Page 26 of Border Lord’s Bride

"The other servants?" Lucius asked. "Where are they?"

"Some fled to the safety of the village. Others are hiding in the chambers abovestairs," Hadwell said, then winced with pain.

"Jayne and the children?" Lucius asked with his heart in his throat.

Jacob Insley hurried into the great hall. At the relief on his face, Lucius drew an easier breath.

"Jayne, Maybel, and the baby are well. They hid in the wardrobe when they heard the commotion."

"Praise the saints," Marie breathed.

"At least there are some blessings in all this chaos." Lucius gave Marie a bittersweet smile.

Her eyes filled with tears. "He left me alive tae tell ye…" Marie said raggedly. "He wants ye tae leave Midwick and return to the Templars. If ye don't, he threatened tae kill the girls."

Silas and Malcolm erupted into curses.

"We have to go after them," Lachlan growled from his location near the chamber door. "I saw wagon tracks in what's left of the snow. We can follow him."

"It's not the girls he wants," Amos MacKinley scoffed. "He wants the estate. He made no secret of that while yer father was alive."

Lachlan gripped his sword. "I'm ready to fight."

"What will ye do, Lord Carrick? Will ye go back tae the Templars and spare the girls?" Silas asked.

"My place is here with my sisters." Lucius's thoughts whirled as he sought a plan. "Marie, was Horatio alone or did he have others with him?"

"He had two men with him when he arrived," she replied.

"He only left with one," Hadwell replied with a bitter laugh. "Why do ye think I look like this? The man landed a few punches, but I got the best of him. He's tied up in the cellar."

"Good man, Hadwell." Lucius patted the man gently on the shoulder. "Two men with six women could not have traveled far, even if Horatio stole our wagon. The land here is flat and open, with very few places to hide."

"With twenty of us, we can overtake the two men easily."

Hadwell staggered to his feet. "I'd be honored to join ye, my lord."

Lucius gently clasped the old man's shoulder once more with gratitude. "I need you here, Hadwell, to make certain Marie and the others are protected. And when all this is over, you and I and the men will build pele towers to protect our people."

He straightened. "Agreed."

"They can't die," Marie said softly from her place near the hearth.

Panic snaked through Lucius at her words, but he forced the emotion away. "They'll be back before nightfall." Lucius held on to that fraying shred of hope as he headed for his horse. He would find them, his sisters and Elizabeth, and he would make their world right.

Uncle Horatio had unsettled his sisters' lives for the very last time. Lucius had been too weighed down with guilt when he'd returned to see his responsibilities clearly. But that mantle of guilt was gone. The earldom was his and he would wear that responsibility with pride. His sisters needed his protection and his love. And Elizabeth… She deserved so much more than he had given her so far.

Lucius mounted his horse. Lachlan started off on foot, following the trail left in the melting snow by the wagon wheels. At Lucius's signal, his kin headed for the tree-lined area near the loch.

He would find Elizabeth and his sisters. He would bring them home, because if he failed he didn't think he could survive such a loss once again.

Chapter Ten

Faint from cold, without the protection of cloaks or wraps, the girls huddled together in the wagon. Their hands were tied together before them, then tied with a lead from one set of hands to another in a chain: Iris, Camellia, Rose, Lily, Heather, then Elizabeth. Only Iris and Elizabeth were not bound on both sides.

A dark stranger drove the wagon while the girls' Uncle Horatio twisted toward them, his sword drawn and poised to strike. Elizabeth positioned herself closest to the man so that if he decided to use the weapon, it would be she, not the girls, who took the man's violence.

With every step, Elizabeth's heartbeat thudded in her ears. Her mind raced with ways they could escape once the wagon stopped. They were tied together so closely that it made walking difficult and running next to impossible.