Mad for the Plaid by Karen Hawkins Page A

know. I’ll have Greer and his men, as well.”
    â€œIf something ill happened to you, I’d find the ransom money, I promise.”
    â€œI know it.” She patted his hand. “Ah, and here’s MacKean and Stewart, waiting as promised.”
    The two huntsmen stood outside the old stables with the horses already packed with beds and supplies. Ailsa was glad to note that someone had thought to line the bedrolls with furs, to make the trip more comfortable. There was little to say, and as time was slipping away, they mounted up and were soon on their way, the cold morning air nipping at Ailsa’s nose and cheeks. There would be more discomfort ahead, she was sure. Much, much more if this wind and the terrain they had to cover were any indication. And at the end of that . . . she didn’t know what challenges awaited her there, only that she had to meet them and free Lord Hamilton and Her Grace.
    They quietly rode the horses single file across theridge above the dark castle, and then on past the stables where the prince slept. To her relief, nary a light showed.
    The only sound in the night, other than the occasional blast of wind and the growing rustle of the trees, was the horses’ muffled hoof falls on the thick snow. Soon, they were breaking a faint path across the stretch of moors to the forest beyond.
    MacKean reached the forest edge and lifted his hand, signaling for everyone to stay close, as it would grow darker in the forest. St. George lifted his head to whicker at the rustle of the trees overhead, but she patted him soothingly to keep him from making noise. She followed MacKean onto the dark path, Stewart close behind.
    She’d just let out a sigh of relief that they’d made it, when a horse’s loud neigh broke the silence. Heart pounding, Ailsa wheeled about in her saddle to see Gregor fighting his horse, the animal bucking wildly. He got the animal under control, but Stewart was left muttering angrily.
    Her breath coming in quick bursts, Ailsa looked toward the castle. But no light shone, and no movement stirred.
    Yet.
    â€œLet’s go!” she urged, turning her horse down the path and heading straight into the black forest.

    U nder a tree across the paddock from the stable, Nik patted D’yoval’s neck. “For people sneaking away in the middle of the night, they are making a lot of noise.”
    Rurik grunted. “Aye. Do you think they did it apurpose?”
    â€œ Nyet . It was one horse. Something could have startled it.” Try as he would, Nik couldn’t keep the snap from his voice.
    Apraksin eyed Nik with a cautious gaze. “You are angry they slipped away.”
    â€œIt does not make me happy.” Which was putting it mildly, to say the least. He’d been fooled by Lady Ailsa’s seemingly innocent kiss and had thought he’d made a conquest of a sort. So it had been a shock when Apraksin had shown up at the stables well after midnight with the unwelcome news that he’d overheard Gregor complaining quietly to Ailsa about having to get up “in the middle of the night.”
    Nik checked D’yoval’s saddle one last time. He should have known Lady Ailsa had some sort of trickery up her very silky lace sleeve; she’d been far too conciliatory by the end of their conversation. “Slipping away in the middle of the night is an underhanded way of conducting this business.”
    â€œWe were going to do the same,” Apraksin pointed out. “It is why we are here now.”
    That was true. But still . . . Nik growled, “She was never going to consult me about her plans.”
    â€œAnd we weren’t going to consult her about ours.” Apraksin was once again the voice of reason. “I found the note, and we now have the location of the ransom exchange. I fail to see how her actions are any less—”
    â€œThat’s enough.” Nik swung into the saddle and