Page 48 of Warrior’s Lady

Gratitude for her safety mixed with fury at his failure to keep Rhiannon safe. "I'll find her and bring her back," he said, his voice trembling with rage. Camden placed Violet in Orrin's arms, then moved to leave the storeroom.

With one hand, Orrin grasped Camden's arm, holding him back. "Are you certain you want to go after her?"

Camden turned to stare at the hand clutching his arm. "Are you suggesting we abandon her to those marauders?"

Orrin released his grip. "I'm suggesting that perhaps they are doing you a favor. They've taken her away, a Ruthven, your sworn enemy. Perhaps it is for the best."

Camden's blood ran cold in his veins. "They are murderers, Orrin. How can I desert her if I am the very cause of her abduction?"

"We have to think this through," Orrin reasoned. "Did they steal her to murder her, or did they do so because they knew you would follow? Who is the real target here? We need to have a plan before you charge into some sort of trap."

Camden knew he wasn't thinking. He was only feeling. I promised to keep her safe. "She's Lady Violet's nursemaid."

"Is that all?"

Guilt twisted Camden's gut. He had unleashed the demon that had captured her. And she needed his help.

Or did he need to help her to appease his own guilt?

Camden released an unearthly growl at the mix of emotions that tortured him — fury and guilt, and if he were truly honest, fear, welled up inside.

"I fear for her life because something changed, Orrin. I don't know when. I don't know how. But I stopped hating the sight of her and find I look forward to seeing her instead. She might be a Ruthven, but she is still a living being. And despite her name, I swore I'd protect her."

Camden clasped Orrin's arm, and the tension between them drained away. "If they had meant to kill her, they would have done so here. They took her away instead. To me that means they're looking for information from her or plan to use her as a trap for you instead."

"I must take that chance." Camden said. "Now that the battle has ended, I will take a small contingent of men with me. You and the others should remain here and set things to rights." He headed out the door toward his waiting horse.

Orrin nodded and followed, carrying Violet with him.

Camden mounted and signaled five of the men who were mounted and ready to join him.

"At least they left us a trail in the snow," one warrior said as he fell in behind Camden, waiting for the order to move out. The other men followed his example until all six were ready to continue the battle elsewhere.

Camden surged forward, leading the way. The wind blew cold and crisp against his face as he rode out of the gate of Lee Castle. An overwhelming sense of urgency spurred him to put his horse into a gallop.

He had to find Rhiannon and ensure her safety. But more importantly, he realized with a sudden start, he had to keep her from learning the truth about what he had done.

What would he see in the depths of her eyes if she learned that he'd hired an assassin to kill her and every member of her family? An assassin who had already killed both of her brothers?

He could picture the pain and the betrayal in her bright tawny eyes. "Nay," he swore into the wind. They would reach her before her trust in him came to a bitter end.

A dark figure followed Rhiannon's captors through the woods. He slowed his horse, keeping his distance. If they caught him now, they would not be kind in their punishment. They wouldn't believe he was merely a spy, reporting what he saw for a few silver coins.

He hung back behind the dormant heather shrubs and scrub trees. Their lanky branches did not conceal him fully, but enough to keep him from being detected by either horse or man when he stayed completely still.

He didn't want to be here, tramping through the snow. What had started out as justified revenge now seemed cruel. The girl hadn't hurt anyone, even though everyone at the castle had treated her poorly. She tried to help. And she was good to Lady Violet, gentle like the girl's own mum would have been.

In return they hurt her. But what could he do to stop the torment? He had to stay out of harm's way himself.

He had no choice but to follow, to observe, and report what he saw, no matter how much he might want to help the poor girl. He'd sealed his fate with that first silver coin he'd taken.

As the cold wind burned his cheeks while he waited, watched, he wished he'd made a different choice.

Rhiannon shivered in the saddle as she sat in front of her captor on the horse. The trail they followed had deteriorated into hardly more than a sheep track as they descended into a gorge sparsely dotted with shrubs and trees. The light of day was beginning to fade. Dusk cast gloomy gray shadows across the land. The sparse pines created a ghoulish scene as their long, leering limbs hung down over the path.

She and her seven captors reached a small clearing and came to a stop. Rhiannon detected a sigh of relief from the man in the saddle behind her. "Now tae set the trap for Lockhart."

Rhiannon startled. "You are using me to lure him away from the castle?"