“I’ll get ye out of here,mo rùin,”my love, he said in a choked voice, and held her close.
“I was afraid you’d think I left ye,” she said in a weak voice.
“Don’t talk now,mo chridhe,”my heart. “Ye must save your strength.”
“I love ye, Finn,” she murmured as her head fell against his chest.
Racing against time, Finn climbed the rope up the slippery rock with Margaret’s limp body over his shoulder. He needed to get her out of this hellhole and warm. He had to leave the lantern to carry her, but he could gauge how much farther to the top by the dog’s frantic yaps above him.
Finally, he hauled her over the edge and crawled out of the abyss and onto solid ground. Margaret was shaking violently. He ran to fetch her cloak and blanket strapped toCeò’s saddle, wrapped her in them, and rubbed her body, trying to warm her. But it was not enough. She needed a roaring fire.
The storm had blown over and the moon shone brightly, lighting Finn’s way as he galloped back to Helmsdale. Encircled in the heat of his body, Margaret seemed to revive somewhat on the short ride. When they reached Helmsdale, the guard saw him coming and opened the gate. He rode through and up to the steps of the keep, then slid offCeòwith Margaret in his arms.
“I’m all right now,” Margaret said. “I need to tell ye something.”
He ran up the steps without pausing. Though he was relieved to hear her speak, whatever she wanted to tell him could wait until he had her warm in front of the hearth and had checked her for injuries.
“Wait, Finn—” she said as he pushed open the door to the hall.
“Bring blankets and a hot drink!” he shouted as he carried her to the hearth. “We need more peat on that fire!”
“I must tell ye why I left,” she said.
In his urgency to bring her back, he had forgotten that she had left in fear. The hall and everyone in it had been a blur when he rushed in. As he took in the room now, he could see that their sudden entry had disrupted a brawl. A man with a bloodied face was struggling against two men who held him.
“He’s the traitor!” someone shouted. “The murderer!”
Finn recognized the man with the bloodied face now as the servant who went missing after his aunt and uncle were poisoned. So, they had caught the bastard.
“Kill him!” a woman shouted, and the others cheered.
“Finn!” Margaret gripped his arm. “Stop them. It wasn’t him.”
He thought at first she must still be out of her head, but she was sitting straight up and her eyes were alert.
“I’m telling ye,” she said. “It wasn’t him.”
He suddenly knew why she had left the castle so suddenly in the midst of a storm. She had discovered the killer.
“Hold on!” Finn stood and raised his arms. “Let’s hear what this man has to say.”
“We already know he’s guilty,” one of the men said, and punched the already-bloodied man in the gut.
“Cut his head off!” a woman shouted.
“If ye cut off his head, he can’t tell us who else was involved in the murders,” Finn said. “Now let him go.”
Finn stared them down until the men reluctantly released their captive.
“I came back to clear my name after I heard what was being said about me,” the injured man said as he wiped the blood from his nose. “I didn’t poison them. They were still well when I left.”
“Then why did ye leave that night?” Finn asked.
“I was told to slip away after I served the wine and deliver a message to Girnigoe Castle,” the man said. “I was given a gold coin to keep quiet about it.”
“Who gave ye the gold coin and sent ye to Girnigoe?” The blood pounded in Finn’s ears as he waited for the answer.
The man extended his arm, pointing. “She sent me.”