Page 24 of The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds (Clans of Mull #3)

Eva

Eva stood near the hearth taking in everything in the hall. She made sure that she always knew where Sloan and her brother were. Now she knew, without a doubt, that Sloan Rankin would always protect her, and it gave her more comfort than she would ever tell anyone.

Riding with him to Duart Castle had been the nicest experience she’d had since the attack. No matter what happened—rain, thunder, another attack—she knew he would protect her.

Thoughts of that brute who assaulted her never left her alone for long. Oh, she could converse with others, carry on conversations without fear, but once she stopped, the man appeared in her mind.

His dirty hair, his stench, his cruel eyes.

His touch.

Would she never be free of him?

Alycia appeared in front of her. “New wine for everyone and it is a fine one.”

“My thanks, Alycia. How are you? Where is Elvard?”

“He’s here somewhere. First with Alana, then with Sylvi and Sandor. Bouncing about. I have to get moving. Have fun, Eva.”

Eva nodded to Alycia, Eva’s eyes darting to every man on the opposite side of the hall. She took one whiff of the wine in her goblet and decided not to drink it. She handed it to Tamsin who had finished one goblet already and gladly took hers.

Maeve held the bairn and stood next to Maitland, Dyna moved around the hall checking on things, Eli and Alaric groped each other, and Connor and Sela stood close to the bairns. Everyone sipped their wine or their brew. Sela never took her eyes from her three grandbairns, Astra standing next to her. Surprised to see Sela hand Astra a goblet, Eva was more surprised when she drank it down with one sip. Eva had heard the kidnapping had affected the poor lass terribly.

That’s when it started. She glanced away from Astra only to see someone’s head fall and hit the table, then another, and another. Lennox went for Meg, just catching her before she fell to the ground. Lennox went next. Tamsin fell after that, Thane catching her just as he collapsed.

Sloan called out to her. “Eva, don’t drink it.”

She hadn’t, but he had, and before he could reach her, he fell to his knees and then crumpled onto the hard stone floor.

Eva screamed as the others began to fall so quickly. It was horrible.

Connor, Logan, Dyna, Derric, Gwyneth, Eli, Alaric. Fall after fall. Maitland tried to take the bairn from Maeve, but he dropped next.

And then the chamber was full of masked men. Six? Eight?

One man grabbed Maeve and the bairn, another went for Lia. Eva reacted without thinking, grabbing Alana who was now crying, and then ran to an alcove near the tunnel passageway. She passed one masked man, the stench of him hitting her so hard that she nearly stopped but then kept going. He was headed toward Sandor. Sylvi raced by her screaming, so she grabbed Sylvi and picked her up, taking her with her to hide in the alcove.

Once behind the curtain, she grabbed both girls and shushed them. “Hush, we cannot let them find us.”

Alana cried, “Mama fell down.”

Sylvi mumbled, “I saw Papa fall too, then Mama, then Grandpapa. Where’s Tora?”

The men were yelling at one another to grab this bairn and that one, so Eva put a finger to the girls’ mouths as the chaos continued. Someone yelled out, “Where’s the other white-haired lass? He decided he wanted all three of them.”

Sylvi looked up at Eva, tears in her eyes, gripping her hand as if she were the only one who could save her. She didn’t know what to do, hadn’t brought a weapon, but the three of them were safe.

When all seemed quiet, she peeked out of the curtain and scanned the area. No one moved. Then Magni came in from the tower chamber and began to scream and yell.

“Magni. Hush!” she called out, pulling the curtain aside a wee bit.

Magni saw her and rushed over. She tugged him inside the alcove and made room for him. He rambled on and on, “What happened? Where is my sister? Your mother, Sylvi? Where are Thane and Tamsin? I’m so scared again.”

“Hush. Listen carefully, but you must be quiet. Everyone started to pass out and then six masked men came in and took Maeve and the baby. I think they took Lia too. I don’t know who else, but I saw Sylvi and Alana, so we hid in here. Did you see anyone with a mask?”

Magni shook his head. “Nay.” He chewed on the tips of his fingers and whispered, “Not again …”

Eva closed her eyes and said, “Listen. See if you hear anything. We cannot go out until we hear a voice we recognize.”

It seemed like forever before some people began to awaken. Gwyneth’s voice was the first one they heard. “Logan, wake up!”

Sela called out to Connor, but he didn’t answer. Then Eli and Alaric. Voices grew louder and louder, searching for their loved ones.

Tamsin screamed, “Alana!”

“Can I go?” Alana peered up at her, but Eva was doubtful.

