She squirmed against the patronizing strokes. “Get your hands off me.”
“The sun had set, and it was so cloudy,” Lachlan went on. “So many things going on. Ellis being snatched up. Me claiming you.” He tried to take her hand, but she jerked from his grasp. “It’s no wonder she’s confused.”
“That’s not how it happened, and you know it!” Greer snarled. “Ellis is out there, in the woods now, with that Bright-Eyed tracking him. He needs help.”
Hessel made a sound of disbelief. “How exactly do you propose we offer it?” He gestured toward the hill behind them, up to where the Bellows lay. “As you say, it’s after Thirds.Wecan’t cross the border. Not as Mr. Beaufort did. Apparently,” he added.
Greer clenched her fingers. “At sunrise. We need to go after him at sunrise. We should ready our packs now. Food and water and medical supplies. Ropes. Weapons. Maps!” she exclaimed. “I’ll get every one I have, and we’ll divide them among the search parties.”
Hessel’s expression softened, turning to pity. “If what you saw was truly a Bright-Eyed, then there’s no need to go after the boy,” he said, picking his words gently. “There won’t be anything left to find.”
“He’s not dead!” Greer said, bristling.
She didn’t think he was dead. She couldn’t imagine a world in which he was dead.
I’d know if one half of my heart had stopped beating. I would.
“Then where is he?” Hessel asked, looking around the crowd as if he expected the young man simply to step forward. “The Bellows have sounded; the sun has set. If the boy was alive, he would have been tossed over the town line. Those are the rules. So where is he?”
“He’s out there!” Greer shouted, pointing toward the forest. “Somehow. He’s out in the wilds, and we need to help him. Please. Someone must believe me.” She scanned the cluster of people gathering to listen. Their faces ranged from curious to indifferent to skeptical. Her hope withered. She would find no assistance here. “Fine. I’ll go after him myself. I’ll—”
Greer stopped short as she caught sight of one of Ellis’s brothers, standing at the outer edge of the group. His freckled face was shadowed with worry.
“Rhys!” she exclaimed, and pushed her way to the boy. Even as she grabbed hold of his upper arms, she knew she was using too much force. He looked terrified, not of the situation, but of her. Greer tried to rein in her rising panic. “Where is Louise? Is she all right?”
Wildly, Rhys glanced around, trying to find help, but no one stepped in to save him. “She…she’s at home. Taking care of Ma.”
“She was supposed to be in the Hunt. Why wasn’t she in the Hunt?” Greer demanded.
He shrugged helplessly.
“When did you last see Ellis? When did—”
“Greer.” Hessel’s hand fell heavily upon her shoulder. “You’re scaring the lad. Leave him be.”
“Why didn’t Louise hide in the Hunt? You said she must, but then she didn’t. She didn’t, and now Ellis is gone. It doesn’t make any sense. None of this day has made any—”
Hessel made a gesture, and Ian Brennigan and Michael Morag stepped forward to break her hold on the younger Beaufort.
“Let me go!” she demanded, thrashing against the Stewards, trying to catch her father’s gaze. She knew she was making a scene, making the situation so much worse, but no one would listen to her. “You spoke to Ellis; I know you did! What did you say to him? What did youdo?”
Hessel clucked, shaking his head. He looked toward the rest of the town, his face unreadable even to Greer. “It has been a long and strange evening. In light of the…unexpected events of the past few days…I think it best to hold off on the Joining Ceremony until tomorrow afternoon. Let us meet at Steward House before sunset, to celebrate the blessed union of so many happy couples.” He nodded, as if convincing himself as much as the group. “We will meet tomorrow, Mistaken.”
“Tomorrow?” Lachlan repeated, sounding on the verge of pouting.
Hessel turned to Lachlan. “Don’t worry, son. She’s exhausted and not thinking clearly. She’ll be ready for you tomorrow.”
16
To Greer,the lock’s tumblers fell in place as loudly as thunder.
She tried the handle anyway. She tried shaking it, rattling it loose, but the Mackenzie cabin had been made of felled Redcaps, and the study’s door was thick and strong.
“You can’t just lock me in here!” she shouted, slamming her palm against the wood. “Let me out!”
“This day was too much for you. You don’t look well. You need rest, food. Martha will…” Hessel stopped short and sighed. “I…I’ll get you something.”
Even through the door, Greer heard his footsteps retreat to the kitchen. She heard him speak to the Stewards. She listened as they discussed her claims, trying to piece them together with the lies Lachlan had told.
