"When we got here, Conran was missing and Geordie seemed in a deep sleep. We feared the worst," Cam explained. "But Conran had just stepped away to visit the garderobe, and Geordie woke up in the end, so Kate's probably fine too, or as fine as she was ere this," he added.
"Just check her to be sure, Ror," Aulay growled.
Rory nodded and moved to the bedside at once.
"Why was Conran's being in the passage a secret?" Geordie asked with a frown as he watched Rory examine Katie.
"I did no' want ye to fret any more than ye already were," Aulay admitted. "And with Conran keeping an eye from the passage there was no need fer ye to."
"Mayhap ye should have two men in the passage at a time to make sure the room is covered despite garderobe breaks," Greer said with a frown.
Aulay shook his head. "No need. Now that Geordie kens someone is watching, the person can sit in the room with him, and only slip into the passage to watch when neither Geordie nor Rory are in the room." Shifting his attention to Geordie he added, "While Rory has left a time or two, ye've yet to do so. Ye should probably leave the room, brother. I ken ye do no' want to, but our watching up until now has been a waste of time since ye've no' left her side except when Rory was with her and that just to visit the garderobe. No one is like to try to harm her with ye both here to witness."
Geordie scowled. "Ye're going to use her as bait?"
"Someone will be watching her at all times," Aulay assured him, and then arched an eyebrow and asked, "Can ye think o' another way to capture whoever shot the arrow into her?"
Geordie frowned briefly, but then rubbed his hands over his face and shook his head. "Nay. I can no' imagine anyone wanting to hurt wee Katie. She's sweet as can be."
"There is no change. She does no' appear to have been harmed in any way," Rory announced, straightening. "In fact, if anything, she's slightly improved."
"Really?" Geordie asked, perking up substantially.
"Aye," Rory said and smiled wryly. "We may ha'e another lass survive when I did no' think she would."
Aulay considered that as he peered at Katie, and once again it struck him that she could easily be mistaken for Jetta. The black hair, the pale face and petite figure with generous breasts . . . Their facial features differed. Jetta's eyes were larger, her lips a little fuller, and her face was oval while Katie's was heart-shaped. Other than that though, the two women could have been sisters.
"If we are done in here, we should let Geordie and Katie rest," Rory said suddenly.
Aulay knew from his expression that his brother wanted a word with him, away from Geordie. Nodding, he headed for the door, but paused once he reached it and turned back to tell Conran, "The men ha'e offered to take shifts watching Katie and Geordie. I'll come talk to ye after we sort out the who and when."
Appearing relieved at this news, Conran nodded and Aulay led the others out of the room. He walked nearly to the stairs before pausing to face Rory. Raising his eyebrows, he said, "I got the feeling ye had something ye wanted to discuss with me?"
"Aye," Rory said quietly, and glanced around to include the other men as he said, "I ha'e to tell ye, Aulay, every time I go into that room, I think 'tis just like entering the bedchamber at the lodge has been this last two month. I mean, Katie almost looks like Jetta lying in that bed," he pointed out. "And we brothers all resemble each other a great deal. In fact, Geordie is just a younger version o' ye."
"Younger and unscarred," Aulay muttered.
"Aye. But from a distance and on horseback, the two could easily have been mistaken fer you and Jetta," he pointed out solemnly.
"Ye're thinking Jetta was really the target when Katie was shot?" Cam suggested quietly, not appearing surprised.
Rory hesitated, and then said, "Mayhap. Although, Jetta was no' even here. And I can't think that anyone here would wish to harm Jetta?"
"The archer who loosed that arrow does no' have to be from here," Cam pointed out and then reminded them, "there is that business about her family and someone she feared who would kill her."
"Aye, but her family do no' ken she's here. No one does," Rory pointed out, seeming now to want to argue against what his own words had suggested.
"As far as we ken her family has no' learned she's here," Aulay corrected him solemnly, feeling he had to at least consider the possibility. But then he shook his head. "The only thing we ken fer certain is that Katie was shot with the arrow, and Jetta was pushed down the stairs."
"Aye, but Katie does resemble Jetta and might have been mistaken fer her from a distance," Dougall said solemnly. "And Rory's right, Geordie could ha'e been mistaken fer ye from a distance as well. Probably we all could."
"And Katie's getting shot brought you and Rory and then Jetta home to Buchanan, where she was pushed down the stairs," Niels pointed out.
