“There was no man involved,” Shawna assured him, glancing at Skylar, who was exhausted and frightened. “And we’ve had search parties out all day—the miners combed the tunnels, my cousins have gone door to door in the village, we have searched the castles—and we remain quite concerned.”
“Ach, now, m’lady, ’tis fitting that all are concerned. But I’ll warrant the lovely young American lass appears soon enough.”
“We cannot let up on the search for my sister for a single moment,” Skylar said. “Edwina McCloud, in the village, has aspecial sight, I am told. And she has warned me of extreme danger.”
“The sight now, is it?” The constable obviously did not believe in the sight.
“Constable Clark, this is a serious matter, and if you don’t care to handle it in such a fashion, I’ll have to request special assistance from your superiors,” Hawk Douglas said.
The constable hemmed and hawed uncomfortably, his cheeks growing very pink. “My report is filled out right and proper, Laird Douglas, and we will do everything in our power to get information out regarding your sister-in-law as far as we can. Now, again, Laird Douglas, you being an American and all, it’s quite understandable that ye’re not aware of rumor and suchlike of the goings-on up here, but ’tis known across the country that Craig Rock harbors all manners of strange thought and custom. I believe it’s true that this Miss Edwina McCloud you speak about considers herself a witch?”
Startled, Shawna stared at him. “Apparently, sir, you don’t understand the original meaning of the term ‘witch!’”
“Ah, ’tis true, the lady dabbles in the black arts!”
“She dabbles in no black art!”
“I’m afraid I need no further answer, m’lady. I shall have Edwina McCloud questioned. Perhaps the witches of Craig Rock are seeking out a sacrifice or the like?”
“How dare you, Constable Clark, how dare you!” Shawna said, infuriated.
Gawain was before the constable like a bulldog. “You’re quite correct, constable, in that Laird Douglas is an American, but he’s come here oft enough in his life and the blood of Craig Rock runs through his veins. He knows, as we do, that the ancient Wicca practiced here is gentle and good, a difference of religious opinion, protected now by law, just as Catholicism, Buddhism, Judaism, and more!”
Constable Clark drew his cumbersome body very straight. “I merely say that if some evil is afoot, you will recognize it here far more quickly than any outsider might manage. Craig Rock has always managed well on its own, the only difficulty I remember is the tragedy at the stables, and that now some five years or so past. You must look to your own. I’ll leave two men at the tavern to keep up the search with you for the next two days, but well pray, Laird Douglas, that Sabrina Connor is about on a lark exploring our magnificent countryside and will come home in her own good time. If not, perhaps she will be found in a nearby village. I’ve been constable for twenty years, and I can tell you that young lasses oft surprise their kin, and that is a fact, ’tis the way God made women.”
“My sister is a responsible woman,” Skylar stated firmly. “No flighty young girl.”
The constable arched a brow. “Well, now, I’ve not implied that she is a fey thing or the like, have I, just that the very best of us can be seduced by various evils.”
“She won’t be found in a nearby village,” Skylar said. “She is here. Somewhere.”
“Perhaps she is in hiding then,” the constable suggested with aggravation. “And will appear when she is ready to do so. My dear Lady Douglas, you are an American, but I am an outsider here as well, and as an outsider, I’ve done what I can for the time. ’Tis you who know your sister, and ’tis you and the villagers and Laird Douglas and the MacGinneses who know the area and where a young woman might be wont to wander. Has anything strange been going on in the last few days? Did Edwina McCloud offer you an explanation of why she is so certain you need be concerned for Sabrina?”
They all looked at one another. Shawna wondered if David had told Hawk about her handkerchief and, if so, why Hawk wasn’t presenting the evidence to the constable. But if Hawkknew about it, he wasn’t saying anything, and she thought that he might not do so in defense of her. She was deeply glad of his faith in her.
Shawna looked at the constable. “Edwina had been dreaming about David Douglas coming back to life.”
“What rubbish!” Gawain said irritably. He shook his head, shuddering, his aging features taut. “We saw him. All of us in this room saw him dead. Thankfully, my great-niece here apparently stumbled from the flames before she met a like fate. Sweet Jesus, must we keep talking about this? With the poor man’s brother here, it is cruelty itself to suggest that the man might have lived.”
“I thank you, Gawain, but we must discuss whatever will help find Sabrina.”
“How curious,” the constable murmured. “Perhaps we will have to exhume David Douglas if something is not discovered in time. Is there anything else at all that I should know?”
There was, Shawna thought. He should know that David was alive, that a man had died and was sunk to the bottom of the loch, that their mines were supposedly haunted, that she had been drugged senseless that morning, and that a handkerchief bearing her initials had been found in the chapel that morning.
But the constable was right. He didn’t know or understand much about Craig Rock or the Highlanders living there.
“Well, then, I shall return to the village, and see what can be done there,” Constable Clark said. “Then I shall strive for a good night’s sleep so that I may be of some help in the morning. Good day to you all.”
The constable left, Gawain seeing him out. Shawna approached Skylar, whose fear and pain for her sister were heartbreakingly obvious as she sat before the fire. Myer, tall and straight and completely dignified but with stark sympathy in his eyes, brought brandy, and while Hawk watched pensively,leaning upon the ancient stone mantel, Shawna tried to get some brandy into Skylar.
Hawk came to hunch down before Skylar, gently reaching for her hands. “You have to get some rest, my love. Sabrina will be found, and it may well be that when she is, we will all need our strength and energy to help her.”
“Yes,” Skylar said listlessly. But then she smiled and touched his bronze features. “I love you. I know that you will find Sabrina.”
He smiled, caught her hand, and kissed it. Shawna felt a surge of longing. Dear God, that was what she longed to have from David. And Hawk was so much like his older brother that Shawna found that she had to turn away.
Hawk stood. “Skylar, you must get some rest.”