The MacGruder Brothers ebook boxset (Diana Cosby) by Diana Cosby

Author:Diana Cosby [Cosby, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2015-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

The bells tolled.

Seathan stared up the steps. Too much time had passed. A sword’s wrath, where was she? “Linet should have returned by now.”

“Mayhap her caution slows her down,” Dauid said, “more so if she has Brighde alongside. They would not want to take unnecessary risks.”

His friend’s reasoning made sense, but he heard the worry, the fear that echoed his own concerns. Seathan glanced at the two bodies slumped within the passageway. “When these guards do not return from their rounds, others will come searching for them.”

Dauid nodded grimly. “Time is running out.”

Unease rippled through Seathan as he again glanced up the steps. Something was amiss, he felt it, sensed it as surely as his next breath.

“Do you think she has found Brighde?” Dauid asked.

Seathan exhaled. “I pray so.”

Long moments passed. Sunlight illuminated, then slowly began streaming through the narrowed windows.

Bedamned, he’d wait no longer. Seathan clasped his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I am going to find them. Remain with my men in the tunnel.”

Dauid shook his head, his face grim. “I am going with you. ’Tis my actions that have led to the danger we face, and my wife that Lady Linet seeks to find.”

“Your leg will slow us down. Alone, I have a better chance of slipping through the castle unseen.”

“We have a solid number of knights,” Dauid said. “We could confront Tearlach’s men.”

“Aye,” Seathan replied. “But if Linet has found Brighde, an attack might hinder their escape, or worse, expose them. Until Alexander and Duncan arrive with reinforcements, we are grossly outnumbered.”

Dauid muttered a curse. “I do not like the feel of this.” He gave an abrupt nod. “Go then. If you have not returned when the bells again toll, by God we are coming for you.”

Seathan nodded.

His friend drew him into a fierce hug. “God’s speed.”

On a prayer, Seathan hurried up the torch-lit steps. At the top, he turned. The last of his men were filing into the tunnel. With his sword readied, he edged open the door.

The rich aroma of bread filled the air as well as the scents of sage, rosemary, and other herbs the cooks used in their daily preparation of food. In the distance echoed the murmured voices of women and children and an occasional man.

He waited, listened for any sign of Tearlach or any of his knights.

Nothing.

Seathan shoved the door wider. Instead of opening to the great room as was common, the entry led to a corridor that branched off into several hallways. This unique feature underscored the massive size of the castle as well as its original Scottish owner’s meticulous planning and wealth.

A pity such magnificence now belonged to a cruel noble obsessed with his own power.

He hurried along the corridor, the torches burning in their sconces melding with the sunlight trickling through the carved windows.

At the entry to the great room, he peered inside. Dogs lay sprawled in distant corners while servants cleaned trencher tables and children swept the floors with hand-bound straw.

The knights had already broken their fast.

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