mean?”

“She is missin’. Nay one has seen her since she left the seamstress shop earlier. Sorcha just returned with news,” Marion explained in a rushed tone that made it hard for Gordon to follow her words at first.

The words struck with such force that his entire body went rigid.

“Missin’? What do ye mean?”

“They say she went out for a walk… for some air in the village, and she did nae return,” Marion said quickly.

Before Gordon could answer, footsteps sounded behind them.

Sorcha rushed into the hall, another woman close behind her. Callan and Rowan followed in not long after, and the worry etched into their features told him they knew what had happened.

“Laird MacLaren,” Sorcha called out in a distraught tone just as Rowan appeared at the top of the landing and began climbing down the stairs. “We have searched the gardens with the guards following us. The village road. The lower fields. She is nowhere.”

For one terrible heartbeat, he could not move as their words sank in. His mind refused to accept it. She had been within these walls only hours ago. He could still picture her laughing with Lileas, still hear that bright sound drifting through the corridors.

Kerr.

Gordon’s blood seemed to turn cold. “Kerr.” He saw Malcolm approach them with guards and instantly ordered. “I want Laird Kerr found and brought to me this instant.”

Malcolm bowed and sprang into action immediately while Gordon turned to other guards. “Search every chamber. Every stable. Every outbuildin’. I want every man accounted for. And make certain Kerr is still within these walls. The rest of ye, take men and go out into the village. I want me betrothed found and brought back to the keep.”