Page 69 of Bride of Mist
“But that’s not quite true,” she said.
He frowned.
“There were the two men who came to the castle,” she explained, “who told you about the fire.”
“Well, aye.”
“What were they doing in the village?”
He blinked. That was curious. WhatwereFergus and Morris doing at Kirkoswald? Normally, unless there was a fair or a hunt, the Fortanach brothers kept to the castle, drinking, whoring, and playing at dice with his brother.
“I’m…not sure.”
“But they escaped the fire.”
“Aye. Barely.” Their hair had been gray with ash. Their clothing had been charred and bloody.
“How did they get away?” she wondered. “If everyone else in the village died inside the church, how is it they alone were spared?”
He stiffened. He hadn’t considered that. His only concern had been getting to Kirkoswald as fast as possible. Saving as many villagers as he could. Punishing whoever had set the fire.
In the end, he’d failed. At all of it.
“Maybe,” she suggested, “they were just very lucky.”
He grunted. Had they been lucky? Or had they fled like frightened mice from the ones who’d set the fire? Was it possible they’d watched the massacre happen and done nothing to stop it? Nothing to help the victims?
The idea was distressing. Especially because it was believable. The self-serving Fortanach brothers were not known for their heroism.
“They likely hid somewhere,” he decided.
“Right. They probably realized they were helpless against a band of marauders armed with torches.”
Maybe. But no matter how helpless the situation,Dougalwould never have hidden. “They saved themselves.”
“Aye, but if they hid, they also may have seen who did it.” Her eyes gleamed at the possibility.
He shook his head. “Most reivers wear masks and hoods. Besides, they found the clan badge. They know who did it.”
“You can’t be sure,” she insisted.
He stopped and turned to her, taking her by the shoulders. “Look, m’lady. I know ye want the mac Girics to be blameless,” he said. “So do I. Do ye think I want to face the wrath o’ Rivenloch? But I’ve got all the proof I need. The mac Girics left clear evidence ’twas them.”
She wrenched out of his grip. “I tell you ’twas not. And I’ll prove it.”
“And how will ye do that?”
“I don’t know…yet. But once we reach your castle, I’ll find a way.”
“Once we reach my castle,” he said, “it may be too late.”
Feiyan knew he was wrong about that. His castle wasn’t in danger. At least not from Rivenloch. Her clan wasn’t coming to her rescue. They probably hadn’t noticed she’d gone missing.
But she wouldn’t argue with him. As long as he believed the Rivenloch army was already thundering toward Castle Darragh, she had leverage.
She suspected there was more behind the story of marauders. It seemed very convenient that two lucky villagers had somehow managed to escape and just happened to find the mac Giric clan badge. Still, she dared not voice her doubts yet. Not until she could puzzle things out for herself.
For that, forewarned was forearmed. She needed to skillfully pry from Dougal every bit of intelligence she could about clan Darragh. Their history. Their loyalties. Their castle defenses.
