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Jordan was seized with fear. She knew he had changed his mind and had come to rape or kill her. When he grabbed her arm, she fought against him fiercely.

“Stop it, Jordan!” he ordered her. “Quit fighting me.”

“Let me go!” she shrieked.

“Listen to me!” He yanked at her arm, hard, and she slowed her struggle. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared back at him, leaning back against Caladora for support.

He took a deep breath. “We are under attack,” he said quickly. “I have got to get ye out of here, both of ye.”

“What are ye saying?” Jordan was confused and frightened.

“The English are attacking our walls at this moment,” he hissed impatiently. “Dunbar will be coming for ye and ye must hide. Caladora, ye come, too.”

Still disoriented, Jordan allowed him to pull her off the bed and she, in turn, grabbed Caladora to pull her along.

“English?” she repeated, dazed. “William has come.”

“Aye, yer husband sent his troops for ye,” Malcolm nodded. “We expected them, but not so damn soon. Dunbar will be coming for ye to use ye as a bargaining chip or God knows what else. Come on now.

He moved quickly to the open door and, glancing down the corridor nervously to make sure it was clear, pulled the women along with him.

The hallway was dank and dimly lit. Jordan and Caladora followed obediently, wondering where he was taking them. He was the man who had betrayed their kin, yet they had no choice but to trust him, as Dunbar would surely vent his rage on them if they stayed in their room.

Against her better judgment, Jordan had to trust him and hoped fervently that he was not leading them to slaughter.

The corridor dead-ended and Jordan began to open her mouth when Malcolm suddenly drove his shoulder into the wall and with a slight crack, an invisible panel opened up about an inch. Dust and debris scattered as he gave the panel another couple of pushes to make it wide enough for the ladies to past through.

“Go on, go in,” he ordered.

Jordan, clutching Caladora’s hand, obeyed silently and stepped forward into pitch black.

Malcolm followed and shoved the panel back into place. Taking the lead, he groped the wall of the passage for there was no light whatsoever. The floor slanted downward dramatically and Jordan nearly fell twice. Eventually the floor leveled out and they walked like blind souls for several minutes before they felt the ground slant upward again. Digging in their heels to get some traction, Malcolm half pulled Jordan and Caladora up the grade until it evened out.

“Now, stay here,” he told them. “I shall be back.”

It was still black as tar and they could not see their hands before their faces.

“Where are ye going?” Jordan demanded with a bit of panic.

“To find a torch,” he told her as if she were a five-year-old. “Just dunna move and ye’ll be fine. I shall be right back.”

Clinging to one another, Jordan and Caladora didn’t waver so much as an inch until Malcolm’s footsteps signaled his return. Jordan caught a couple of sparks in the darkness as he struck the flint and then, suddenly, there was the faint light of a torch.

As their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, Jordan could see that they were in a room of solid stone and mortar. There were various sacks and bits of other debris strewn about, but for the most part it looked as if it hadn’t been used in years.

“What is this place, Malcolm?” she demanded softly.

He was adjusting the torch. “Abner and I used to play here when we were lads, pretending it to be our hide-out,” he said. “ ’Tis a forgotten room in the wall of McKenna Keep.”

“We’re in the wall?” Jordan repeated, awed.

“Aye,” Malcolm nodded. “The both of ye should be safe in here.”

“But there is no way out, other than the way we came.” Caladora insisted suddenly. “How do we get out of here?”

Malcolm pointed to a small square hole in the wall that, upon closer inspection, looked to be an endless tunnel. “That leads outside the wall to a secret exit in the gully,” he told them. “But the exit is blocked from the outside. I am going to go and unblock it now.”

Before either woman could reply, he was already moving past them. Jordan reached out and grabbed his arm before he could leave them entirely.