"You are a braver woman than I."
Minutes later, Mairiana was in the fresh dry clothing. "I thank you, Finola. These clothes feel much better and they fit perfectly."
"Nay worries, m'lady. They were my daughter's, but when she married, she left them here. Though they're old and almost worn out, you're free to keep them if you can tolerate them."
"I appreciate it." These would give her the peasant look Darack had said she needed for their travels. "You may keep the silk gown if you wish. Mayhap you can clean it."
Her eyes rounded. "Indeed, nay, m'lady! 'Tis far too fancy for me to wear. The town folk would surely think me mad should I wear such finery."
"For your daughter, then," Mairiana said. "To thank her for the use of her clothing. Or you could sell it."
Finola waved a dismissive hand.
Darack barged into the room, startling Mairiana, Felix following. "Alec just walked into the common room," Darack growled low. "He and his men are searching this place."
"Good heavens! What shall we do?" Alarm rampaging through her, Mairiana grabbed her wet cloak and the pouch which contained her only worldly possessions at the moment. "Go out the back way?"
"I'll check to see if anyone is out there." Felix hastened toward the kitchen door.
"How did he know we were here?" Mairiana asked.
"He doesn't know yet. He's likely checking every establishment close to the docks."
Felix returned. "I saw a stranger in the narrow close behind the building."
"Damnation!" Darack muttered. "Do you have someplace here we could hide until they vacate the area?"
"There's a concealed priest hole in the root cellar." Felix motioned with his head.
"Cellar?" Mairiana asked. "'Twill be pitch dark down there."
Felix nodded. "But they would not find you."
"I'll be with you." Darack took her hand. "There is naught more to be scared of in the dark than there is in the light."
"Very well. I'll take the gown with me and hide it," she told Finola. "He might recognize it."
Felix carried a lantern as they descended a steep set of steps that led downward into the darkness.
Mairiana's stomach knotted more with each step she took. "How long will we have to stay down here?" she whispered.
"When they leave, I'll come to let you know," Felix said. "They've asked for breakfast."
"It could be an hour or two." She didn't know if she could stand the dark for that long.
"I'll serve them as quickly as possible."
"Can we keep the lantern for light?" she asked.
Felix shrugged. "You could, but 'tis possible they might smell the smoke from it if they search the cellar."
"I will protect you in the darkness, lass," Darack murmured.
Of course he would. She trusted him with her life. But that didn't make her like the blackness of cellars any more.
Felix moved some empty wooden boxes, then Darack helped him drag a heavy chest aside. Felix shoved his hands against the wall and a small hidden door opened. "Here 'tis. The perfect hiding place."
Bending, she peered into the priest hole, unable to believe how small it was. These had been invented during the Protestant Reformation for priests to hide in when their lives were in danger. She had never been in one.
