“Ye must come with me out the back,” Glynis said, grabbing Seamus’s hand. “Now hurry!”
The small door that led to the fields was hanging open. As they ran toward it, Glynis looked up and saw men fighting on top of the wall.
She shoved Una and Seamus out ahead of her and screamed at them, “Run as fast as ye can and hide!”
When Glynis ducked through the doorway behind them, she saw the women and children she’d sent out earlier scattered over the hills running for their lives. But one woman had turned around and was running back toward the castle.
By the saints, it was Bessie! Glynis ran out to meet her in the field. When she reached Bessie, they were both gasping for air.
“Sorcha isn’t with ye?” Bessie asked.
“I sent her with you.” Fear ran down Glynis’s limbs. “What happened?”
“I’m so sorry, mistress,” Bessie said, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I was taking the other women, like ye told me to, but Sorcha wanted to come with you. I thought ye were just upstairs, and she couldn’t miss ye. But after I came out, I started to worry, so I watched for ye.”
“I’ll find her,” Glynis said. When Bessie hesitated, Glynis pushed her. “I can’t be worrying about you as well, so go!”
When Glynis reentered the castle, she was met by the sounds of battle—the clank of swords on the top of the walls and the steady pounding of a battering ram reverberating against the front gate.
“Sorcha, Sorcha!” she called, as she ran through the keep, pausing to look behind doors and under benches and tables.
Where was the child?
Glynis ran up the stairs. If Sorcha was hiding somewhere else in the castle, Glynis was losing precious time. The shouts of men fighting came in through the windows as she ran by them. The sounds were far too close—some of the attackers must have made it over the wall and into the castle yard.
“Sorcha! It’s me, Glynis,” she called out, as she searched the bedchamber she shared with Alex. She snatched her dirk from the side table, then dropped to her knees to look under the bed. Sorcha was not there. Time was running out. As she got up, her gaze fell on the chest at the bottom of the bed.
She rushed to it and threw open the lid—and saw Sorcha’s shining head of hair. Her daughter was tucked into a ball with her head down, and she was shaking violently.
“Sorcha, love, I’m here,” Glynis said, resting her hand on her back.
The child looked up at her with Alex’s green eyes. Then she sprang to her feet and threw her arms around Glynis’s neck. Glynis held her tight.
Glynis jumped at the sound of wood cracking. It was followed by a roar of voices. She rushed to the window, carrying Sorcha with her. Ach, no. Pirates had broken through the gate and were pouring into the castle yard below.
It was too late to escape.
The scene below was chaotic, with men shouting and swinging their claymores. Glynis could not tell who was winning—or even who was on which side.
And then she saw Magnus, and the breath went out of her.
He stood alone in the middle of the yard, ignoring the fighting that was going on all around him. His claymore was drawn and ready, but he stood still, scanning the castle grounds with his black eyes. A chill went through her.
Magnus was looking for her.
When his gaze turned toward them, Glynis jumped back into the shadows with Sorcha. As he started toward the keep with a determined stride, Glynis forced back the urge to run blindly. They were trapped with nowhere to go.
“Ye found the best place in the whole castle to hide,” Glynis said, running her hand over the girl’s hair. “I’m going to put ye back inside the chest and cover ye up.”
Sorcha shook her head and dug her fingers into Glynis’s arms.
“Your da needs ye, so ye will do as I say and be a brave lass,” Glynis said in a firm voice. “No matter what ye hear, ye must not come out until these bad men are gone.”
Loud male voices sounded in the hall below.
“Ye
Glynis heard boots coming up the stairs and dropped the child into the chest. Her heart pounded in her ears as she flung off her cloak and laid it over Sorcha.
“I love ye,” she whispered, and closed the lid an instant before the door burst open.
When she turned, Magnus Clanranald filled the doorway.
“Glynis, my dear wife,” Magnus said, “ye have much to answer for.”
CHAPTER 50
Damn, where are they?” Alex said, as he scanned another empty bay. After finding the MacNeils safe and sound behind their castle walls, they had sailed into every inlet and loch on Barra.
“We’ve been led on a merry chase.” Duncan slammed his fist against the rail. “I’d wager Hugh put the word out that he intended to raid Barra to divert us from his true plan.”
