Page 43 of Return to Clan Sinclair
She was less than an hour’s drive from Drumvagen but it might as well be a continent away.
She’d never seen this house before, but then, she wasn’t familiar with the area. She should’ve come home earlier. She should’ve brought the girls and visited Macrath and Virginia. Just add that regret to a long list of things she should have done.
Nails had been hammered into the outside of the window frame. Even if she could break the glass, she wouldn’t be able to raise the sash. At the moment, however, going through the window looked like her only alternative.
She grabbed the poker from the fireplace tools on the hearth and stuck it under the settee.
Another door sat at the far end of the room. She slowly turned the latch, but it, too, was locked.
A few minutes later she heard a sound outside the door. She raced to the settee and composed herself, calmly staring out the window when the door opened.
Henderson entered the room, followed by the giant now carrying a tray. She wondered if he was assigned to clean the rooms when he wasn’t kidnapping women.
He pointed to the table and the other man placed the tray on it. She noted the two bramble berry tarts, her stomach rumbling in anticipation. To her great relief, Henderson evidently had no plans on joining her for tea. After the men were gone and the door locked again, she retrieved one of the tarts.
She was on her second cup of tea when it occurred to her that she should have been wiser. She placed the teacup and saucer back on the tray, staring at the remaining tart accusingly.
Had he poisoned her? Was she going to die because she’d been stupid enough to eat a bramble berry tart? Would she never see her daughters again?
Regret filled her as the room tilted ominously. She grabbed one of the pillows from the settee and lay down before she fell.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
One thing about the Irish, they knew how to blend into the woods. The duke was no slouch when it came to creeping up on a structure. Bruce barely heard the other man as he made his way around the side of the house. Most of the curtains were drawn, but the ones that were open revealed rooms empty of furniture and people.
He didn’t see a sign of Ceana or Henderson. Had the Irish gotten it wrong?
Breandan approached them. “The carriage’s here,” he said. “It’s the same one that passed us on the road.”
That didn’t mean it was Henderson’s, a thought he didn’t bother to convey to the duke. If they didn’t find anything in a few minutes, he was all for abandoning this location and following his original plan.
He was about to pass the fourth window when he saw Ceana stretched out on the settee.
What the hell had Henderson done to her? He thought he couldn’t be angrier, but his temper ratcheted up a notch.
He moved to one side of the window, his back to the house.
“She’s not asleep,” the duke said from beside him. “Has he drugged her?”
He shook his head. Anger didn’t do him any good. He needed a plan. There were four of them, but he didn’t know how many men were employed by Henderson.
“He’s nailed all the windows shut,” the duke said.
“The back door looks the best bet,” Ardan said.
Bruce didn’t want all four of them rushing the same entrance. Looking up, he gauged the distance to the second floor then studied the oak tree next to the house. He hadn’t climbed a tree in years.
“Once I get inside,” he said to the duke, “you and your brothers make it through the back door.”
The duke nodded.
He swung himself up, hoping the branches close to the window were thick enough to bear his weight. A squirrel chittered at him, evidently upset he’d invaded the animal’s domain. Sliding out on the largest branch, he made his way closer to the house. The creaks and groans beneath him made him wonder if he’d make it. It wouldn’t be a fatal fall but it would alert the people inside.
He grabbed the windowsill with one hand, pushing the window sash up with the other. With any luck, he hadn’t chosen a window in a room currently occupied.
Gauging the distance, he swung off the branch, dangling from both arms. Swimming had increased his upper body strength. He swung his legs up until he placed one knee on the windowsill then pushed himself into the room, turning head over heels until he hit the floor with a thud.
He remained there a moment, listening for sounds of alarm. When there was no sign he’d been heard, he glanced down at the duke, gave him a thumbs-up sign and turned toward the door.
