Iliana sighed and shook her head. “I do not know. I have not pieced it all together yet,” she admitted, then stiffened at a muffled sound from the door they stood in front of. Exchanging a glance with the servant, she quickly pushed the door open and stepped inside, Janna directly on her heels. Iliana had taken several steps before she realized that, not only was the bed empty, but the messenger was nowhere in sight. Just as she realized that, the door slammed closed behind them.

Whirling, she stared at the messenger. He had been behind the door. Now he stood before it, sword in hand. Raising her chin, she eyed him coldly. “You appear to be well healed, sir.”

“’Twas a paltry wound at best,” he said with a shrug. “Most of the blood on me came from Lord Rolfe’s man when I killed him.”

Janna gasped at that, but Iliana merely let her shoulders sag slightly. “You are Greenweld’s man.”

“Aye, but then, you had all but figured that out, had you not?”

Iliana shrugged. “I presume that Lady Seonaid is all right, then?”

“Aye. Lord Rolfe’s message merely explained that they would be delayed. He did not wish her father to worry. Most considerate of him, would you not say?”

Iliana ignored his sarcasm. “So, what do you plan to do next? ’Tis clear that now that you have been discovered, you shall not leave this keep alive.”

“’Tis not so clear to me,” he disagreed easily. “All I need do is kill you and your companion and my secret is safe.”

Iliana ignored Janna’s gasp of horror and forced her own expression to remain calm as she murmured, “I fear not. Laird Angus is aware that you were absent earlier. He also knows we came to check on you. Should we go missing you would be his first suspect.”

“Then ’tis good that that was not the plan.”

Iliana’s gaze narrowed on him grimly. “And what exactly is your plan?”

“Well, it was to take Lady Wildwood, and deliver her to my lord.”

“Take my mother to Greenweld? How the devil did you plan to accomplish that? The gate is down and the bridge up. There are guards posted.”

“I have it on good authority that there is another way out, Lady Wildwood.”

“Lady Dunbar,” Iliana spat. “And there is no other way out.”

“I fear you are wrong. I’ve already seen it. It is a very narrow, presumably secret passage and opens only one way, from the inside out. ’Tis why I had to be inside, to allow the others in. They cannot open it from the outside.”

Iliana glanced sharply toward Janna. ’Twas obvious from her expression that if such a passage existed, the woman had no knowledge of it. She looked as uncertain as Iliana felt.