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For one moment the world seemed to spin around Dougall, and he felt sure he was about to imitate Murine and faint dead away. Then he was moving, pushing through the people who had crowded around and hurdling up the steps into the keep. He heard footsteps behind him as he rushed across the hall and up the stairs, but didn't stop until he burst into the bedchamber he and Murine had shared.
Dougall barely heard the door hit the wall over the rushing in his ears as his gaze slid quickly over the empty room. He noted his bag on the floor. It had been on the bed with Murine's when he'd left that morning, he recalled, and then his eyes found the drops of blood on the floor by the bag. Moving forward, he followed the trail of blood to the wall by the fireplace and paused with confusion.
"The passage."
Dougall turned sharply at those gasped words from Saidh. "What?"
She hesitated, and then glanced to Greer. Her husband grimly glanced around at the crowd that had followed. Aulay, MacIntyre, Bowie, Conran, Geordie and Alick were all there, and he sighed, then closed the door before turning back and nodding to Saidh. She immediately moved up next to where Dougall stood and pressed a brick in the wall.
Dougall stiffened as the wall shifted, revealing a dark, narrow passage. He then surged forward only to pause a step inside. The passage led in two directions, left and right, and he had no idea which way he should go. Both ways were in darkness and there were no sounds to indicate someone was in there. Turning back sharply, he asked, "Where does it go?"
Greer's expression was grim. "Ye can use it to get to the other rooms, or down into the gardens behind the kitchen, or down to a cave by the loch."
Dougall nodded abruptly. "I need a torch."
As Alick turned to rush out into the hall, Aulay turned to Greer and asked, "Who all knows about the passage?"
"As far as I ken, just Saidh, me, Bowie and Alpin," Greer said with a frown, and then added, "And now all o' you."
"Alpin? The lad who's missing?" Dougall asked sharply
Greer nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful.
"Alpin would no' have done this," Saidh protested quickly. "He's just a lad. He could no' ha'e forced Murine out of the room."
"Nay," Greer agreed. "But he could have told whoever took Murine about the passage."
"He wouldn't," Saidh said with certainty.
"He could have been made to," Greer said apologetically. "That could explain why he was taken."
Saidh blanched at the thought of how he could have been made to, but rallied and asked, "But how would they ken he knew about it or that it even existed?"
"They may have taken the lad to find out the layout of MacDonnell," Aulay pointed out quietly. "As Dougall's squire they'd expect the boy could tell them how many people were here and where Murine was most likely to be."
"And what? Ye think Alpin would just volunteer the information about the passage?" Saidh snapped, and then said staunchly, "He would no' do that."
"Then mayhap they suspected there were passages. Many castles have them. They could have forced him to tell," Greer said, but when Saidh paled, he added quickly, "Or tricked him."
Alick rushed back into the room then with half a dozen torches crushed together between his hands. He nearly dropped the bundle when Dougall grabbed one and tugged it out of the collection, but Conran, Geordie and Greer stepped forward to help.
"Dougall, wait," Aulay caught at his arm as he turned back toward the passage. "Ye do no' ken where they've taken her. We need to consider this and--"
"They'd have taken her to the cave Greer mentioned. The gardens and another room make no sense," Dougall growled, jerking his arm free. Glancing to Greer he asked, "Which way to the cave?"
"They'd hardly stay in the cave," Aulay pointed out. "'Tis the first place we'd look."
Dougall frowned at those words, recognizing the common sense behind them.
MacIntyre spoke up for the first time, pointing out, "But they can't travel far either. There are men everywhere searching for the boy. Someone would have seen." Spearing Greer with a glance he said, "Is there anyplace not far from this cave you mentioned that they might hide?"
"Several," Greer said grimly.
"Then 'tis good we have so many men just now, is it not?" MacIntyre said mildly and then turned to walk to the door, saying, "We'll need to make a list of these several places you mentioned, Greer. But first I need to send my first to collect my soldiers."
"As do I," Aulay murmured, and explained, "We left the men camped on the edge of MacDonnell while we rode in to see whether or not help was needed with the search."
When silence fell briefly and everyone seemed to turn and look at him, Dougall felt his hand tighten painfully around the torch he held. Murine was missing. He needed action. He needed to hunt down the bastards who had taken her, tear them limb from limb, then bring her safely home. Instead they wanted to make lists and send messengers.
Unfortunately, he knew their way had merit, but he felt like he should at least check the cave and not just decide she wasn't there.
"Greer, I'd appreciate it if ye could start making that list," Dougall said finally. "Meantime, I'd like to borrow Bowie to show me the way to the cave. I want to check it at least. Even if they are no' still there, I may find a clue to help figure out where she is."
"A good plan," MacIntyre murmured. Nodding, Greer glanced to his first. Bowie immediately took one of the two torches Alick was still holding and moved past Dougall to lead the way.
Murine blinked her eyes open to darkness, but still immediately closed them with a moan as she became aware of the throbbing in her head.
"Hush. Someone will hear you."
Stilling, she forced her eyes opened again and peered around. She was lying on her side, her wrists bound uncomfortably behind her back, and she was quite sure that had been her half brother's voice. At first, all Murine could see from her position was darkness, but then she was able to make out shadows and shapes in one direction, and noted the figure standing at an opening where some light appeared to be coming from the other side.
"Montrose?" she said uncertainly. The figure shifted, blocking all light briefly before moving toward her and allowing a good deal more light in. Enough to see that she was lying on the damp, dirt floor of a cave.
"I said hush," he growled, pausing in front of her threateningly. "Do I have to gag you?"
Murine glared at his shadowed face. With the dim light that was filtering into the cave behind him, all she could really make out was his silhouette.
"Mayhap ye could use whatever ye were going to gag me with to wipe the blood from me face instead," she suggested dryly. "'Tis dripping into me eye and stings."
"'Tis probably water," he muttered, but knelt before her and pulled her into a sitting position, then dug a bit of cloth from somewhere on his person that he began to use to wipe her face. "I can hear it dripping from the ceiling."
"Mayhap," she allowed. "But it tastes like blood. Some apparently ran into my mouth while I was unconscious from being hit over the head," she added heavily.
Murine thought he grimaced, though she couldn't be sure in this light or lack thereof. But his voice held reluctant apology as he muttered, "Sorry about that. 'Twas not the plan. I was waiting in the secret passage when ye entered the room. I was just going to sneak up behind ye and drop a sack over you, then bundle you into the passage. But you started to turn, I panicked, and . . ."
"And you hit me," she finished accusingly, but there wasn't much heat behind her words. Her mind was preoccupied with this secret passage he'd mentioned. Would anyone realize he'd taken her that way? Surely the servants working to clean the great hall had noted her going up to the room and that she hadn't returned. Hopefully they'd say as much if questioned and Greer or Saidh would realize how she'd been smuggled out?
"I said I was sorry," Montrose snapped and gave up cleaning her face. Straightening, he growled, "Now be quiet or I will gag you."
He turned to move back to the openi
ng where light was slipping in, filtered by leaves and branches she saw before his body blocked most of that light as he peered out at whatever was out there. Murine remained silent for a moment, but then couldn't resist saying, "Dougall will come for me."
"Eventually," he agreed, not bothering to look around. Then he shrugged, "But he and the MacDonnell men are all out looking for the boy. Your absence will not be noticed for hours."
"The boy?" she asked with surprise. "Do ye mean Alpin? Do ye ken where he is?"
"He is fine," Montrose said impatiently, not looking around. "He is with Connor, awaiting our return."
Murine stilled. "Cousin Connor?"
