Chapter 15
Greer huddled deeper among the piles of soiled linens as the shadows of passing footsteps flickered along the light at the bottom crack of the door. The small room had been a poor place to sleep, especially in comparison to where she could have been in Drake’s arms.
Her heart wrenched.
He’d been in her thoughts all night, not only because of the way he had made her body feel, but also because of his offer. Marriage. It rolled around in her head until it was smooth as a loch stone. And never did it lose its appeal.
Her sacrifice of a precious night at his side had been in vain.
Tavish had not been on duty, at least not based on the men she had passed.
She’d slipped through the castle, unseen in her futile efforts.
It was good that Drake and Bean were there to encourage their training as the men truly were in sore need.
Which might well work in her favor, for she would not leave until Mac was with her.
Footsteps stopped in front of the door, and her pulse froze.
She had meant to wake before dawn, to slip out and find somewhere else she might hide or to try to blend in with the staff as they moved about the castle. Surely with so many servants, she could easily disappear among them.
But exhaustion had held her cradled among the pile of dirty sheets until far too late. By the time she’d roused, it was to the clatter of large buckets slamming to the hard, stone floor outside.
All at once, the doors swung open and light flooded in, momentarily blinding her.
“Ye lazy slut,” a woman hissed. She grabbed Greer’s arm in a painful grip and hauled her upright.
Greer’s knees were stiff from inactivity, and she stumbled a step before catching her balance.
“Ye knew we were understaffed this morning, and here ye are sleeping.” The woman’s reddened face announced her annoyance before the great huff she issued forth. “Nothing to say for yerself?” She put her hands on her hips. “Go on, then. Get the pile ye were sleeping on and start with washing them.”
The woman jerked her head in the direction of the open room.
All around them were large barrels filled with sheets that billowed wetly over the milky gray water. Lye. Of course.
Well, better a task she knew than something she didn’t, like cooking fine food.
Before she set to work, she took a strip of linen from a shelf and bound her auburn hair beneath it in the same fashion as the other women who rushed by. It wouldn’t do to have one’s hair dipping in the cloudy water or tangling in clean sheets.
And it certainly wouldn’t do to get caught.
No doubt the new warrior in charge of training the guards would be on the lookout for a woman with long auburn hair. And she couldn’t go to Drake until she had Mac.
The day passed in the humid air as she scrubbed and scoured at sheets with practiced expertise. With each move of her body, the weight of Drake’s purse bumped within her pocket against her thigh, providing reassurance of its existence.
If nothing else, working in the laundry occupied her mind and hands rather than leaving her to fret over the possibility of not being able to find Tavish again that night.
Without his aid, she didn’t know how she would get Mac back.
And if the Earl of Calver painted Mac as a thief—or worse—Drake would never support freeing him.
Nay, she wouldn’t think about what would happen if she failed.
“Have ye seen the new warrior that arrived on the king’s order to train the guards?” The woman to Greer’s left said as she plunged her hand into a barrel of water and withdrew a linen chemise.
Thus far, their chatter had not drawn Greer’s notice. At least, not until the mention of Drake.
“Ach, the dark-haired one?” another woman asked and grinned in obvious appreciation. Several others around them laughed.
“Those are some sheets I wouldna mind making dirty.” An older woman gave a lascivious wink. “’Twould be worth the extra scrubbing.”
Again, the ladies all laughed.
Greer kept her head down, focusing on her task as she had through the day. But she couldn’t deter her thoughts from envisioning those tangled sheets she’d slipped from as she had left Drake’s side.
He was a rare man. Not just for his fine appearance—and he was indeed remarkably fine—but for how good a person he was. Before having met him, she never would have assumed that someone such as him could exist.
She only hoped his goodwill would forgive her for having left him as she did. And for doing what she could to free Mac.
The soldiers’ skills were more lacking than Drake had anticipated. Most scarcely appeared old enough to grow a beard, and more than a few were so old, they wobbled where they stood. The border had been hit hard by the war with England, bearing the brunt of the onslaught for years.
It was not the fault of these men that they were not proper warriors.
After holding them at practice longer than was necessary and showing them correct ways to attack and defend, he finally allowed the men to return to their posts.
“They’ll need a lot of work,” Bean said, his expression serious with evident concern.
Drake appreciated the obligation in the lad’s tone. “I’m sure we’ll be able to help them.”
