Greer nodded, and then turned to the men at the table. “So . . . if it turns out Fenella is no’ the culprit, who else could it be?”
Dougall rumbled, “It would help if we had some idea o’ what Saidh may ha’e done o’ late to annoy someone.”
Saidh clucked with disgust. “Are we back to that then? I ha’e somehow annoyed someone so much they would kill me?”
“Aye,” Dougall said simply.
Saidh was scowling at him when a woman’s scream sounded from abovestairs. Recognizing the voice as Fenella’s maid, Saidh jumped up and charged for the stairs. She heard Greer shout her name over the thunder of himself and her brothers charging after her, but didn’t slow. Honestly, it sounded like a herd of stallions were chasing her up the steps, which just made her run faster.
She was nearly at the top of the stairs when the master bedchamber door crashed open and Rory rushed out. He reached her bedchamber first and rushed in just as Greer caught up to Saidh and tugged her behind him, entering the room first. Saidh only caught a glimpse of what waited in the room, before Greer turned and bundled her toward Dougall and Geordie, saying, “Take her to the master chamber and stay inside with her and Alpin.”
Saidh didn’t protest. She had seen enough.
Chapter 17
Greer watched Dougall and Geordie lead Saidh to the master bedchamber next door and urge her inside. He waited until the door closed behind the trio before turning back into the room where Aulay and the remaining brothers stood by the bed. All but Alick, he saw. The youngest Buchanan had urged Fenella’s maid to a chair by the fire and was trying to soothe her.
Moving to join the men by the bed, Greer stared down at Fenella. Someone, the maid probably, had pulled back the furs and Fenella lay curled up on her side as if in sleep. But she wasn’t sleeping. Her face was as white as a spring bloom and the pale yellow gown she wore was blood soaked.
“Someone stabbed her in the neck,” Rory announced, straightening from examining Fenella.
“Well, I guess that means Saidh was right and we can discount Fenella as the culprit,” Aulay said dryly.
“Damn,” Niels breathed. “First they’re trying to kill Saidh and now they kill Fenella? Who is next?”
“That’s assuming they meant to kill Fenella,” Greer said grimly.
“What?” Niels asked with surprise.
“Her face is half buried in the pillow,” he pointed out.
“Aye,” Aulay agreed, and apparently seeing what Greer did, added, “And she has the Buchanan nose and hair.”
“Yer thinking she was mistaken fer Saidh,” Con-ran said slowly.
“Nay,” Niels protested. “Fenella’s a slip o’ a thing and Saidh is more muscular and sturdy. They would ha’e kenned it was no’ Saidh.”
Greer shook his head. “Not with the furs covering her.”
Aulay nodded, his expression solemn. “Under the furs, with just her hair and part o’ her face showing, she could easily be mistaken for Saidh.”
“Damn,” Niels said unhappily.
“Now that that is settled, I’d be most interested in how it was done.” Aulay turned to Greer. “My position at the trestle table in the great hall left me facing the stairs and upper landing. I had a clear view o’ the door to this room. No one entered or left after Saidh came out. In fact, there was no one up here at all except fer Fenella’s maid and she went nowhere near the door until Saidh told her this is where Fenella was.”
“Ye’re no’ thinking Saidh killed her?” Niels asked with dismay.
Aulay reached out and smacked the man in the back of the head.
“That would be a nay,” Rory said dryly.
“Aye, I gathered that,” Niels muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
Ignoring the pair of them, Aulay turned to Greer with one eyebrow raised. “Who kens about the passage in the wall besides ye and Saidh?”
Greer considered the matter. “I told Alpin about it, and Aunt Tilda probably kens, and then there is—”
“Probably?” Aulay interrupted. “Aunt Tilda probably kens? Is she no’ the one who showed ye the passage when ye got here to take yer place as laird? Or was that Fenella?”
“Nay.” Greer shook his head. “Aunt Tilda and Fenella were both too distraught to be o’ much use when I arrived. Bowie was the one who greeted me and gave me a tour o’ the castle. He showed it to me.”
“Bowie?” Aulay frowned. “Yer first?”
“Aye. He was Allen’s first ere he died, and is now mine,” Greer acknowledged.
“Why would a first ken about the secret passage?” Rory asked.
Greer glanced to the man with surprise. “Is that unusual?”
“Only family members ken how to find the passages at Buchanan,” Aulay informed him quietly.
Greer’s eyebrows rose at this news. He hadn’t known it was unusual. He’d just assumed that as the laird’s first and most trusted soldier he too would know about such things.
There was a brief silence and then Aulay asked, “How well do ye ken Bowie?”
“I only met him when I arrived at MacDonnell after Allen’s death,” he admitted, but then added, “Howbeit, he’s a hard worker and seems reliable. And I really see no reason fer him to wish Saidh ill. As far as I ken, they’ve ne’er e’en spoken to each other.”
“Hmm,” Aulay murmured thoughtfully, and then sighed and said, “Then mayhap this time Fenella was the target after all.”
“Now ye’re thinking we ha’e two killers?” Greer asked with disbelief. “One after Saidh and one after Fenella?”
“It makes as much sense as anything else,” Aulay pointed out with frustration. “Alpin was injured in one of the attempts on Saidh and could no’ ha’e killed Fenella. He was next door with Rory. Was he no’?” He turned to his brother as he asked question, and Rory nodded.
Aulay turned back to Greer and shrugged. “That leaves Lady MacDonnell and Bowie.”