Page 96 of The Highlander Who Loved Me

The air was very still. Davina grimaced. Her leg throbbed, the pain sharp and intense whenever she tried to move. She prayed that it wasn’t broken.

Her eyes had gradually adjusted to the darkness, yet she could see little. She couldn’t stand, but if she dragged herself to the staircase, she might be able to pull herself high enough to scream for help. Cook must have returned to the kitchens by now. Surely, someone would hear her.

A shadow of movement caught her eye. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Suddenly, a voice sounded in the distance. “Davina?”

Disoriented, Davina looked up. “Aye! I’m here!”

“Davina?”

The voice sounded much closer. More importantly, it sounded familiar. Relief burgeoned in Davina’s breast.I’m saved!

A cloaked figure emerged, illuminated by the glow of a single lit candle it carried. “Are ye injured?”

“’Tis my leg.”

“Oh, dear. We’ll need help getting ye out of here.” The figure raised the candle, momentarily blinding Davina. She blinked repeatedly. Her rescuer slowly came into focus, and Davina pulled in a breath of surprise. “Aunt Isobel?”

James stormed into the great hall, Malcolm hot on his heels. He was met with an empty silence. “Davina! Davina!”

Colin came running, his face streaked with tears. “Forgive me, Sir James. Ye bade me to watch over Lady Davina and I failed ye.”

Colleen soon joined them, her eyes filled with alarm. “We’ve searched everywhere. Inside and out.” The older woman’s voice quivered as she spoke. “I just dinnae know what could have happened to her.”

“The soldiers on the ramparts saw nothing?” James questioned his brother.

“No one has entered or exited through the gates,” Malcolm replied. “Davina must be inside the keep.”

“Where?” Fretful and restless, James anxiously paced in front of the cold hearth. He felt a sickness in his stomach and drove his clenched fist into the palm of his other hand at the thought of Davina in danger.

“We’ll find her,” Malcolm insisted, as Joan entered the chamber.

James immediately noticed her dabbing at the sweat on her brow, then shifting uneasily on her feet. He pinned her with a withering stare. “What are ye hiding, Joan?”

Joan took a step away from him. “I might know where to find Davina,” she admitted.

“What?” A muscle jumped in James’s cheek. “Tell me!”

“There’s a hidden passageway under the keep. She might be down there.”

Malcolm frowned. “How do ye know about it?”

“I discovered it soon after I arrived. We have several at Armstrong Castle. My kin are partial to building them, so I assumed Davina’s father would have at least one here.”

“Why would ye search fer such a thing?” James wanted to know.

“I feared I might have to use it to make a fast escape.” Joan’s voice shivered with the words, but she kept her chin high and her back straight.

“If Fraser came fer ye?” James guessed.

She raised a haughty brow at him. “Aye.”

“Show me,” James demanded, pushing on Joan’s back.

She scurried from the great hall and they all followed. After what seemed like an eternity they entered the storeroom. Confused, James turned menacingly toward Joan. “If this is some sort of trickery . . .”

“It’s not,” Joan stated flatly. She ran her hands deliberately over the wall, and then suddenly, amazingly, a section opened, revealing a set of stairs.

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