Page 81 of A Highland Bride Taken

“Have ye seen the jesters?” she asked, taking their hands. “I will show ye. They arenae very far.”

The boys stiffened and eyed the cloud warily.

“Are ye scared?” she asked, turning to them. “Dinnae worry, I will take care of ye.”

The boys eyed Campbell and Mabel, who nodded at them, and they followed along. The adults watched them whisper conspiratorially before running into the crowd.

“Yer Poppy is verra good at making friends,” Mabel told Elspeth.

“Aye. She gets it from her maither,” Elspeth answered, taking her arm. “I ken the Laird hasnae shown ye around the village yet, so allow me the honor of escorting ye, Me Lady.”

“Nay, Elspeth,” Campbell interjected. “‘Tis me duty to?—”

“Dinnae worry yerself, Me Laird.” Elspeth leaned in to whisper to his wife, even though they could all hear her. “I ken all the best places to drink sweetened wine.”

“Do ye intend to intoxicate me wife?” he asked with a mock glare.

“Aye,” she answered cheerily. “‘Tis the only way she can stand being married to ye.”

To his surprise, Mabel burst into laughter. He smiled seeing her with Elspeth and let them go ahead of him and Magnus.

She looked much happier than she had been that morning and laughed and even traded jokes as they went to different stalls, sampling food and wine.

“We should look for the children,” he said suddenly. “‘Tis getting late.”

Elspeth and Mabel turned to him.

“We should check the square,” Elspeth suggested. “Old Fergus tells stories that all the children want to hear. They will be there.”

Campbell nodded and let them go ahead, scanning the crowd.

So far, it had been peaceful, but as evening descended, no doubt the men would get in their cups, and silly brawls would break out.

He wanted to make sure that the children were returned home safely before that happened.

The women took longer than he had expected to return, and anticipation prickled under his skin.

“Let’s find them,” he told Magnus, who looked as worried as he felt.

They headed to the square and found their women looking around frantically.

“We cannae find them,” Elspeth said, her brow creased in worry. “‘Tis getting dark.”

Magnus held her to him, rubbing soothing circles on her back. “Dinnae worry, lass, we’ll find him,” he assured her.

Campbell turned to his wife, seeing her wrap her arms around herself. He itched to reach out and pull her close, but something held him back. So he called out to one of the clansmen and ordered a search for the children.

Perhaps they were playing in a corner.

Poppy was responsible, so she wouldn’t have strayed too far.

“Me Laird,” one of the clansmen called softly.

Campbell turned to the man, who had a worried look on his face.

His heart started pounding as dread seized him.

“What is it, Alastair?” he asked.