A Scottish Confection by Ruth Hartzler

Author:Ruth Hartzler [Hartzler, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922595492
Publisher: Clean Wholesome Books

Chapter 15

Before anyone could object, I pushed on. “In my opinion, the butler was killed because he knew too much. He must have seen something or overheard something that made him a threat. Damon was kidnapped to keep him from talking.”

“However, the butler might not have been involved in the sword’s theft at all,” Freya said. “Don’t forget, somebody has been thieving from the castle for years, and the sword’s value was immensely greater than all of those items together.”

“Precisely!” Bonnie said firmly. “And that alone suggests that the theft of those smaller items and the theft of the highly valuable sword are not related. Nothing so valuable has ever been stolen before.”

I had to agree. “The butler was new, so he hadn’t been stealing from the castle for years. That makes it more likely the sword’s theft was connected with him. If the butler was involved in some way with Damon’s kidnapping, then of course he would say that Damon wasn’t in the cavern. We need to search there, and the sooner the better.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Lady Nessa said. “How could I have been such a fool?”

Bonnie patted her shoulder. “There’s been so much going on, and you’ve been overcome with worry.”

“How do we get there?” I asked. “Can somebody show us the way?”

“I can show you the entrance from inside my castle,” Lady Nessa said. “I don’t know if I can go past the entrance, though. There are narrow tunnels, and the going is rough. It was fine when I was a child, and I’m not in good shape like the three of you.”

I hardly thought I was in good shape, but I wasn’t about to say so. I noticed Freya’s face had turned white.

“It’s probably filled with bats and spiders and other things that slither,” Freya said. “It might be dangerous. None of us know what’s down there.”

“Get a grip,” Bonnie said, although not unkindly. “You’ve done far worse.”

“Yes, but that was in my youth,” Freya protested. “My joints are creaking, and I’m considerably less agile than I was.”

If Damon was in that cavern, I needed to get there as soon as possible. Clearly, Lady Nessa shared my thoughts, as she strode into the castle. “This way!” she called over her shoulder.

After collecting flashlights from a storage room, we took a series of staircases and passageways to the east wing, where stone stairs led down to the dungeons. It was eerily quiet, except for the sound of our footsteps echoing off the stone walls.

Lady Nessa pointed to a thick iron door. “This is the entrance to the dungeons,” she said, pointing to an old arched doorway on the far side of the room. “And this wall is eight feet thick.”

The door opened to reveal a set of stairs descending ever deeper into the dungeons. We followed the stairs for about three minutes.

The lower dungeon area stretched out into a long room with small cells lining the walls. The dank smell of rot lingered over the surfaces like a fog.

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