Chapter Twenty-Five
Cyrus swung around to find black smoke billowing from the manor house windows in the distance. "Elspeth!" Extreme fear for her life propelled him forward.
"Give him your horse," Dirk told one of his guards.
Cyrus sheathed one sword and tossed the other one, then leap onto the borrowed horse. They all raced toward Darby Hall. "Lady Grey is in there!" he yelled to Dirk and Rebbie, urging the horse faster.
Before they reached the front gate, it swung open and a dozen or more horses galloped out, devoid of riders.
"Stay outside the walls with your guards, Da!" Rebbie told Kilverntay as they slid to a halt.
"Don't you dare go into that burning house, Robert!" the older man commanded.
Urgency driving him, Cyrus leapt off the horse and, sword in hand, sprinted through the gates ahead of everyone else.
The Comyns had formed a line to pass buckets of water from the well into the hall.
"Make haste!" Dalacroy waved his arms at the top of the steps. "More water! We must put out the fire!"
Cyrus ran by the line of men, then bounded up the steps. He grabbed Dalacroy's shirt front and yanked him upward onto his toes. "Where is she, Dalacroy?" Cyrus yelled into his face.
"Guards! Seize…" The weasel dropped silent, his mouth agape, when he glanced over Cyrus's shoulder and saw all of his allies, outnumbering the Comyns two to one.
Ready to strangle the bastard, Cyrus dragged him into the smoke-filled hall devoid of people. "Where is she?" A large section of the wooden floor near the table and one wall were burning. "Elspeth!" Cyrus shouted, icy fear drenching him.
Someone leapt onto his back, arm around his throat. "Release him!" 'Twas MacTarril's voice.
After shoving Henry farther into the burning hall to free up a hand, Cyrus reached back, grabbed MacTarril's doublet and flipped him across the floor with a crash.
Henry tried to flee past Cyrus toward the exit, but Cyrus caught the back of his doublet and yanked him back.
"Turn me loose!" Henry struggled against him.
After shoving the whoreson against the wall, Cyrus tightened his fist, twisting the man's collar and neck cloth, near choking him. "Tell me where she is! Or I'll kill you now."
"I know not." Henry coughed and gasped for breath. "She ran… when the fire started."
"Which way?" Cyrus demanded, his throat burning from the smoke. Up the stairs?Dear God, nay. Please don't let her be upstairs.
"I wasn't… watching her. I was trying to… save my house."
Someone grabbed Cyrus's shoulder from behind. He turned to find Dirk, his wild blue eyes reflecting the flames. "We must quit the building! The ceiling is on fire!"
"Nay! I must get her out!" Shoving Henry aside, Cyrus bypassed MacTarril lying on the floor and headed toward the stairs. Flames licked at the side of them. She could be in her bedchamber.
Someone grabbed both Cyrus's upper arms. Trying to jerk free from the strong grip, he looked around to find Dirk, Rebbie and two guards latched onto him and dragging him toward the exit.
"Release me! I must get her out of here!" Fear for her life near choked Cyrus, along with the black smoke.
As soon as the men hauled him over the threshold, a flaming beam crashed down from the ceiling, falling on MacTarril.
"Elspeth!" Cyrus roared, devastation searing him. He had not realized until that moment how much she meant to him.
Damn Rebbie and Dirk for dragging him down the steps. They held him in vice-like grips. Then Norval joined in to help them. Cyrus coughed the smoke from his lungs and yelled her name again. Pain, loss, and regret ripped at his soul, for he could not live without her.
∞∞∞
Thick black smoke filled the air of the kitchen garden, sending Elspeth into a coughing fit amid her panic. Saints! The men had not been able to put out the fire! She'd thought Henry would make sure it was extinguished to save the house she'd just signed over to him.
