Conran frowned and then said, “Ye’ll have to knock at the door. We need to ken if something is amiss or no’.”
“What do I say when one o’ them opens the door?” Geordie asked with a frown.
“If ’tis Gavin and ye can see into the room, just say ye were checking that all was well. But if ye can no’ see into the room, or he looks like something may be amiss, say ye just thought to let Evina ken that Aulay and I just headed down to the church so they may want to wait a few minutes before heading down themselves.”
“Why?” Geordie asked with confusion.
“Because he shall see me standing beside ye and ken we suspect something is amiss,” he pointed out patiently. “He may be able to give us a hint o’ what is happening.”
When Geordie said, “Right,” and nodded with understanding, Conran urged him back to Evina’s door and then stepped to the side, saw that Aulay was out of sight on the other side of the door and nodded at Geordie to go ahead.
His younger brother took a deep breath and then knocked at the door.
They all stood waiting for it to be answered, and it definitely took longer to be answered than it should have, Conran decided as they waited. Geordie was just raising his hand to knock again when the door was cracked open and Gavin peered out. The young man’s eyes slid over the four of them and then returned to Geordie.
“I was just . . . er . . .” Geordie glanced to Conran, and then tried again. “I just thought to let ye ken that Conran and Aulay have headed down to the chapel. Evina may want to wait a moment as she does no’ want him to see how lovely she looks in her dress yet.”
Gavin’s gaze sharpened, and he glanced to Conran, relief clear on his face. He obviously understood they suspected something. There was someone in there with them. Conran was sure of it, and was just trying to think of a question he could whisper to Geordie for him to ask that might gain them more information when Gavin—clever as his cousin—said, “I am glad to hear it. I feared he might try to escape marrying Evi by slipping away through the passages.”
Conran got the message loud and clear. Approach from the passage. Leaving Geordie to respond, he turned away at once, and slid along the hall back to Laird Maclean’s door.
“The Maclean locked the passages.”
Conran nearly jumped out of his skin at that whisper behind him, but then glanced over his shoulder to see that Aulay had followed and shook his head. “Obviously, someone unlocked them. Or at least the one to Evina’s room and whichever one they entered through to get to it.”
“Do ye ken how to unlock the Maclean’s passage?” Aulay asked as they slipped into the old man’s room.
“Aye,” he assured him, and slid his sword out as he strode across to the fireplace. Conran quickly turned the rock he’d seen the Maclean use to lock the entrance, and then turned the torch holder to open the passage. He held his breath as it slid open, and then moved to peer cautiously into the dark space. It looked empty, but there was a square of light pouring from the entrance to Evina’s room next door. The entrance in her room was open. Raising his sword, Conran entered the dark passage and began to creep silently toward that square of light.
“Nay, nay. Conran wants to marry yer cousin, and we all want him to as well,” Evina heard Geordie say from the other side of the door. “We’ll be happy to welcome her to the family.”
There was silence for a minute, and then Gavin said, “I’ll tell Evina that we should wait a few minutes, then.”
“Aye, ye do that,” Geordie muttered, and then as her cousin started to close the door, he added, “We’ll be right here. Waiting.”
Gavin finished closing the door and then turned to face Evina and her captor with a tight expression. She suspected he’d passed a message to the men in the hall with that comment about Conran escaping through the passages, but wasn’t sure if they’d got the message. And her cousin seemed to her to be trying to avoid looking at her. Evina didn’t know what that meant. And she didn’t like how still and quiet the man holding her was either. She feared he too suspected Gavin had tried to give the men a message with that comment. Trying to distract him, she asked, “The passages were locked. How did ye get in?”
“I unlocked them, did no’ I?” he said dryly, but his voice sounded distracted to her.
“How did ye even ken about the passages?” she asked, thinking that keeping him talking had to be good. It meant he couldn’t think. Hopefully. And if Gavin’s message had been understood and someone was even now coming up the passage from one of the other rooms to help them, she needed to give them time to get there. The problem was, Geordie and Alick didn’t know how to open the passages, or even exactly where they were. They’d need to fetch her father. They needed time.
“Me wife,” the man muttered, and Evina started to glance around in surprise, but stilled when the knife dug in deeper at her throat.
“Yer wife?” Gavin asked at once, drawing his attention again. “Who is yer wife? Is she a servant here?”
Much to her relief, the knife at her throat eased again as the man said with disgust, “Nay. Do I look like peasant stock to you? Me wife was Glenna MacLeod. Glenna Maclean MacLeod.”
Evina blinked at that announcement and met Gavin’s gaze, sure her expression was as bewildered as his by the claim. The man was obviously mad if he thought they’d believe Glenna had been married to a bandit ere marrying the MacLeod. Apparently, Gavin thought so too, because he raised his sword and eased a step closer.
“Nay,” her captor hissed at once, drawing Evina back a step toward the passage entrance. “Just stay still, and stay calm, son. Everything is fine. In fact, just stay out o’ this. I’m no’ here fer you.”
“That’s as may be,” Gavin growled, moving another step closer. “But if ye threaten me cousin, ye’ll be dealing with me as well. And if ye do no’ unhand her at once, I’ll call out to the men in the hall and ye’ll have a hell o’ a lot more than me to deal with.”
“Open yer mouth and I’ll slit her throat at once, son,” the man threatened.
“Stop calling me ‘son,’” Gavin snapped. “I’m no relation to you.”
“Aye, ye are,” the man growled, and then shook his head and said with exasperation, “I do no’ ken why ye’re making this difficult. I’m doing this fer yer benefit.”
“Me?” Gavin gasped the word with disbelief.
“Aye.” The man holding her sighed his foul breath across the side of her face, and then said, “I am yer da, boyo. I’m Garrick MacLeod. Yer father.”
Evina stiffened, and jerked her head around, getting a quick glimpse of his face before the knife digging into her throat made her turn forward again. It was enough. She suddenly realized why he had looked familiar to Tildy. The man had Gavin’s face, just older, rougher and with less of the intelligence evident on Gavin’s. That was enough to make her believe he was who he claimed to be, and that Garrick MacLeod hadn’t died as his brother had claimed.
Gavin obviously didn’t believe it though. He snorted at the claim and said coldly, “Me father is dead. He broke his own fool neck falling off his horse while riding drunk.” Mouth tightening, he added, “And none o’ this is for me. I have no desire to see me cousin dead. Besides, ye tried to kill me in the clearing. Was that fer me benefit too?”