He stepped into the donjon.
Robert did not doubt that the marauders acted under the directions of one man. He must find some way to identify and defeat his enemy before the man claimed more victims.
Again bemoaning the fact that he came to her so filthy, Robert entered the great hall, then stopped short.
The chair Beth should have occupied beside his own at the high table sat empty.
A quick survey of the room failed to locate her. Frowning, he turned and climbed the stairs in search of an answer. At the top, he passed the closed door of the solar and continued on to Bethany’s chamber—the same one his brother and Alyssa occupied during their visits.
Michael, Stephen, and Adam lounged in the hallway outside it.
Noting his approach, they straightened.
Robert could not decide what their expressions indicated but feared it did not bode well. “Where is Lady Bethany?”
“In her chamber,” Michael answered, face somber.
“Why is she not supping below? Is she ill?”
“Nay.”
“Not in body,” Stephen muttered.
Robert stiffened. “What say you?”
“She is mad,” Stephen declared, then grunted when Adam’s elbow promptly lodged itself in his ribs. “Oomph. That is to say, we think… ah, the three of us… fear she may be a bit”—he glanced uncertainly at his friends—“daft. Just a bit. Mayhap.”
Bethany’s flight from him earlier leapt to Robert’s mind. Her heartrending sobs.
I’m m-mad! I’m looney! I’m w-wacky in the wicky woo! I’m c-completely nuts!
All but one of those expressions were foreign to him. However, her meaning had been clear. And his most trusted men seemed to agree with her.
“What happened?” he asked grimly.
“After you left,” Michael informed him, “she insisted that I show her the kitchen.”
Robert frowned. “Did Edward not ensure she was served a light repast in her chamber?” The customarily reliable Edward would feel his wrath for neglecting his guest’s needs after Robert had specifically instructed him to see to her comfort.
“He had not the chance. He had no sooner shown her to yon chamber and left her with a change of clothing than she threw open the door and, upon finding me outside, made her demand. Or request. ’Twas more of a request. For all of her bold speech and bravado, Lady Bethany is a sweet lass.”
Robert had long since discovered that fact on his own. “Why were you lingering outside her door?”
Michael shrugged. “I merely thought to watch over her in your absence, to ensure that all was well with her.”
“As did we,” Stephen inserted.
Adam nodded.
Robert eyed them suspiciously. “Are you certain you were not simply seeking an opportunity to coax her into showing you more of her intriguing possessions?”
“Nay!”
“Of course not!”
Robert bit back a smile as the knights flushed and stammered and drowned each other out in their rush to deny it. Even Adam joined in.
’Twas obvious Robert had guessed their true motive, though he suspected that, in addition to curiosity, something more had driven them to seek her out.
They liked her and enjoyed her company.
Hopefully not as much as he did. But he wasn’t quite ready to explore that yet.
“All right. All right,” he interrupted. “Michael, you escorted her to the kitchen. Did she find aught pleasing enough to satisfy her hunger?”
Michael shared an uneasy glance with the others. “Nnnay. I believe she was rather disturbed by the state of the kitchen.”
Stephen snorted. “I would say disgusted.”
Robert winced. “As is Alyssa whenever she and Dillon visit. But I have not the time to see to all of the little details Edward has no time for, which makes keeping an immaculate hall difficult.” In truth, he had been so consumed with making Fosterly a prosperous holding that he had had little energy left to dedicate to the more mundane household tasks. “Desiring cleaner kitchens does not indicate Lady Bethany is mad. Did she return to her chamber?”
Michael shook his head. “After gawking at the goings-on in the kitchen for nigh onto an hour, Lady Bethany began her search.”
Her search?
“Stephen and Adam had accompanied us,” Michael continued, “and we all watched in dismay whilst she lowered herself to her hands and knees and began to crawl about the floor like a babe. Under tables. Under benches. Underfoot of many of the shocked servants. She even pulled things away from the walls and ran her hands across them.”
“The walls, not the goods,” Stephen clarified.
Confusion sifted through Robert. “She was feeling the walls?”
“Aye,” Michael confirmed. “Every crack, crevice, and corner.”
“Why? For what did she search?” A doorway to a secret passage mayhap? Had she discovered so quickly the one in her chamber and thought to look for more?