Chapter Fifteen
Hearing the loud noise outside the chamber door, Neacal sat bolt upright in bed, jarred from his blissful sleep with Anna in his arms.
Dunn barked and scratched at the door.
Neacal leapt off the bed and grabbed his dirk. "Stay, Dunn." He unbarred the door to peer outside through the crack.
Leith's loud shouts echoed from further down the corridor.
"What is happening?" Anna asked behind him.
Neacal closed the door and barred it again. "Someone was out there earlier, sneaking around," he said, keeping his voice low. "I heard their footsteps when I went to get you."
"Who could it be?" Anna was already out of bed, putting on herarisaid.
"I don't know." He hurriedly belted his plaid about his waist and grabbed his sword. "When I go out, bar the door and allow no one to enter except me."
She nodded, her eyes wide. "Very well. Have a care."
"Aye. Here." He handed her his foot long dirk in the scabbard. "I don't think anyone can get through the door, but if they do, use this to defend yourself. Of course, Dunn will protect you, too." He touched the dog's head. "Stay, Dunn."
The dog whined his displeasure.
"Please be safe and return soon," Anna said.
"I will." After Neacal exited the room and he heard the bar fall into place, he tried the door. Unable to open it, he was satisfied she would be safe. He sprinted after Leith to see if the prowler had been caught. As he descended the narrow tower steps, a hint of dawn light filtered in through the arrow-slit windows.
Once in the great hall, he paused, glancing about. Leith was doing the same. Several of their clansmen were sleeping or just waking up. Was the prowler only pretending? He stepped closer to those lying on the floor to see if anyone was breathing hard.
"What on earth is going on?" a female voice called from the doorway.
Neacal glanced over to see his cousin, Constance. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked. Her usual habit was to lie abed and until mid-morning.
"I missed supper last night and I was hungry." She took a bite from the chunk of bread in her hand.
He observed her as she chewed. Could she have been the one sneaking about outside his chamber? Why would she? She did not appear winded. Surely it would've been difficult for her to dash down the steps so quickly while also keeping her long skirts out of the way.
"Who are you looking for?" she asked between bites.
"Don't concern yourself with it." Although he trusted her about as much as he did an adder, he ignored her and ran his gaze over those rising from the floor. No man looked any more suspicious than the next. They had lost their opportunity to catch the prowler.
"Come," he said to Leith, then proceeded to the library. Once the two of them were inside, he closed the door. "What happened?"
"Well… m'laird… someone happened upon me. They slipped silently along the corridor in the near darkness like a ghost. They struck me and ran away. All I saw was a dark blur."
"You were sleeping," Neacal said, giving the man a direct stare. If he denied it, he was a liar.
"Aye, well, I might have dozed off, but I didn't mean to. I had naught to keep me awake."
Neacal nodded. "I'm glad you're honest. I expect full and complete honesty from you. And loyalty."
"You have it, chief. There is no one I respect more than you."
"I thank you. You're a good man. Are you sure you didn't see the person?"
Leith shook his head. "It was dark. Truth is, they tripped over me and fell into the door. I tried to catch them but they hit me and ran away."
"Was it a man or woman? A heavy muscular person or a slim lightweight person?"
