Kevin couldn't see her, but heard the woman's words and instantly knew what had happened. "Rachel has the boys. Connor, go to Catherin and tell her to show you the secret. You are not to tell anyone about it, do you understand?" In the blink of an eye, Connor was gone.
*
"Be very quiet," Rachel whispered again. She took each by the hand and got ready to take them through the forest. "No matter what, you must not make a sound." If the boys nodded, she wasn't able to see them. She decided to take a shorter route and moved them from hiding place to hiding place, stopping each time to watch and listen. But she heard no sounds other than the wind and the normal rustle of small animals.
Finally, they came to the place where the edge of the forest was nearest the moat and the hidden door. She made the oldest boy stay in the trees and took the youngest to the edge of the moat.
Nothing could have surprised her more than Connor's voice whispering to her from the water. She didn't hesitate. Rachel handed the boy down to him, slipped back into the forest and waited. Someone shouted in the courtyard, someone else moaned loudly and she suddenly realized how quiet it had been inside since the Ferguson woman first arrived. To help her, Kevin ordered distractions. A metal pot rolled down the hill, a door slammed and a child cried.
When she got the older boy to the moat, Connor was there again. He must have handed the younger one to her mother and she looked, but if the door was open, there was no light inside the wall. It was another thing she was glad Kevin thought of. All the children were taught to swim. Still, it was very dark and she would need to make the boy hang on to her so he wouldn't end up going the wrong way. Instead, she was able to hand him to Connor. As quietly as she could, she slipped into the water and when she swam to the other side, Connor was out, reached down and helped her climb out.
She was about to follow him in and pull the door closed when she realized he now knew even this secret. She was not pleased, but she might as well show him the rest. She would have enjoyed the look of complete surprise when she took hold of his hand, but it was too dark to see his face. She rose up on tiptoe and whispered, "To enter from the outside, you must know the feel of the stones." She turned his hand over and placed it first on a rough stone, moved it across to a smooth stone and then a second smooth stone. Abruptly, she let go of his hand.