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Nerves, she thought. And she didn’t have time for them now. It wasn’t until she lifted the bridal bouquet out of its box that she felt the tug again. And this time she realized what was causing it.
Images flashed into her mind. The photographer’s hands, the familiar way they gripped and moved the camera.
Then came the voices. Daryl saying that wigs were standard tools of disguise. Alba barking when the bridal limo had arrived and Vi banishing her to the kitchen. Cam saying that the way best way to get into the wedding would be to “blend in.”
Adair shoved down hard on the hysterical laugh that threatened to bubble out. What better way to blend in than to arrive in the bridal limo with the bride and her mother?
Her mind was spinning so fast that she wasn’t even aware she’d moved back into the main room until she heard Rexie’s gasp. “Oooooh, they’re beautiful.”
Jerking her mind back to the present, Adair crossed to the young girl and handed her the cascade of roses and lilies of the valley. The remaining shots had to be taken. And she had to think.
But her mind had switched from fast-forward mode to slow motion. Any small hope she had of being mistaken or hallucinating faded as she watched the photographer take the next series of shots.
She was looking at Nathan MacDonald all right. The hands, even the way he let the camera hang from the strap on his shoulder—it was all so familiar. Why hadn’t she noticed it sooner?
There was no time to plan, but she knew what she had to do—she had to separate MacDonald from the bridal party and she had to keep him away. If his goal was to get revenge on Banes by stopping the wedding, Rexie could be in mortal danger. And if his goal was to get the sapphire, well, she could use that as a distraction.
Walking forward, she took Rexie’s hands in hers. “It’s time to go. Lawrence is already on his way to the stone arch.” She barely kept her hands from trembling as she gathered up the train and gave it to the maid of honor. “You’re in charge. Once you get to the foyer, go straight out through the front door and then wait on the garden path just as we did at the rehearsal.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched MacDonald cover his camera lens and move toward his case.
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Rexie asked.
“I’ll be right behind you. I have a couple of shots to discuss with the photographer. Your mother gave me this list.”
Then without another look at MacDonald, she shooed them out of the suite.
* * *
IT WAS ALBA’S muffled barking that drew Cam from his post in the foyer to the kitchen. He had to nudge the dog away from the door as he entered.
“What’s upsetting her?” he asked Vi as he patted the dog’s head.
“She wants to go out that door.”
As if to prove the point, Alba moved to it and then turned to stare at them.
“I can’t let her out,” Vi explained. “Not after the commotion she caused earlier when the bridal party arrived in that limo.”
Alba didn’t move away from the door. She stood her ground even when Daryl entered through the sliding terrace doors.
“Anything?” Vi asked him.
“Everything’s running smoothly outside,” Daryl said. “The last of the guests are parking. Both Mr. and Mrs. Maitland joined the groom for the photo shoot, and from what I could hear through the terrace doors they intend to sign the papers there right after the ceremony.”
“But so far there’s been no sign of Nathan MacDonald,” Vi said.
Daryl looked at Cam. “Maybe he’s decided to keep a safe distance, wait until Scalzo is in the stone arch, and then detonate the bomb.”
“I don’t think that’s the plan. At least not his whole plan, because it doesn’t get him the earring. That’s got to be what he’s after. Scalzo’s partner is a patient man. He works behind the scenes, researching the targets, gathering data. So he’s had time since the Times article to look into the connection between the missing sapphires and the Queen of Scots. For fifteen years he’s been content to stay out of the limelight. That all fits with the person who’s been visiting the library. Then suddenly he comes out of the shadows to pay a personal visit to the castle to talk to Adair. That visit to Adair wasn’t about Banes. It was all about the earring. The best chance he has of getting it is through Adair. I’m betting she’s his target.”
He whirled back to face them. “And he had a camera when she gave him the wedding tour. Maybe that’s how he’s blending in.”
“One of the photographers,” Daryl said.
“The last time I saw her she was headed toward the bridal—” The ringing of his cell cut Cam off. He glanced at the caller ID. “It’s Adair.”
But when he held it to his ear, he heard nothing.
16
ADAIR PAUSED AT the top of the stairs, waiting until the two women and the little girl rounded the landing and started down to the foyer. Only then did she slip her hand into her pocket and close it around her cell.
“Thank you, Ms. MacPherson.”
The voice sent a chill down her spine. Because it was Nathan MacDonald’s voice. Not the husky voice of the photographer.
“For what?” She kept the smile on her face as she turned to face him. Then for just an instant her mind went blank. It wasn’t a camera he held in his hand now, but a small, efficient-looking gun.
“For getting rid of the girls so that we could discuss our business.”
“Business?” Slowly Adair drew her gaze away from the weapon and met MacDonald’s eyes. The large framed glasses were gone now and she could see that his eyes were calm. And cold. Cold enough to send another chill through her system.
“No need to panic,” he assured her. “I just have a proposition for you.”
“A proposition? I don’t understand.” Adair struggled for composure. He was able to read her too well. And she wasn’t going to panic. She couldn’t afford to. In her pocket, she pressed the number that she hoped was Cam’s and sent the call.
“Oh, I think you do. But we can’t talk here.” He smiled as he gestured for her to move away from the stairs and away from the bridal suite they’d just left. “We need some place quiet away from the wedding party and guests.”
“The library. It’s in the west wing. We’ll be alone.” Adair led the way down the corridor.
“You can stop pretending that you don’t recognize me as Nathan MacDonald. I have very good survival instincts. I felt it the moment my disguise failed me. I was sure of it when you rushed the bride and her attendants out of the room. And you saved me the trouble of finding an excuse to keep you behind. After all, the wedding must go on, right?”
Right. Opening the door, she led the way along the balcony that formed the second floor of the library. She heard a muffled sneeze behind her and kept walking to the sliding doors that opened onto the outside balcony. “This was Eleanor’s favorite room.”
Another muffled sneeze.
She had no idea if her call had gotten through, but she’d remembered the code word—”Eleanor” meant code red. That small detail gave her confidence. Turning, she faced MacDonald and the gun.
* * *
“SHIT.” SWEARING HELPED hold off the fear. Cam held his cell pressed to his ear, then nearly tripped over Alba as he led the way out of the kitchen.
“Is Adair all right?’ Vi asked.
That was the uppermost question in his mind. “I can barely hear her.” But he’d caught one muffled word. Eleanor. Code Red. So MacDonald had her. But he didn’t want to say it. Couldn’t afford to think about it. Not when he had to keep fear and panic at bay.
In the foyer he cursed silently when they had to pause for the bride and the two attendants cascading down the stairs.
“Where’s Adair?” Vi asked them.
“She’s right behind us with the photographer,” Rexie said. “We’re supposed to wait for them on the garden path.”
Just then Alba began to bark.
“Where is—” Cam turned, searching for the dog.
“Alba stopped at the door to the library,” Daryl said.
Of course, Cam thought. It was the logical place for them to go. And Adair’s mind was very logical. She’d want him away from the wedding. And for MacDonald, the library had to be the room he was most familiar with. He’d suspect that the key to finding the rest of the jewels would be there. For the next few minutes—he doubted they had more—he had to think the way Adair and the man threatening her would think.
He took Vi’s hands. “You take the wedding party outside and go on with the ceremony. I’ll send Adair to you as soon as I can.”
Vi met his eyes for a minute, then nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Then she smiled at Rexie and led her away with her attendants.
