Ilsa slipped back into the garden and breathed a sigh of relief. Getting back inside Clachthrom unseen was not as easy as getting out. The men upon the walls were watching all approaches very carefully, as they should. Since she did not wish to be caught outside alone, she had had to be very careful. The dread of enduring another lecture from Nanty had been very inspiring.
As she walked through the gardens, something drew her attention. She frowned slightly as she picked up a small wooden horse from beneath a rose bush. It was Alice's favorite toy, one carved for her by young Tom. The girl never went anywhere without it. Ilsa tucked it into the small leather bag she wore at her waist and hurried toward the keep. It could be that Alice had dropped the toy and had simply not yet noticed it was missing, but it made Ilsa uneasy.
She stepped into the nursery, smiled absently at Fraser and Glenda and looked around. Odo, Aulay, Ivy, Gregor, and Ewart were all present, quietly playing with their toys. The twins, Alice, and Gay were the only ones missing. Ilsa sternly told herself that that was not unusual as she sat down on a padded stool near Glenda and Fraser. As she touched the little bag holding Alice's horse, she felt an odd increasing chill, however.
"And where have ye been?" asked Fraser, frowning with a hint of severity.
"Gay was looking for ye."
"Why? Was something troubling the twins?" Ilsa asked, reluctant to tell Fraser what she had been doing. Fraser was as fond of lecturing her as Nanty and she did it far better than he did.
"Nay. She wanted to take the bairns into the garden. She got that maid Lucy to help her take them outside. Alice went along as weel. Gay was hoping that ye might join them there later."
"Fraser, I was just in the garden and didnae see any of them."
"Ye would have had to see them or meet them as they returned here."
"I did neither," Ilsa said as she stood up and headed toward the door.
Fraser rose to follow. "Odo, Ivy, watch the young ones," she ordered when Glenda moved to join her.
Ilsa did not wait for the two older women, but raced down to the gardens. It did not surprise her, however, when they were only a few steps behind her as she entered the garden. In silent agreement, they began to search the garden, although Ilsa suspected they were as uncertain about what they looked for as she was.
"O'er here," called Glenda.
Fraser fell into step beside her as Ilsa hurried toward Glenda. The woman was crouched down on the far side of the raised herb garden, bending over something on the ground. Ilsa gasped when she saw that it was a bound and gagged Gay. She fell to her knees beside Gay even as Glenda removed the gag on Gay's mouth and Fraser untied the ropes binding her thin wrists together behind her back, then her ankles.
"Gay, the twins? Alice?" Ilsa asked, fighting to calm herself even as fear twisted her insides into tight knots.
"Gone," Gay replied. "They took them."
"They? Who are they?"
"The maid I was with and Geordie."
Ilsa nearly cried out in dismay. She had been so close to Geordie, might have been able to stop him. Instead, she had just been disgruntled over wasting so much time following him to a tryst. Or so she had thought. Ilsa now suspected that what she had seen had been a final meeting before the enacting of this heinous plot to steal her children. She had to take several deep breaths before she was calm enough to speak again.
"Gay, I need ye to tell me exactly what happened," Ilsa said, taking her friend's hand in hers while Fraser placed an arm around Gay's slender shoulders.
"I thought it would be nice to bring the bairns out into the sun for a wee while. I looked for ye, but couldnae find ye anywhere. Where did ye go?" asked Gay.
"I will tell ye in a wee while. Your tale is far more important."
"Twas odd now that I think upon it, but suddenly Lucy was there. She started talking about taking the bairns into the garden, how her old mother always thought a wee bit of sun was good for the wee ones. Weel, since I was planning to do that anyway, I thought her appearing was most convenient."
"Aye, too convenient," muttered Glenda.
Ilsa nodded. "I fear so. A plot and our Gay didnae e'en have to be tricked into playing along. Lucy probably couldnae believe her good fortune. Go on, Gay."
"We fetched the bairns," said Gay. "Alice wanted to come, too, and of course I said she could. For a brief moment I got the feeling Lucy wasnae pleased about that, but she was already smiling and chattering again so my uneasiness faded.
We couldnae have been in the gardens verra long when I was grabbed from behind."