“I mean it.”
He nodded and watched her hurry into the castle and disappear inside it. He wasn't sure how long he stood there, looking after her, though she was long gone. His thoughts were so jumbled up by her that he had a tough time making out reality from imagination.
Finally giving up trying to figure her out, Finn shook his head and made his way inside, turning left instead of right. With his bag still on his shoulder, he opted for the War Room. Almost as soon as the door was closed behind him, he pulled out his maps and spread them out over the table.
“Where are ye hiding?” he asked, as if the parchments could tell him Campbell's location.
He spent several hours that way, hunched over the table. Anywhere he thought might hide an army of Campbell's size, he made note of, marking it on the map. By the time he stepped back to take in his work, the map was covered with two or three dozen marks.
“Anywhere,” he muttered. “He could be anywhere.”
It was an utterly defeated realization. The Highlands were a vast place with plenty of room to give Campbell refuge. Now,he must ask himself where could Campbell have gone without being seen by any of the Murray Clan. He had only just begun to narrow down the options when a knock came from the door.
“Sir?” a hesitant voice called.
“Aye,” Finn answered more gently than he had in weeks.
It was no wonder his men were hesitant with him. He had been quite the stern leader, too consumed with revenge to notice what those following him needed.
The door to the War Room opened, revealing a younger man behind it with a panic-stricken look on his face.
“Are ye here to tell me that Campbell is on our doorstep?” Finn asked in an attempt at humor.
“N-n-no, sir,” the guard forced out, shaking his head a bit wildly.
“Then it cannae be as bad as all that. What is the matter?”
“It is Lady Iona, sir.”
Finn stood from his seat almost immediately.
“What happened to her? What is wrong?”
“She took a horse from the stables. The stable master and groomsmen had already gone to be. She snuck in when nay one was looking and rode away. We tried to stop her, honest, we did. But she would nae stop for anything. She would nae listen to us.”
“Which way did she go?”
“Away from the village and into the forest.”
He could tell that the messenger was waiting for Finn's reaction, likely one of anger. But Finn only felt confused. She had lied to him, that much was clear. And the longer he thought about her odd request, the more foolish he felt for not having seen through it in the first place. He could understand all of that. What he couldn't make sense of was why Iona would ever want to leave Seamus' protection. Her arrival to Murray Castle all those months ago had been so unexpected and so troubling that Seamus had lost all sight of freeing the captured rebels. Over andover again, Finn had been told that the life Iona had escaped was not a good one, so why, then, was she running back to it?
“Is there anyone awake now to ready a horse?”
Finn plopped back down in his seat and started to pull on his discarded boots as he spoke. The calmness of his demeanor caught the rebel by surprise, but he tried his best not to let it show.
“Nay, sir.”
“Then I will need ye to go as quick as ye can and start to saddle my horse. I will be down shortly.” He waited for the man to leave, but when he didn't, Finn added, “Go!”
Scurrying around the room, Finn gathered his discarded jacket and satchel, shoving one arm through his coat and then slinging the bag on the same shoulder. He left the room still half ready, using the hallway to put on the other sleeve and button his jacket. It was cold and getting colder, even for a spring day, so Finn took the end of his tartan and wrapped it around his shoulders for extra warmth. He stopped for a second to finish tying up his boots and then stepped outside, the chill in the air stealing his breath.
As he had requested, the same man who had given him the message about Iona was saddling his horse. With only the straps left, Finn moved into the warm, hay lined stall and took over.
“Thank ye, lad. If I am nae back by the morning, tell the others where I have gone, but dinnae send word to Seamus just yet. We dinnae need to worry him before there is a reason to.”
“What will ye do?”
“I will find her and see that nay harm befalls her.”
