Page 26 of Claimed by the Obsessed Laird (Highland Bride Hunt #1)

“I dinnae ken for sure,” she corrects herself, the words thick with tears. “But I… I tried to speak with Camron, and he?—”

“Aye, I thought I noticed something about ye,” he remarked, putting his arm around her as he moved her away from the study, allowing her to catch some breath. “A glow, I thought. Come now, you must take some air. It’s no’ good for a lassie in yer situation to be in a stuffy place like this.”

She realized, after a few moments, that Archie was steering her towards the courtyard, his arm around her shoulders, his murmuring voice soothing her as best he could.

“Where are we?—”

“Ye need to take some air,” he insisted. “Ye’ll feel better for it. Here, wi’ me…”

He led her outside, and all at once, his grip tightened on her arm, pulling her forward, making her stumble slightly. She frowned, trying to draw back.

“Archie, I should?—”

“Look at the state of ye,” he remarked, his eyes darkening as they settled on her. “Camron’s no good for ye, Isla. No man who truly cared for you would make ye feel like this. Everything will be better soon, ye’ll see.”

Something stirred at the sound of those words, some kind of protest bubbling to her lips. No matter what her husband had just done, it did not mean that she was willing to turn her back on him, start badmouthing him to his cousin all of a sudden.

His grip on her arm became even tighter, leaving no room for her to draw back.

“Archie,” she pleaded with him, her voice trembling. “Just… just let me go back to Camron. He will be lookin’ for me.”

But, before she could get another word out, his arms closed around her. A hand clamped over her mouth, and whatever sorrow had filled her heart till now was replaced by a sudden and all-consuming terror.

Camron strode from his study, his hands clenched to fists at his side. Where was she? His gaze darted back and forth, searching for wherever she must have run to.

He could not blame her for reacting the way she did, any woman would have. He was the one who should have been ashamed, standing there like a guppy, gaping at her in shock after she had told him that she loved him.

He should have run to her side and pulled her into his arms and told her that he felt the same way. Of course he did, he hardly realized it needed saying after everything they had shared together, but he could see now that the need for it called out loud and clear inside her.

He had never imagined a woman would ever love him truly. And the thought of commanding the love of a woman such as her, a woman so strong and so passionate and so perfect in all the ways that he could hope, had silenced him. Just for a moment, but it had been long enough for her to take off.

And now, there was no sign of her. He made his way to their chambers, assuming she must have retreated there, but no sign.

He headed down to the kitchen to see if she had gone to seek out something to drink, but still, nothing.

He asked a few of the maids if they had seen her, and they all shook their heads, looking rather surprised by the question.

Until one of them bit her lip and said nothing, a clear sign that there was something she did not want to reveal to him.

“Did ye see something?” he demanded, his voice more forceful than he’d intended. He had to know where she had gone. He’d turn over every damn stone in this Keep to do it, if that’s what it came to.

“I-I saw her heading for the courtyard.”

His stomach dropped. The courtyard. She could have been heading to the stables, already riding out of here.

Was this the last straw, his last chance to prove to her that he was capable of loving her the way she needed to be loved?

And had he let it slip through his fingers entirely, once and for all?

On his way to the stables he found one of the stableboys, Bryan, rushing out to greet him.

“Have ye seen my wife?”

“Aye, m’Laird, I was lookin’ for ye. Yer cousin Archibald,” he panted out. “He took his horse and the Lady. She didnae look too well to go on a ride, but he insisted, and?—”

Camron could barely make out the rest of what the lad was saying, as a cold, calculated fury settling over him.

Archie .

He should have known that bastard would be lurking to take advantage of the barest moment of confusion between them, ready to snatch her away.

He knew that Camron loved her, he had seen it when he had stood up to Robert the way he had, and he knew that she was a fine bargaining chip in whatever game he was trying to play.

“Saddle my horse,” Camron ordered the stableboy, turning back towards the Keep and striding straight towards the armory.

“M’Laird—”

“I said, saddle her!” he roared over his shoulder. Time was of the essence now. He could already imagine Archie carrying away his wife as she fought him tooth and nail. She had told him she loved him, and his cousin had kidnapped her before he could say it back.

But he would be damned if that’s how he let it stay. No, he would find her, hold her in his arms, and tell her that he loved her, too.

Even if he had to say it with his dying breath.