Aulay glanced from man to man with surprise. "Ye're now all thinking the two attacks are connected?"
"Nay, I'm sure they're no' thinking that," Rory assured him. "They're just considering this from every angle."
"Although," Cam said now, "it does seem more likely that Katie was mistaken fer Jetta, than that ye have two murderous bastards on yer hands. I mean, we already ken the lass was afraid o' someone she felt sure would kill her."
"Aye," Dougall said now, "but how would anyone from her family find out she was here? Or about the passages if that's how they escaped?"
"They would no'," Aulay assured them. "At least, they should no' ken about the passages. Besides, from what I could tell, she was no' afraid o' her family so much as the man they were forcing her to marry."
"Do we ken anything about him?" Cam asked with interest.
Aulay shook his head. "Nay, from what we could understand, he was no' her betrothed, but she was being forced to marry him anyway, and she feared he would kill her." After a pause, he added, "Which puts paid to the attacker being a member o' Jetta's family. Even if they ha'e somehow tracked her here to Buchanan, they can hardly force her to marry anyone if she is dead."
"Aye, ye're right," Rory acknowledged, and then said, "so we've two separate attackers, one after Katie and one after Jetta."
"Unless it was the other way around and Jetta was mistaken fer Katie when she was pushed down the stairs," Dougall suggested.
Aulay was just blinking in surprise at that suggestion when Niels said, "What about the poisoned stew?"
"What?" Aulay peered at him with amazement. "What poisoned stew?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell ye about that." Dougall scowled with consternation and quickly explained about Robbie's dog dying after eating the charred soup Mavis had thrown out. He ended with, "Mavis feared she'd dumped the stew on some sort o' poisonous plant and the dog just gobbled that up with the stew, but . . ."
"But now ye're wondering if Robbie was no' right and the stew was poisoned," Aulay said quietly.
Dougall looked uncomfortable. "I just think everything should be considered."
Aulay began to rub his temples as he considered what he'd learned. "Right, so, here are the facts as we ken them. Katie was shot with an arrow. A dog died from eating stew that was meant for Jetta and Mavis, and may or may no' have been poisoned. And now Jetta was pushed down the stairs."
"Aye, but we are no' sure who the arrow was meant for. Katie may ha'e been the target, or she could have been mistaken for Jetta," Dougall added.
"And the stew is less certain," Greer added. "There could have been a poisonous plant at the base o' the tree where Mavis tossed the stew, or the stew could ha'e been poisoned and Mavis and Jetta escaped dying simply because Rory forgot to water down the stew as Mavis asked him to."
"But I do no' think Jetta was mistaken fer Katie when she was pushed down the stairs," Cam said solemnly. "The attacker was too close to mistake her for anyone else."
Blowing out a breath, Aulay turned and walked to the railing to peer at the tables below. The Great Hall was bustling now with activity, the tables full of people arriving for the evening meal, but hi
s eyes immediately found and settled on the women at the head table. They were gathered in a group, surrounding Jetta where she sat on the bench seat, and appearing to fuss with her hair.
"Rory took Jetta's caul off to examine her head," Niels murmured, moving to stand next to him. "The ladies are now replacing it."
"I thought she said her caul cushioned her head and saved her from harm?" Aulay said with sudden concern. He wouldn't have left her had he thought her wounded.
"She did, and it did," Niels assured him. "But Rory checked to be sure."
"Oh." He relaxed a little.
"And she did no' get away completely without injury," Niels added, alarming him all over again, until he added, "she twisted and banged her ankle in the fall. Rory thought at first it was broken, but then decided nay. It hurts her to walk on it though. Uncle Acair had to carry her to the table."
Despite having already known this news, Aulay scowled as he moved to the top of the stairs.
Before he could start down, Niels asked, "What are we going to do about this latest attack?"
"Aye," Dougall said, and added, "and how are we going to sort out whether Katie or Jetta was the target o' the arrow, and whether the stew was poisoned?"
"None o' that matters," Aulay said firmly and swore every single one of the men gasped at his words like old women. Turning to face them, he pointed out, "Someone shot Katie with an arrow and attacked Jetta. Both of those are certainties. I want both women guarded night and day. I also want the passages and tunnel locked off."
"Ye can do that?" Cam asked with interest.