all she’d seen. There were abundant supplies, and the quality of everything—except for the wine—was superior. The Campbells hadn’t grown powerful by muscle alone. Their leaders ensured their people thrived by keeping them fed well. She hoped Brodie would show her the pasturelands soon. She hadn’t paid close attention to the animals herded into the bailey, and she had paid no attention to the sheep in the glens of Ben Lui, more focused on remaining alive.
Just as Laurel reached the back wall of the spacious larder, the door she’d purposely left open slammed shut. She hadn’t felt a wind that would push closed the portal that opened into the larder. It would have only shut if someone pulled it closed. With a torch in the sconce, it was clear someone was inside. Laurel hurried to the door and pulled on the handle, already suspecting what she would find. It was locked.
“Bluidy bitch,” Laurel muttered. She was nearly positive Gara meant to punish her. Laurel recognized the jealousy Gara showed, but she didn’t understand the possessiveness if she’d never had a relationship with Brodie. As Laurel drew the yards of wool tighter around her shoulders, she wondered if Brodie chose not to tell her the truth. She considered what Aggie told her, but the housekeeper would be loyal to Brodie before she would be loyal to Laurel. Perhaps she kept Brodie’s secret. If Brodie had lied, Laurel wondered if that meant he’d lied about his plans to remain faithful. She held no interest in learning about Brodie’s past, but it scared her that Brodie might not value fidelity as much as he said.
With no windows to look through or climb through, Laurel sank along the wall beside the door until her bottom rested on the freezing stone floor. Gara, or whoever locked her in, wouldn’t answer if she banged on the door. With a huff, she resigned herself to waiting for hours before anyone would think to look for her. She had told no one that she was going to the undercroft, so they wouldn’t know to look there. She was certain it wouldn’t be until Brodie, Monty, and Donnan returned that anyone would notice she was missing. They would be concerned enough to search for her. But until then, she could only draw her legs close to her chest and huddle to remain warm.
A freezing larder to match a freezing reception.
Brodie rode into the bailey with Monty, Donnan, and Graham. He was exhausted but livid. His brother rode out with the other men, and Brodie spotted him a few times throughout the battle. However, he could find Dominic nowhere once the battle shifted to the river, and his archers launched their attack. He hadn’t been there to see the few survivors leave the river only to be sent to their maker. He hadn’t been searching among the bodies like the rest of his men. Growing scared, Brodie gave the order to search specifically for Dominic. Fear washed over him and guilt that he hadn’t protected his younger brother threatened to choke him. They’d always found one another at the end of a fight, battered and the worse for wear, but together. Not a moment after he put out the cry, one of his men said he’d witnessed Dominic ride back to the keep. Brodie blinked at the man, even more fearful that his brother was hurt if he returned home. But when his warrior informed Brodie that there was nothing wrong with Dominic, Brodie nearly exploded.
Duty demanded Brodie remain with his men, despite wanting to kiss Laurel and murder Dominic. He was relieved when he passed beneath the portcullis. He looked around as women and children gathered, searching for their husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers. He’d expected Laurel to rush out and greet him. But she was nowhere to be seen either. While anger manifested as he thought about Dominic returning to the keep, panic edged at the corners of his mind. Laurel wouldn’t miss their return. If it weren’t to see to him, it would be to find Monty and Donnan, or to see how she could help. He’d caught sight of her hair on the battlements twice when the battle began, but he had to pay more attention to who he fought if he wanted to remain alive.
Brodie leapt from his horse and charged toward Dominic, who stepped out of the keep with Colina. He ran up the steps and grabbed Dominic’s leine. He demanded, “Where’s Laurel?”
“I don’t