Page 151 of The Laird's Masked Passion

Elspeth turned. The young man wore a plain brown coat and kept his eyes lowered.

“Ye are needed in the kitchens.”

“Fer what?”

“Something has gone wrong with the provisions for the riders. The cook asked fer ye.”

Elspeth sighed. “Of course she did.”

Margaret smiled. “Go. Before Niall discovers he has been given insufficient pies and declares war.”

Elspeth squeezed her hand once more, then followed the servant into the keep.

The halls were crowded. Men carried crates toward the courtyard. Maids rushed between chambers with folded linens. No one paid attention as Elspeth passed. The servant moved quickly.

“Slow down,” she called.

He did not answer. They turned away from the main stair and entered the narrow passage leading toward the older kitchens. The noise behind them faded.

Elspeth slowed. “This isnae the way.”

The servant continued around the corner.

“Stop.”

He disappeared. Elspeth’s unease sharpened. She turned back and at that moment, a hand seized her from behind. Elspeth drove her heel downward and threw her head back. Bone struck bone. A man cursed as his grip loosened.

She twisted free and reached for the small knife hidden beneath her sleeve, but then, another figure stepped from the shadow.

Robert Munro.

Recognition struck cold through her. Elspeth drew the blade. He caught her wrist before she could strike. She kicked him hard in the knee, but a second man seized her arms.

Elspeth fought wildly. She bit one hand. She drove her elbow backward. She screamed, but the sound was smothered beneath a rough cloth pressed over her mouth.

Robert watched her struggle.

“So,” he snarled with amusement. “Colin chose a spirited one.”

She tried to reach him again. His fist struck her ribs directly over the healing wound. Pain exploded through her. Her knees failed. Robert caught her by the hair and forced her face upward.

“Dinnae fear, Lady MacKenzie,” he murmured. “I have nay intention of killing ye quickly.”

Elspeth’s blood turned to ice. The cloth tightened over her mouth. Strong arms dragged her toward the servants’ door at the end of the passage.

Outside, horses stamped and men shouted farewells. Somewhere in the crowded courtyard, Colin was still looking for her.

But by the time he understood that she was gone, Robert had already taken her beyond the walls.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

The message arrived tied around the wrist of the missing kitchen servant. The young man was found outside the eastern gate, unconscious but alive, with blood dried along one temple.

Colin tore it free before the guard finished speaking. Elspeth’s wedding ribbon lay inside. For one terrible moment, he could only stare at it. The pale silk was stained with mud and a small mark of blood.

Herblood.

The courtyard vanished around him. Men continued searching the walls, passages, stables, and servants’ roads, but their voices became distant beneath the roar building in his head.