In the distance she could hear shouting and the sound gave her hope. She had to think fast if she were to find any way to delay them exiting the castle. The hallway was rather narrow with lots of twists and turns. She could try to trip, but then John would likely just pick her up and carry her. Still, it would slow his movements. She didn’t want to really hurt herself in case she needed all her parts in good working order should she need it.
“We turn here,” Elspeth said as they approached a split in the passageway.
Agnes turned to see if she could make out anything down the other passageway, but John urged her forward before she could really glean what might be there and if it might offer some security should she find a way to escape.
After several minutes the passageway widened and light from somewhere ahead brightened their way enough so Agnes could detect a doorway down at the end. The shouting she heard earlier was now completely gone; her uneasiness returned with a vengeance.
“How will we know if he made it out?” John asked.
It was then Agnes realized Connor had not followed them. If he hadn’t gone through the main door, and hadn’t followed them, did that mean there was another way out still?
“We will know shortly,” she said as she pressed her ear to the door.
Agnes was out of time. She could kick herself now for not fake tripping over something earlier. Dammit! She had to do something before they left the castle or who knows when she might have another chance. At the very least she would have to leave a sign somehow to let William know where she was.
Reaching into her pocket she searched until she found only one item. She balled up the handkerchief and pulled her hand from her pocket. Squeezing the fabric tight, she willed it to land somewhere William might find it.
Elspeth turned back to them with a smile on her face. “He’s there.”
She opened the door wide and as John pushed her through, she tossed the handkerchief behind him hoping it landed in a good place.
“Through here,” Elspeth said as she led the party through a small opening in the garden.
The time was upon her. She must do something now or she might never find another chance.
Agnes opened her mouth and drew in a deep breath. John clamped his hand across her mouth as if foreseeing she might do something like that. The only thing she could do now was to break free from him. She bucked and kicked at him and tried to squirm out of the hold he had on her, but it was no use. He was too strong.
“We can’t travel with her like this. We can’t trust her,” Connor said. “Here, let me hit her over the head with this rock.”
“You’ll kill her and she’ll be of no use to us then,” John said.
“Here,” Elspeth said as she withdrew a vial from her pocket together with a piece of cloth. She poured the liquid on the cloth and returned the vial to her pocket. “We will have to be quick,” she said to John.
As soon as John’s hand lifted from her mouth, Agnes let out as much sound as she could before it was covered again by the cloth. Pressed against her nose and mouth, she had no choice but to inhale and as soon as she did her mind turned to fog and her limbs grew heavy. She didn’t fear for her life, but she did fear that asleep she would have no way to leave any further clues for William to find her. Her last waking thought was of him and how she had failed him—failed them all.
*
When he woke,William found himself half sitting against the stone wall. A cloth was placed on his head and Old Nan sat beside him. His mother rested, her head in her hands, and wept at the table. He looked around for Agnes, somehow knowing she was not there. Dozens of guards and clansmen all spoke at once making the dull ache in his head worse.
“I have to admit, laddie, I’m not fond of finding you like this,” Old Nan said. When he made to get up, she placed a surprisingly strong hand on his shoulder. “Not yet. Twice poisoned in a short time and the only thing that saved you this time was the size of you and a smaller quantity.”
He understood her words, but they needed to act, and fast. The more time that passed, the less likely he would find Agnes before they secured her some place she might never be discovered.
“You’re awake,” Neville, his steward said. “How do you fare?”
“I am well enough. What do we know?”
“We managed to save most of the village. Only two homes burned and none of the merchant structures; both the forge and the tannery are intact.”
That was good news. He’d provide materials and have those homes rebuilt immediately. He would not have a family displaced for any longer than necessary and he’d put them up in the inn in the meantime.
“And Agnes?”
“We know they used the old passageways, but beyond that…”
“Do we know which one they used?”
Neville pulled something from inside his tunic and handed it to William. His whole world spun around him as his heartsqueezed tight. She’d left a breadcrumb and by God he would tear the country apart to find her. Ignoring Old Nan’s advice, William managed to stand. He vowed he’d never find himself in this state again.
