Chapter Seven
Completely perplexed as to how all the guards had disappeared, Elspeth was at a loss for words. Had they been killed, or had they simply abandoned their posts? Glancing around her own near-empty dining hall, she felt lost. A slight headache throbbed at her temples and she rubbed at them. She frowned up at Cyrus, wondering if he had a notion of what could've become of the guards.
While surveying the hall, he glowered like the warlord he was reputed to be. "Who was the messenger?"
"MacGuire, m'laird," Morrison said. "Being a Highland lad, he was the only one who knew where Castle Rebbinglen was and how to get there quickly."
"He's new and in training to become a guard," Elspeth said.
"Did you see him at Rebbinglen?"
She frowned. "Nay, he must have left directly after delivering the message into the hands of the servants."
Cyrus glanced at Morrison. "Did MacGuire return here?"
"Nay. I assumed he would ride back with the coach."
She shook her head, wondering why MacGuire wouldn't have waited for her and helped guard on the way home.
"How many guards did you have?" Cyrus asked.
"Six total, if we include Jenkins, who broke his arm in the coach accident, and Stillman, who was injured here during the break-in. That means MacGuire, Reeves, Ballantyne, and Parker have vanished."
Cyrus turned to her steward. "How much time passed between when you went to check on Stillman and when you went outside again?"
"Maybe a half-hour."
"Where were the guards during the break-in?"
"I presume they were asleep in their lodgings over the stables, as they would've been any other night." Morrison shrugged. "Stillman was on duty alone and was the only one injured. I told the remaining guards to secure the gate and ensure the miscreants didn't enter again. Of course, by then, the thieves had already stolen all the valuables they could find."
Not only did Elspeth feel perplexed, but also violated. Her hands shook with a combination of anger and fear.
"When the remaining guards disappeared, was there any further evidence of conflict? Any blood on the ground?" Cyrus asked.
"Nay. We searched for signs. 'Twas only Stillman's blood on the ground where his head had been injured earlier."
"Did the guards leave by the front gate?"
"We know not. Both it and the new lock on the postern gate were secured."
"What the devil?" Cyrus muttered, his scowl especially dark. "Can they be locked from outside?"
"Aye."
Which meant the guards could come back in again if they wanted, Elspeth realized. Or if they gave the keys to the thieves, they could enter again also. She knew not who to trust anymore.
"'Tis beyond strange," Fraser said. "Why would they bother to lock the gate back?"
"To baffle me," Elspeth said.
"Aye, or to frighten you." Cyrus glanced at Morrison. "Did you search the town for the men?"
"I thought it imperative that I stay here to keep an eye on the place until Lady Grey returned. But Burns and Tommy—the groom and stable lad—volunteered to look for the guards in town," Morrison explained. "They saw no sign of them. As well, they notified the magistrate of the break-in."
Cyrus lifted his brows. "Did he come here?"
"Aye, but he assured us the thieves left no trace as to their identity."
