Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
D anielle could not sleep at all that night. She could not stop thinking about Graeme and Danny sitting in a cell in the dark dungeon. She had never been down there but could imagine how filthy something of that nature would be in the time she was in. At least in her modern times, the jail was usually well-maintained, with clean food and a toilet. The dungeon of an old castle had to be filthy and terrifying, with rats everywhere. It made her so mad that she got out of bed and paced her room, and then tried to calm herself enough to return to bed, where she lay restless.
Finally, she must have dozed off because she did not wake up until she heard a knock at the door. She jumped out of bed, hoping it was news of Graeme. Perhaps Eva had heard something.
She opened the door, not to Eva but to Anna, the scullery maid who had shown them the theft in the larder.
“Anna, what is it?” Danielle said wrapping a blanket around her, for she hadn’t had time to get dressed.
“My Lady, you must come and see. The items I placed in the larder last night after supper are gone. Heigl thought I should alert you and Lady Maria,” Anna said.
Danielle wasn't shocked. If things had gone missing in the middle of the night while Graeme and Danny were in the dungeon, that proved they were not the culprits. A smile grew across her face.
“I am very glad that you came to me, Anna. Please come in while I dress.”
"Aye, my Lady." Anna scurried into the room.
“Have a seat, and I'll try to be quick,” Danielle said, turning toward her wardrobe and dropping the blanket on the bed.
“Once I'm dressed, we will call upon Lady Maria. If she cannot come with us, I will still go with you to the larder. I want you to show me what happened and what is missing,” Danielle said as she laced her corset and pulled on a dress, adjusting it so it hung correctly.
Minutes later, Danielle and Anna headed toward Maria and the Laird's rooms, but Maria must have already been awake because she was coming out of her door when they approached.
“Danielle? Anna? What is it? What’s happened?” Maria asked.
“Anna has just informed me that items she set in the larder last night are no longer there. I think we should take a look,” Danielle said.
“Anna, are you sure?” Maria said.
“Aye, my Lady. We had made a fresh batch of cheese and put it in the first room of the larder, and the entire wheel is missing. None of the others have taken it. I did not get done with it until very late last night, and when I entered the larder this morning to gather things to serve for breakfast, it was gone,” Anna said.
Danielle looked at Maria. “You know what this means, don't you?”
“That it could not be Graeme or Danny since they are locked up in the dungeon,” Maria said.
“Exactly. Anna, please show us,” Danielle said.
They followed the excited scullery maid down the corridor and out to the kitchen areas on the first floor, where she unlocked the larder with the master key.
They stepped inside. Anna put her hand on a shelf beside the door. “I put the wheel right here. You can still see the outline.”
“Yes, I can. And this was late? How late? Was most of the castle asleep?” Maria asked.
“Yes, ma'am. After supper, I was cleaning the dishes and waiting for the cheese to set. The fire I had set had gone down and had to be redone. That's how long. The castle was very quiet as I wrapped the cheese in cloth once it was done and set it in here. When I headed to bed in the staff quarters, almost all were asleep. When I returned this morning, the first thing I did was prep for today's breakfast, and I saw it was gone.”
Danielle walked around the larder, going through the snug maze to the back where the wellhead was. “Did you notice anything else missing, Anna?”
“No, but I have not had too much of a look around. I will do that now. I noticed the cheese immediately, and I went straight to Heigl, who sent me to wake you,” she said.
As Danielle looked closer at the wellhead, she smelled the very pungent scent of cheese. “Do you store cheese in this back room as well?”
“No, never. Always in the front room, because it is dryer. This back room is too damp for it.”
Maria entered the back room, and Danielle looked at her intently.
“Where is the Laird? I must speak with him.”
“Cameron is outside in the courtyard by now, I would think, but?—”
Before Maria finished her sentence, Danielle had moved past her and through the larder, up the stairs, and out into the kitchen.
“Danielle? Wait!” Maria shouted after her.
Danielle nearly ran down the Great Hall and out into the courtyard, finding Cameron and making a beeline for him.
“The scullery maid just informed me of another theft last night. Food stolen from the larder. That means Graeme and Danny are innocent,” Danielle blurted out as soon as she saw him, not stopping to take in the scene around her beforehand.
“What is all this?” Cameron said turning toward her.
“I said there was another theft last night, which means Graeme and Danny are innocent. Will you not consider letting them go?” Danielle said.
Cameron looked past Danielle at Maria. She had finally caught up with Danielle.
“It's true, Cameron. I have just come from there. Anna put a wheel of cheese into the larder late last night, and it was gone this morning. She had the key with her all night,” Maria said.
Danielle was relieved to hear Maria support her and tell her husband what had happened.
“You are sure of this?” Cameron asked.
“Yes, I asked Anna about the key and where it was during the night. She assured me that she'd had it, as she'd forgotten to hang it up before going off to bed,” Maria said.
“That means that Graeme and Danny are innocent. Will you let them go?” Danielle said again.
It was then that she noticed Brody standing nearby, ready to put in his two cents. She wondered how he'd gotten out of going to the dungeons.
“Perhaps it was you, lass, who stole the goods.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because you are working with Graeme and Danny. The thefts began after you arrived, so that would make sense. In doing so, you would clear their names by stealing something in the night when they are in the dungeon. It all looks a bit fishy to me,” he said.
“And how do you suppose I managed to enter the locked larder? The scullery maid has said she had the key on her the whole time, having worked late and then being the first in there this morning. Do you think I can walk through walls now?” Danielle said.
“Aye, all of you can. Is that not how you arrived here? What's to stop you from walking into that larder?” Brody stepped up to get in her face.
“That is enough ,” Cameron said. “You will not speak ill of the women here. Have you forgotten that my wife is one of them? Speak ill of her, and you speak ill of your Laird.”
“Apologies, my Laird,” Brody said, stepping back against the wall and away from Danielle.
“I will think about this, but for now, Graeme and Danny will stay in the dungeon until I lay eyes on the real thief,” Cameron said and then walked off.
“What? But you have evidence. This does not make any sense and is also quite unfair,” Danielle shouted after him.
Maria moved to Danielle's side and turned her away from Cameron's retreating form. “Danielle, please calm down. You don’t want to arouse more suspicion or tip anyone off.”
“What do you mean?” Danielle asked.
“I was trying to stop you before you left the larder to tell you to not be so brash. All you did by announcing that there was a theft last night was alert the thief that we are on to them. Our thief could be someone here in the courtyard,” Maria whispered.
Danielle looked around with a suspicious eye for the first time. “You're right; I wasn't thinking. I’m sorry I just let my temper get the best of me.”
“I understand. You're reacting with your heart and not your head; trust me, I know. Come on, let’s get some breakfast and discuss this new piece of the puzzle,” Maria said.
Danielle nodded, and they went inside together. "Hey, how come Brody wasn't also locked up?"
"He was held in the infirmary last night. I guess after that, they let him return to his station on the wall this morning. Kieran can't afford to have all his men locked up down there. And remember, Graeme and Danny aren't in trouble. They haven't been arrested."
"They're still in the dungeon, where it's cold and uncomfortable." Danielle frowned.
" They’ve slept in worse places; I promise. They'll be fine."
Despite Maria's words, Danielle felt it was unfair to hold them down there when everyone knew they were innocent.