Page 62 of Forever My Lass

“That will make it easier for ye tae ride,” he said as he straightened to meet her gaze. Madeline nodded as he formed a stirrup with his hands and helped her mount Macklin. His hand on her thigh, he handed her the horse’s reins. “Tell Angus that I am riding along the cliffs back toward the manor, and he should head out toward the cairn. Ainslie likes to race the squire’s boy over that ground.”

“Find her, Iain. I couldn’t bear it if my leaving…” Madeline’s voice trailed off as her hands tightened on the reins.

“I’ll find her, mo bhòidhchead fuilt dorcha. Now, go.” The hoarse, dark note in his voice told her how deeply worried he was, and nodding her understanding, Madeline turned Macklin toward Muchalls Hall.

Madeline glanced over her shoulder as she rode away. Iain had already reached Cecil who was waiting by the wagon. She saw him giving the older man directions, before he ran back to his horse. Her heart in her mouth, she urged Macklin into a gentle canter.

The only horse she’d ever been on had been on a guided trail ride two years ago. Now she wished she was as skilled a rider as everyone at Muchalls Hall so she could make the animal go faster, but she was already terrified of falling and delaying the search for Ainslie.

It took Madeline a little more than fifteen minutes to ride back to the manor, although it seemed much longer. Almost as if he’d been waiting on her, Angus ran out of the front of the house with Grace close on his heels. Madeline brought Macklin to a halt and allowed Angus to help her down. It took only a few seconds for her to explain the situation before the groundskeeper was riding off toward the cairn. A small hand slipped into hers, and she looked down to meet Grace’s gaze. The look of fear on the girl’s face made Madeline pull her close.

“It will be all right, Grace,” she murmured soothingly trying to put aside her own fear at the same time. “Is there any place you think Ainslie might have gone to hide from your father?”

“She always goes tae the barn to sit with Macklin or Taren when she’s upset,” Grace exclaimed. “But she was nae there.”

“Is there anywhere else she goes to if she’s upset?”

“She likes to go down tae the inlet sometimes, but Angus said she was nae there either.”

A chill suddenly scraped down Madeline’s spine the moment Grace said Ainslie wasn’t at the beach. What was it her note had said? She would hide some place where Iain wouldn’t find her. Surely, she wouldn’t have gone into the sea cave.

But it was the one place Ainslie knew Iain would never think to look. Horrified that she might be right, Madeline knew there was only one thing she could do. She had to search the sea cave. The sound of a horse made Madeline turn her head hoping it was Iain with Ainslie sitting in front of him. Her heart sank like a stone in water as she saw Ainslie’s friend, Ethan Tewel, trotting toward her and Grace.

“Hello, Miss Whitworth,” he called out cheerfully. “I came tae see if Ainslie wanted tae go riding.”

“Ainslie’s missing Ethan, but I think I know where she might be. I need you to ride out to the cairn, find Angus and send him back to the manor. Tell him I’m going to look in the sea cave for Ainslie.”

“The sea cave?” Grace and Ethan spoke at the same time, and Madeline ignored their horrified consternation and with a sharp gesture, she pointed in the direction she’d seen Angus ride off in.

“Go, Ethan. Lord Glenburnie will need Angus’s help if I’m right.”

The boy nodded his understanding, then turned his horse around and rode away at a hard gallop. Beside her, Grace stood motionless, an expression of shock on her sweet face.

“Grace, isn’t there one other horse in the barn?” At her question, the girl simply nodded her head. “Then I need you to ride out to find your father. He said he was going to follow the cliffs as he made his way back to the house. When you find him, tell him I’ve gone to see if Ainslie’s in the cave.”

“I dinnae think she would go there, Madeline. She promised Faither she would nae ever enter the cave.”

“I know she did, but I need to be sure she’s not there.” Madeline leaned down and kissed the girl’s cheek. “Now tell Mrs. McFayden where you’re going so Angus knows to go straight to the inlet.”

Gently, Madeline pushed Grace toward the front door of the manor then turned and ran around the side of the house and toward the cliff. In minutes she reached the edge of the precipice overlooking the inlet. Clinging to the rope handrail, Madeline quickly made her way down the steep, narrow path to the inlet. As she reached the beach, she ran toward the outcrop.

The moment she reached the rocks, Madeline stared down at the sand. A wave retreated from the beach, and she saw the remaining traces of a small footprint. Her heart began to pound wildly with horror. Ainslie had said it was possible to walk around to the other side when the tide was out, but that wasn’t the case now. The water had already risen to beat against the base of the outcrop that formed the natural harbor.

Quickly removing her shoes, Madeline waded into the water and gasped at how cold it was. It was not quite the end of September, but the water felt as if it were November or December. Forcing herself to ignore the cold, she concentrated on moving along the wall of rock to its outermost point. The further she moved out into the water, the colder it became. When she rounded the stone outcrop, she forgot the cold water the instant she saw the wide opening in the cliff wall a short distance away.

Hoping it was the cave entrance, she waded forward as quickly as she could. The water became deeper and the waves stronger the closer she came to the cave entrance. It tugged at her legs with a strength that forced her to fight simply to remain standing. She slipped suddenly, and the water rushed over her up to her chest.

Frightened, she froze where she stood as the vivid memory of being thrown into the water when the sailboat had capsized filled her head. Terror and fear rolled through her in one wild rush until her stomach churned. Desperately, she fought hard to push her anxiety aside by reminding herself she was a strong swimmer. In the worst-case scenario, if she was forced to swim, she wouldn’t be in the open water during the middle of a storm.

All that mattered now was finding Ainslie. Madeline knew she would never be able to live with herself if they discovered too late that she had been hiding in the sea cave. If she was inside, Ainslie could easily drown if she didn’t get out before the tide came in, and Madeline had no idea how long it would be before that happened.

With each step she took toward the cave entrance, the deeper the water became. Iain had already lost his brother to the sea, and she refused to let it happen to his daughter. As she reached the cave, she peered into the darkness.

“Fuck,” she muttered fiercely. Why hadn’t she thought to bring a lantern with her. She snorted silently as she realized it wouldn’t have helped because the water would put the flame out. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted Ainslie’s name, but if the girl had shouted a reply, the sound of the waves drowned it out.

Madeline’s heart pounded with fear as she moved into the cavern. Once again she called out to Ainslie. In the distance, she could have sworn she’d heard something, but she wasn’t sure if it was an echo of her own voice or Ainslie shouting back. Terror skimmed through her, but Madeline continued forward.

With each step forward, her soaked gown slowed her progress. Not only was the material heavy, but parts of the skirt floated on top of the water from where Iain had split the gown up its side seams. The water-logged material pushed and pulled against Madeline with every wave that surged into the cave’s mouth.