“In a moment.” Eva stood and peeked out, holding Alana’s and Sylvi’s hands, Magni clinging to her. By now, half the people were up and looking around. She stepped out and after gazing around, said to Alana, “Go.”

“Mama!”

Dyna woke up screaming. “Sandor, Tora, Sylvi! Where are you?”

“I’m here, Mama,” Sylvi screamed.

Eva took her over to Dyna who immediately asked, “Where are your brother and sister?”

Sylvi began to cry, and Dyna looked at Eva, who shook her head. “I don’t know. I grabbed these two and hid.”

In the middle, a man moved from person to person, searching and searching, then ran into the kitchens and up the stairs calling out, “Maeve! Where are you? Maeve!”

Finally, he shouted, “Who saw anything? Anyone? Who stayed awake?” From the balcony, he yelled, “Someone must have seen something.”

Eva said, “I did.” Magni hugged her.

The hall quieted as they all turned to her. “I saw six men with masks come inside after everyone passed out. They went straight to Maeve and grabbed her, the bairn, and Lia. I grabbed Sylvi and Alana, and we hid in the alcove. Magni came out of the tower, so I tugged him in.”

“Who were they?” Maitland shouted, his face filled with a fury unlike she’d ever seen before.

Eva began to cry, and Sloan appeared next to her, climbing up off the floor and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Stop yelling at Eva,” he barked at Maitland. “She saved three bairns.”

Then Dyna said, “Stop your shouting, Menzie. She saved one of my daughters. She didn’t do anything wrong. And right now, she’s the only clue we have to what happened.” Dyna had a tight hold on Sylvi who had her head on her mother’s shoulder, tears running down her cheeks.

Maitland said, “Forgive me. I know. I’m sorry, Eva. I just … I cannot bear …”

Then Maitland’s head fell back, and he let out the most haunting moan Eva had ever heard.

Four bairns were gone. And so was his wife.

Dyna said, “Da, go to the gates and see what they know. Broc, you and Logan, check the cellars. Derric, you and Maitland search all the chambers above stairs. Alasdair and Alaric, go to the men on the wall and find out what they have to say. How did the attackers get in? Where did they go? Then meet back here. We’ll find them. Everyone else, stay here!”

Magni ran over to Thane and hugged him. Then Thane and Tamsin approached Eva, Tamsin hugging her. “My thanks for saving Alana.” Her face was covered in tears. “My word, poor Dyna and Maitland.”

Thane thanked her, then said, “You leaving or staying, Sloan?”

He looked at Eva who shook her head. “Not yet. Please.”

Lennox and Meg joined them. “Eva, you are hale?”

“I’m fine. Just shook up. But please don’t make me leave yet, Lennox. I think one of them was the same man. The man who attacked me.”

Sloan had to keep his hand from turning into a fist. “Why would you say that?”

“The stench. When I rushed past one of the men, he smelled the same. Disgusting. It’s a verra distinctive odor. I can’t leave yet. Please.”

Sloan said, “I think we should stay and find out exactly what happened. Come sit by the hearth and get warm. See what the others say when they return. There could be men still outside, Lennox. I wouldn’t take your leave yet.”

Eva grabbed Sloan’s hand, never wanting to let go. He found her a chair, set it near the hearth among the others, then settled a fur on her lap. He kneeled in front of her and said, “Look, Eva. You are possibly the only one who saw them. Everyone else seems to have passed out. Try to remember everything you can about the men. Forget the one bastard, think of the other five. Recall everything you can, how tall they were, color of their hair. Their boots. Anything could help us find them.”

Logan came over and sat down near her, still wobbly in the legs. “Alaric said all the men on the wall passed out. It was some brew, possibly the wine we were given. Did you drink it, Eva?”

“Nay, I gave mine to Tamsin. I didn’t want it.”

“Well done, lass. You are the only one who could help us. Think of anything at all about them. Was there anything different about the masked men? Their clothing, their boots, their weapons. Anything unusual?”

She thought hard, then said, “Aye, one thing. I don’t know if it matters, but I do recall something.”

“What?”

“Their boots. They were all wet.”

Logan grinned and said, “Well done.”

“What does it mean?”

Sloan squeezed her hand. “They came by boat. They must have come in through the cellars. We’ll go look. Is there a doorway in the cellars to the outside? Through the curtain wall?”

Logan answered, “Not that we’re aware of, but we need to do a more thorough search. This wouldn’t be the first castle with a hidden tunnel to the outside.”

While the men headed down to the cellars to search for any clues, Eva couldn’t get one thing from her mind.

One of the kidnappers was the same bastard who tried to rape her.