Page 30 of A Flawed Scotsman

Lady Fraser looked up to the ceiling as if tempering her patience. “Have ye given thought to what kind of flowers ye would like on the tables for yer wedding?” her mother asked. As always, she was unwilling to speak on subjects she considered not her place.

“If he is not found, there will not be a wedding,” Esme snapped. “Honestly, this is not the time to be thinking about flowers.”

Her mother let out a suffering sigh. “Too many freedoms. I have told yer father he allowed ye to get away with speaking freely for far too long. Now, ye try to think like a man.”

Esme looked toward the study. Once her father emerged, she’d try to get him alone and tell him of her discovery.

It was of no use to attempt to make her mother see the urgency in her discovery. Esme looked to Catriona. “Let us go up to my chamber. From the balcony, we can see when the men return.”

This time, her mother gave her an exhausted look. “I will ask a servant to bring ye both something to eat and honeyed mead. Ye need to rest.”

Inside her chamber, Esme hurried to the balcony. From her vantage point, the sun was low in the sky. Soon, it would set and darkness would fall. Her brother and his men would return then, hopefully with Ruari and the wild horse.

“He is very handsome, yer betrothed.” Catriona came and stood beside her but looked out to the horizon. “It would be a shame for anything to happen to him.”

“Aye, he is.” Esme thought back to the night before and how they’d pleasured one another. It had been so intimate and, at the same time, beautiful in a way.

The view from her balcony was perfect. Her chamber was close to the front corner of the house where she could see both out toward the forest and part of the courtyard. Keithen had the chamber next to hers. From his balcony, he had a clearer view of the front gates and courtyard.

“My brother will listen to reason. Perhaps I should speak to him upon his return. Wait up with me.”

Catriona nodded, a light flush coloring her cheeks.

“Is he the real reason ye stayed away for so long?”

The wind blew tendrils of hair across Esme’s face. She pushed it back and studied her friend who seemed to consider how much to share.

Finally, she nodded. “Aye. I saw him…with a woman. They were having an…intimate moment.”

“Oh, no. I am so sorry,” Esme touched her friend’s arm. “I know it must have been painful for ye.”

“It was. However, I am glad for it because, although I was heartbroken, I now see he will never care for me the way I wish it.” Catriona’s bottom lip quivered as she tried to smile. “I am foolish. I feel horrible for not coming to visit while ye were so ill.”

Her brother was a fool. Esme wanted to say something that would give Catriona hope. But at the same time, it was hard to tell what Keithen thought at any given point. He was so stern, rarely showed emotions.

“I remember once, he was upset over the death of his favorite hound,” Esme started and let out a long sigh. “I believe he was seven at the time. It was the only time I’ve seen Keithen cry. He is only two years older than I, but has always been so emotionally stable.”

Catriona shook her head. “I wonder.”

Keithen and his men returned late that night. With them was Ruari’s horse. The animal seemed tamer as they took him to the corral.

At the keep doorway, Esme waited for her brother to speak to several men before they all disbanded and headed to find a place to sleep. She was surprised when her father emerged and came to stand next to her.

He gave her a puzzled look. “Why are ye up, Daughter? It is late.”

“I have to know what he found.”

Her brother came up to them and, together, they went into the great room. There were smudges of dirt across her brother’s face, his hair disheveled by the wind. “The horse stopped just inside the woods. There were signs of a struggle and we found a piece of cloth and some leather straps, which I assume were used to bind him. There was nothing else.”

“So he was taken prisoner then?” Laird Fraser asked, an angry frown marring his features.

“We can assume so,” her brother replied.

Calum hurried into the room, his gaze scanning each face. “I take it Ross was not found? It could be he decided the stakes were too high for his clan and left.”

“Without his horse?” Keithen shot Calum an annoyed look. “For whatever reason, ye do not like him, but we have evidence that he did not go of his own accord.”

“We will wait. If he was indeed taken, I am sure either us or Laird Ross will be notified shortly,” Calum explained unnecessarily.