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Thomas lifted his big shoulders. “If she really is a murderess, then sooner or later, I suspect she will go after me,” he said.

“There is no love lost between us. In fact, we have had some terrible discussions and I have been more than cruel to her. At some point, she may snap and make an attempt on my life. If she does, I will be ready for her.”

It was a confident statement that bordered on arrogance. “All for an earldom, Tommy?” Scott wanted to know. “You will go into this marriage knowing that you may have to fight for your very life?”

Thomas pointed to their father, lying on the bed.

“Papa was willing to do everything he could to secure Northumbria for me,” he said.

“I cannot, and will not, disappoint him. If I must be vigilant for the rest of my life against a madwoman, so be it, but Papa feels that this is enough of an important situation to take the risk.”

It sounded final. As the brothers looked at each other, trying to find some kind of argument that would make Thomas realize marriage to a murderess wasn’t the only solution, a servant entered the chamber and made his way to Thomas.

“My lord?” the woman said timidly. “A man has come for you. He says it is about Edenside.”

Thomas hardly remembered moving. One moment, he was standing in his father’s chamber with his brothers and in the next, he was racing down Northwood’s rather treacherous stairs.

The keep of Northwood had a large, two-storied foyer, something that could be seen from a balcony on the second floor, and he raced past the balcony and down the last flight of stairs only to see Desmond and Hector standing in the entry.

Markus was there, too, all of them standing in a nervous huddle.

Desmond nearly broke down when he saw Thomas approaching.

“It’s true,” he said, sounding edgy and emotional.

“Tibelda is dead and everyone is gone. When we took Tibelda to the priests at Kelso to be buried, we searched the town and the surrounding area, but there is no sign of them anywhere. We even went to the garrison at Roxburgh Castle and had them help us, but we found nothing.”

Thomas’ breath caught in his throat at the mention of Tibelda’s death and no sign of Maitland. Although he’d been hoping for better news, the truth was that he hadn’t expected it.

Still… the reality was a blow.

“Nothing at all?” he asked, incredulous and frightened. “No one saw anything?”

Desmond was pale and exhausted. “Nay,” he said. “We asked people in Kelso if they had seen anything. We even went to the abbey and asked, but no one knew a thing. Roxburgh even sent his men all over the countryside, but there was no trace.”

“And Edenside?” Thomas demanded. “Is it destroyed?”

Desmond shook his head. “Surprisingly, it is not,” he said.

“The front gates are broken, which may be how the intruders entered, and the interior of the keep was in disarray, but nothing was burned or broken. The goats are still there, as are the chickens and all of the supplies Mae had. But everyone is simply gone.”

“My God,” Thomas breathed. “But the littlest one somehow managed to escape.”

Desmond nodded. “God only knows how she managed it, but thank God she did,” he said. “I left all of the soldiers I took with me at Edenside to watch over the place while I came to tell you what we’d found. Everyone… gone .”

Thomas digested that. After the initial shock, he’d cooled dramatically, realizing he couldn’t help Maitland if he was in a panic.

He was a de Wolfe and a de Wolfe was always calm in a crisis.

In fact, the family motto was courage in times of trouble .

All of the de Wolfe brothers held to that motto, including Thomas.

If there was any hope of finding Maitland and the children, he had to think clearly.

Perhaps now, more than any other time in his life, the youngest de Wolfe brother had to show his courage.

It was time.

“I know who has taken her,” he said with surprising calm.

“I have known from the start, but I suppose I was hoping against hope that I was wrong. That dagger that the little girl brought us, the one with the wolf’s head?

You saw the dagger, Des. You know that it is mine, but I did not think to tell you that I lost it in Coldstream on the night we drove the reivers into the River Tweed. ”

Desmond was listening intently. “Then how–”

“Because the reivers took Mae,” Thomas said, cutting him off.

“Those bastards who call themselves the Thurrock Cú . They are seeking vengeance against me for driving their number into the river that night. Somehow, they found my dagger and considering that very wolf’s head is on the de Wolfe standards, they knew it was mine.

