He stepped out into the cooler air beyond the room, drawing in a steady breath as the door closed behind them. The sounds within dulled at once, replaced by the low murmur of the keep beyond.
Fergus stood just outside, his hands restless at his sides, as though he did not know where to place them now that he had nothing left to hold.
“Was she delivered to the perimeter guards?” he asked her father carefully.
“Me laird,” he said, his voice rough. “She… she walked.”
Frederick turned to him, his expression sharpening. “From where?”
Fergus shook his head, frustration evident in the movement. “She doesnae ken it clearly. But the men that brought her… they didnae carry her. They made her walk. Guided her, like.” He swallowed hard. “She says they kept close enough that she could feel them, even when she couldnae see them proper.”
Lennox frowned slightly. “Led her back into our lands.”
“Aye,” Fergus said. “Dropped her near the tree line, nae far from the path. She stumbled the rest of the way herself.”
Frederick’s gaze darkened. “Bold.”
“Or deliberate,” Lennox said quietly.
Frederick glanced toward him. “A message, then.”
“Mayhap,” Lennox replied. “Or a test. To see how we respond.”
Fergus shifted, his jaw tightening. “The hounds were set on the trail as soon as she was found. They followed it north, but they have nae returned yet.”
Frederick nodded once. “They will send word when they do.”
Fergus’s gaze dropped briefly to the ground before lifting again. “I should have been there,” he said, the words low. “I stood watch that night. I should have?—”
“Nay,” Frederick said, cutting him off before the thought could take root. “Ye stood where ye were needed. This was nay failing of yers.”
Fergus did not look convinced, but he gave a short nod all the same.
They fell into a brief silence, the weight of what had been said settling between them. Frederick’s mind moved ahead, turning over what little they had learned. A draught to dull the senses. Multiple captors. Enough confidence to bring the lass back within their own borders without fear of being seen.
It did not sit well.
“Ye can bring her to the keep if ye need. Erin is there full-time these days. It may help moving her far from where she was taken for a while. Ye ken she would be safe there, and we can move ye to the keep guard for the time being, if ye wish it. If she wishes it.”
“Me laird, I thank ye. It will be something I will try to discuss with her after yer visit.”
The door behind them opened once more.
Erin stepped out, her expression composed, though there was a gravity to it that had not been there before. Fergus turned to her at once, hope and fear colliding in his gaze.
“Well?” he asked, his voice barely steady.
Erin did not speak.
She met his gaze and gave a small, deliberate nod.
It was enough.
Fergus’s breath left him in a broken rush, and he bent forward, one hand bracing against his knee as the tension that had held him upright gave way at last. A sound escaped him, somewhere between a sob and a laugh, thick with relief.
“Christ above, thank ye,” he murmured, though whether the words were meant for Erin or for something greater, Frederick could not say.
Frederick stepped forward without thinking, his hand coming to rest firmly on Fergus’s shoulder. The man stiffened for a moment before the contact seemed to ground him.