scowled at him. “What happened? Ye did no’ accuse Gavin of trying to drown me and have him shackled up in the dungeon, did ye?”
“Nay. I asked Tildy what she saw,” he explained as he turned to carry her to the door.
“And?” she asked abruptly.
“And ye were right. ’Twas no’ Gavin,” he admitted. “Jetta is going to sit with ye, and Saidh and Greer are going to guard ye while we search the passage.”
“Who is Jetta?” Evina asked with bewilderment as Rory opened the door for them. The question made Conran realize she hadn’t yet been introduced to his sister-in-law, or probably even told she was here.
“I am Jetta,” Aulay’s wife announced, moving to the front of the group waiting in the hall and smiling at her.
“Evina, this is Aulay’s wife, Jetta,” he introduced her. “She arrived yesterday with Saidh and Greer and me brother, Geordie.”
“Oh.” Evina managed a smile and nodded at the woman, offering a polite, “’Tis a pleasure to meet ye.”
Before Jetta could respond, Greer stepped up and said, “I’ll take her. I ken ye want to get to yer search.”
Conran almost refused the offer and carried Evina down the hall himself, but aware that Aulay, Rory and Fearghas were waiting, he reluctantly handed her over, muttering, “We’ll be quick as we can.”
Nodding, Greer started off down the hall with Saidh and Jetta following and Tildy close on their heels.
“Do ye want me to help Greer guard Evina? Or stay here and guard the door with Geordie?” Alick asked, drawing his attention away from the small group.
“Go with Greer, please, Alick,” Conran said without hesitation. With so many people here, Geordie didn’t need any extra help watching the door. Mostly his job would be to keep anyone from entering the room and seeing where the passage entrance was.
“Will do,” Alick said, and hurried after the small group. Conran offered Geordie a nod then, and reentered the bedchamber.
Closing the door, he took the torch Rory was holding for him and led the way across the room. Pausing at the open entrance, Conran stepped just inside and held his torch up to look around. It was extremely narrow and the darkness seemed to devour the light. He couldn’t see far at all before the light was crowded out. “Where does the passage go?”
“It leads along the wall on this side of the castle all the way to the tower, and then it splits,” the Maclean growled, managing to stay on his heels despite his hobbling. “One path turns sharply with the wall and becomes stairs leading down to a passage on the ground floor that exits by the apple grove behind the kitchens. The other leads to stairs that curve with the tower and lead down to a tunnel under it that travels away from the castle to a—Damn!”
Conran glanced around in surprise to see that the Maclean had moved away from him and was now hobbling back across the room.
When Aulay raised his eyebrows in question, Conran merely shook his head and followed the old man. He wasn’t terribly surprised to find the hall still full of servants and soldiers milling about when the Maclean opened the door, so stopped behind him to block any view into the room. They all knew about the passage now, he was sure, but they didn’t need to know where it was in the room.
“Donnan,” Fearghas Maclean barked, and the soldier moved to the front of the crowd at once. “Take twenty men and go search the valley two miles west o’ the loch. Nay, take thirty men. Collect anyone ye find there and bring him back,” the Maclean added grimly.
The man nodded and rushed toward the stairs at once, tagging several soldiers he passed on the way and taking them with him.
“Gavin!” the Maclean snapped when the lad started to follow. “Donnan can find someone to replace ye. I need ye to take the same number o’ men and go around behind the kitchens.” He paused briefly and then added, “Ye ken where.”
Gavin nodded, and followed the same path Donnan had, calling out to several of the remaining soldiers to accompany him. Despite that, the hallway was still crowded with people. It looked to Conran like more servants and soldiers had made their way above stairs each time they’d opened the door.
“Let’s go,” the Maclean said grimly, turning back to him.
Nodding, Conran stepped aside to let him enter and then closed the door on the curious eyes trying to see into