Bean nodded determinedly.
Drake’s gaze skimmed the courtyard once more. Not that he expected Greer to materialize suddenly. That ache threaded its way back into his chest. “Have ye seen Greer?”
Bean’s attention snapped to Drake. “Is she gone? Ye asked about her this morn.”
Rather than deny it, Drake ran a hand through his hair. “I’m no’ sure where she went. I saw her last night,” he caught himself, “at supper. I’ve no’ seen her since.”
“I’ll check the village. Which inn did ye pay for her room?”
Drake inwardly grimaced, hating to lie to the boy but refusing to admit the truth of what had happened.
How they had shared an incredible night where they showed one another with their bodies what they were too afraid to say with words.
How after proposing marriage, Greer had run in the middle of the night.
A simple nay would have sufficed.
His gut clenched. “I dinna know which one she’s at. I simply gave her coin to go to one of her choosing.”
Bean did not appear to realize Drake was not being truthful and instead looked out over the battlements to where the village sprawled below them.
“She could be anywhere down there.” His small mouth screwed up in thought.
“Ye stay here and search,” he announced with the decisive nature of a commander. “I’ll search the village.”
“’Tis a good way to go about it.” Drake squeezed the lad’s shoulder. “Ye’ll be a fine leader someday.”
Bean grinned with pride. “I’ll no’ let ye down. If she’s there, I’ll find her.”
Drake didn’t doubt Bean’s ability to locate her, but he did question her even being within Lochmaben at all. Hopefully, a few questions might aid him in discovering what happened.
He approached the guardhouse first.
The two men within, both lads barely older than Bean, leapt to attention, their eyes darting about the room as if in a final inspection to determine what failures they might be reprimanded for.
The open shutters behind them showed a direct view to the drawbridge, the castle’s only exit, as well as the wall beyond where one would enter—or exit—beneath the raised portcullis.
“Have ye seen a suspicious woman leave the castle?” Drake asked.
The two slid a glance at each other; both had light bruising under their eyes from exhaustion, having clearly been on watch all night.
“What is it?” Drake asked, his heart kicking up with anticipation that they might have seen Greer.
“D…do ye mean the lady?” the taller guard asked. “The one that died.”
Drake kept his reaction steady despite hearing the reference of the woman whose death he must solve. “I might. Tell me what ye know.”
The shorter of the two nodded to the other. “’Twas him who saw her.”
The lanky guard nodded. “She rode out that day alone. Without even a guard. It seemed odd.”
“Did ye mention it to anyone?” Drake asked. “About it seeming odd.”
The lanky man immediately appeared chagrined, and the other one nudged him with his elbow.
Finally, he sighed and continued, “I tried to bring it to Lord Calver’s attention, but he wouldna hear anything of it.
He said she broke her neck riding her horse, and that was the end of it.
I thought ye might come to ask, being as ye’re new to the castle. ”
“We’d hoped ye would,” the other piped up.
It was on the tip of Drake’s tongue to ask what the lanky man felt about being told Lady Eileen’s death was a simple, immediate end but decided not to press too hard lest they grow suspicious. Instead, he nodded with a very Bean-like authority.
“Have there been any other lone women departing the castle, specifically at a late hour?” Drake asked.
The men glanced at each other and shook their heads. “We’ve been here since the middle of the night.”
Once Drake had left the guardhouse, however, he pointedly left his questions with the other guards vague in an attempt to lure as much information on Lady Eileen as possible.
But while many guards said they saw Lady Eileen leave alone on the day her neck was found broken in the field—and several seemed suspicious of the circumstances of her demise but did not elaborate—not a one had seen a woman depart in the middle of the night.
Which meant Greer was still inside.
But why? Why would she stay in the castle? Especially when she had the coin that she’d asked for.
It was a question he couldn’t answer, but one he had a sinking feeling he needed to resolve.
However, after subtle questioning through the day, he was not any closer to locating her. Bean returned from the village, downtrodden with disappointment.
“I dinna find her,” he said. “I tried so verra hard.”
“I know ye did, lad.” Drake put a hand to the lad’s thin shoulder. “Go get some food, aye? I’ll stay on with the guards tonight. Mayhap she’ll turn up.”
Bean nodded solemnly and trudged toward the Great Hall while Drake considered the enormous size of the keep. She was in there somewhere.
And he would figure out where she had gone.