“I doona see how. Someone would have seen him,” Calum said.
“Mayhap not if he was in full sight.”
“What do ye mean?”
“Have ye asked the guard in the barbican if a small group came to the gate, posing as beggars? He might have been able to slip in whilst waiting for bread.”
The laird narrowed his eyes, then gestured to one of the male servants and whispered in his ear. The man’s eyes widened, and he took off at a run.
“We will soon find out.”
“Any possibility that Cameron could have scaled the walls? Mayhap with a grappling hook?” That theory was far-fetched since there would have been no need for Neal to be traveling with one and Rory doubted he’d have had time—or forethought—to secure one, since he’d pursued them on horseback, no doubt hoping to catch thembeforethey reached the castle. From the way Calum and his brother were staring at him, they evidently thought the idea ludicrous as well.
“The walls are only the first line of defense,” the laird said, as if explaining the concepts of castle building to a halfwit. “Ye may have noticed that Invergarry Castle perches on a rock with a steep incline to the door. There are nae windows close enough to the ground for someone to get in, let alone carry three lasses out.”
“’Tis a well-designed castle.” Rory hoped his next question wasn’t going to infuriate the laird. “What about the servants’ entrance at the kitchens?”
“Nae one came in that way…or left,” Sima said. “I asked the cook and her helpers myself.”
“How about hidden passages?” Rory asked. Nearly all old castles had them. Strae Castle had several that led from bedchambers to a tunnel, allowing escape in times of siege.
“The entrance to those have been blocked off with rocks since Culloden,” Calum answered. “We dinna want unexpected guests finding their way in.”
Rory nodded in understanding. Old King George had been determined to wipe out every remnant of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s supporters, even if it meant turning one Scot against another by paying them to spy. Before he could continue, the man the laird had sent out returned and shook his head as he came toward them.
“Nae a soul approached the gate since MacGregor brought the lasses home,” he said to the laird and turned to Rory. “And ye were the only one to leave.”
That answered his next question of whether anyone had seen Juliana or the sisters leaving. Not that he thought they would have, since their cloaks were hanging on the wall. But still. If Cameron hadn’t abducted them, where could they be? He looked again at the wall to make sure none of the hooks were bare. And then he noticed a torch missing from a sconce. He pointed to it.
“Could Greer and Aileen have taken Juliana exploring the passageways?” She hadn’t indicated an interest in exploring the ones at Strae Castle, but that didn’t mean that either sister might not have suggested it. “Mayhap they are still in one of them.”
He didn’t want to addand injured. Some of the boards could have rotted, and it would also have been easy to slip on the narrow, winding stairs since the stones would be slippery with the dank wetness that clung to those passages. Even though he didn’t voice those thoughts, he saw the alarm on Sima’s face.
“I had nae thought of that.”
“Neither did I.” The laird’s voice was grim as he took two more torches out of sconces and handed one to his brother. “We will take a look at each of them.”
“If ye’ll give me a third torch and show me a passage, it can save some time,” Rory said.
“And I as well,” Sima said.
Calum looked like he was about to protest, but something flashed in his wife’s eyes, similar to the glare Juliana gavehimwhen she thought he’d made a stupid remark. Instead, Calum handed her his torch and retrieved another.
If the situation wasn’t so dire, Rory would have smiled. Juliana had more than a bit of tenaciousness in her soul. He just hoped she was using it now.
…
“Bloody hell,” Juliana said again as the wind whipped blowing snow across her face. The three of them were sitting huddled together on the rooftop, braced against the tower wall. “We certainly could use a bit of cooperation from the weather.”
“The only thing ye can count on with Scottish weather is that it keeps changing,” Aileen said between chattering teeth.
“And this time of the year it only gets worse.” Greer’s voice was muffled since her nose was buried in her sleeve for warmth. “Ye can go from cold and wet to wet and cold.”
“Aye, and add miserable to the mix.” Aileen shivered. “We were stupid to nae even bring shawls.”
Guilt washed over Juliana. “It was I who suggested coming up here in the middle of a snowstorm, so I think that makes me the stupid one.”
“Och, ’twas just beginning to snow, and ye wanted to see the view,” Aileen replied. “We were nae planning to stay but a minute.”