I firmly believe they are the ones who killed Northumbria when they saw him leaving Wark, and I further believe they have been watching my movements. It is the only thing that makes sense.”

Desmond’s brow furrowed. “But why should they go after Mae?” he asked. “Why would they even go near her?”

Thomas looked at the man. He’d refrained from telling him anything about his feelings for Maitland, but now he had no choice. He had to confess everything in what would perhaps be a confession not well received, but it couldn’t be helped.

Desmond had to know.

“Because I was at Edenside yesterday,” Thomas said quietly.

“Des, I know you told me to stay away from Mae, but the truth is that I have feelings for her. In fact, I love her, and if that upsets you, I am sorry, but I cannot help myself. I was with her in Kelso when she sold her cheese and I escorted her back to Edenside when the day was through, but I swear to you that I left Mae and the children safe and sound.”

Desmond had gone pale as he listened to Thomas’ confession with rising disbelief. “And the reivers were watching you,” he hissed. “They have been watching you since Coldstream and when they saw you with my sister, they went after her.”

Thomas sighed with regret. “I believe that is true.”

Desmond went from pale to flushed all in a split second. “You bastard,” he growled. “I told you to stay away from her. I told you! This is all your fault!”

Before Thomas could respond, Scott stepped in. He faced Desmond with a rigid expression. “Thomas is your liege,” he said in a low tone. “You will not show him such open disrespect, de Ryes, no matter what the subject.”

Thomas put his hand on Scott’s arm. “I am not troubled, Scott,” he said, trying to push the man aside so he wouldn’t get into a physical confrontation with Desmond.

“He has every right to be upset. He did tell me to stay away from her but I could not. She is a wonderful woman, Des, and I love her. I am sorry if I deceived you, but I did not think you would believe that my feelings are sincere for her.”

Desmond was looking at Thomas even though Scott hadn’t moved out of the way.

He was tilting his head sideways to look around Scott’s big body.

“I told you I did not want her to become another de Wolfe conquest,” he said angrily.

“You are to marry Adelaide and then what becomes of my sister? Does she become your whore?”

Thomas shook his head. “Nay,” he insisted.

“I would never treat her so poorly. A whore is a name for a woman who means nothing to a man, and Mae means a great deal to me. I can give her everything but marriage, Des. I can give her my heart and my soul and my love and my money. I will treat her like a queen for the rest of her life. Does that still make her my whore?”

“Yes!” Desmond nearly screamed. “It does! Paint the picture any way you wish, but you are making my sister your concubine, Thomas. She does not deserve that!”

The situation was getting out of hand, veering away from the crisis at hand and on to Thomas’ feelings for Desmond’s sister.

Scott, Troy, Patrick, and Blayth were listening to it all very closely.

They were quite surprised to hear the declaration from Thomas.

Given what had happened with Tacey those years ago, and how their little brother had lived a loose life of women and wine since then, they weren’t prepared to hear him declare his love for another woman.

Even so, they were seeing all of the signs that Thomas was being sincere.

Knowing the man as they did, he didn’t take things like this lightly.

He never said something he didn’t mean. It was a most confusing situation, but one that would have to wait for clarification.

Patrick finally put himself between the two men, a massive flesh and blood barrier to stop them from focusing on one another.

“You two can argue about this later,” he said, “but right now, there is a woman and children that need help. It seems to me that you can put aside whatever differences you may have and focus on that for now.”

“Agreed,” Scott said, turning to Thomas. “What do you want to do about this? If the Thurrock Cú are after you, then they took the woman and those children for a reason.”

Thomas was glad for Patrick and Scott’s intervention because he was starting to become quite emotional in his argument with Desmond. He loved Maitland and nothing her brother said was going to change that. Raking his fingers through his dark hair, he struggled to focus on Scott’s valid question.

“Clearly, they want my attention and now they have it,” he said.

“I am sure they killed Northumbria for the same purpose, but something tells me that they have not killed Mae and the children, at least not yet. If their intention had been to kill them, then they would have done that at Edenside. Desmond would have found the bodies. Instead, they have taken them away, which leads me to believe they have another purpose in mind.”