"Aye. Between the kitchen door and the postern gate. Nowhere near the rose bush."
"Why would she have gone out the postern gate? And how? She didn't have a key." Frowning, he scrutinized MacFadden again. "Did you have a key to that gate?"
His eyes widened. "N-nay,m'laird. You took my keys days ago."
"Aye, but you could've had an extra one hidden somewhere."
Raising his brows, he shook his head. "N-nay, I wouldn't do something like that."
Every instinct Rebbie possessed told him MacFadden was lying. He should've tossed the man out on hisarsethe first moment he saw him.
"Saddle the horses! And be quick about it!" he commanded the stable lads standing nearby. "Help them," he told the guards, who rushed to do his bidding.
He grabbed MacFadden by the front of his shirt. "Listen to me, you bastard," he growled low. "If you've done something that causes Lady Stanbury to be hurt, I'm going to hurt you. Bad. Now, where is she?"
"I-I-Ikn-kn…"
His patience at an end, Rebbie shoved the man towardMacDade. "Lock him in the dungeon. I'll deal with him later."
"Aye,m'laird."
"Have you a good tracker?" he asked Lachlan.
"Aye. Matthew?" Lachlan called out and a stocky man strode forth.
"Let's go to the back garden," Rebbie said.
Once there, MatthewDrummaganheld the torch close to the ground. "Aye, footprints here in the mud. Looks to have been several men, mayhap three or four."
Once outside the postern gate, they found the bruised grass and tracks. Everyone followed them to the wood.
"The leaves are torn up here, all about," Matthew said. "Many men and horses have been here very recently. Within the last hour or two."
"Damnation," Rebbie growled. "That whoreson MacFadden must have helped Claybourne kidnap her." Fear for her safety lanced through his chest, chilling him. "I'll kill the bastard," he said through clenched teeth. "Let's get the horses. They can't have much of a lead."
"Aye," Lachlan and Alasdair agreed. They all hurried back to the bailey. Thankfully, the horses were saddled.
His father rushed toward him. "Where in blazes are you going, Robert?" he said gruffly.
"After Claybourne. He's surely followed you and the other men here, then somehow manipulated MacFadden into helping him get Lady Stanbury out of the castle."
"Are you mad? You cannot go charging after him in the dark."
"I can and I will."
"She's not worth risking your life for, son. She's but a—"
"You don't ken anything about her," Rebbie growled. If his father called her a vile name, he was unsure if he could restrain himself from punching him in the nose. He mounted Devil and rode out with the other men. The guards had lit several more torches and lanterns to light their way.
Rebbie wanted to ride as fast as Devil could run, but they had to allow Matthew to track the blackguards. But once the men had left the wood, 'twas clear by the multitude of tracks along the narrow muddy trail which way they had gone. The quickest and most logical way to travel south.
Soon, they saw torches in the distance, moving.
"'Tisthem," Rebbie said. "We can catch up easily."
"What is the plan?" Lachlan asked, raising his voice to be heard above the horses' hooves pounding the ground. "We must approach carefully, else they might hurt the lady."
"Aye." Rebbie forced himself to calm down and slowed Devil. "Halt!" he called out to the men. Once everyone had gathered around, he said, "We slip up on them, and make sure they have Lady Stanbury. If they do, we take out the rear guards first."
