Page 35 of Highland Slayer
The woman shook her head, but she was pleased that she had his attention. “Nay,” she said. “But mayhap all strangers coming tae the village are ill. How good it would be for my business!”
She started laughing, grasping him by the arm and trying to pull him into her shop. Bastijn let her because he wanted to know more about the strange woman who was ill. “I’m seeking a woman,” he said. “She would be a stranger here. My…fru. Wife.”
The woman cocked her head in thought. “I’ve not seen any strange women other than the Templar nun,” she said. “Come inside. Let me sell ye something.”
“Where is St. Margaret’s? Mayhap the nun has found my wife.”
The woman managed to get him to her door. “Back down the road tae the south,” she said. “Before ye reach the sea. But beware, because the nuns there know how tae fight, and they might take ye for an enemy.”
He wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that. “Why?” he said. “Do we look like an enemy?”
The woman shrugged. “Yer men,” she said simply. “They dunna like men, which is surprising, considering the one that came today had a man with her. And jealous was she when he spoke tae me!”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he nodded his head. “We will go now,” he said. “Farväl. Farewell.”
“Wait!” the woman said, grasping at him again. “If ye dunna find yer wife there, come back tae me. I’d make a good wife, and I willna run off.”
She was cackling again, and he forced a grin, shaking his head. “One wife is enough,” he said. “Thank you for your talk. We go now.”
He and his men moved off before she could grab him again. In fact, they seemed to be moving rather swiftly toward the road that led south, to the sea. St. Margaret’s was well off that road, so they’d have to be sharp about it, but the woman wasn’t going to tell them so. She’d already given them too much help in finding a wife she hoped they’d never find. Perhaps that would lead them back to her.
She could only hope.
Lorna McKee wouldn’t realize until much later, after she heard what happened to St. Margaret’s, that she’d cheated death that day.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Send word taeTristan de Wolfe at Blackpool Castle. He can be here in five days or less.”
The suggestion came from Estevan. He, Titan, Kaladin, Rodion, and even Mateo were standing in a huddle in the sanctuary of St. Margaret’s, trying to make a decision on how to reinforce the abbey. Given what Estevan and Anaxandra had seen in Dumfries, coupled with what Titan and Kaladin had seen on the silty banks of the River Nith, it was clear that the Serpent People had indeed followed their captive to Scotland.
And they were here.
“Why send for help?” Mateo asked, his voice hoarse from coughing. “We should simply leave. We’ve no loyalty to these women.”
Estevan frowned. “These women provided ye with shelter in the midst of a storm,” he said. “Moreover, they’re in danger because of the womanwebrought them. This is of our doing, Matty. I’ll not abandon them now.”
Mateo simply shrugged and turned away. Coughing, he went to lie back down again on a cot that Mother Michael had brought in for him when everyone was out on their errands. As he fell back on the bed, sputtering, Titan shook his head.
“He does not sound well,” he said. “He is not usually so cruel. The fever must be affecting his mood.”
Estevan watched the big man lie there and struggle to breathe. “Ye know he’ll get off his deathbed and fight if the Serpent People come,” he said quietly. “I’m concerned thatthey’re already here, Titan. De Wolfe may arrive in four days or less, but that may not do us any good. It may be too late.”
“Can we summon the Douglas clan?” Titan said. “These are their lands, after all. Threave Castle is not far from here.”
Both Estevan and Kaladin shook their heads. “They’re not allies,” Estevan said. “They’d sooner spit in my eye than support a dun Tarh. Our best hope is an English army at this point, though they’ll be crossing clan lands tae get here. Armstrong and Maxwell lands.”
“If they tell the clans why they’re crossing, they should let them pass,” Kaladin said. “We should send word tae Carlisle Castle. Tate de Lara has the largest army on the west coast. He’ll come tae our aid.”
Estevan nodded thoughtfully. “He will,” he said. “He’s been an ally for many years with de Wolfe and de Velt. But taking his army intae Scotland will be risky for him.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s one thing for de Wolfe tae cross intae clan lands,” he said. “They have ties tae Clan Scott and Clan Kerr. There would be no concerns. But de Lara has no such ties, and he has a very big army. They’re likely tae take that as a sign of aggression, and the man could get himself intae trouble with the border lords.”
Kaladin wasn’t happy with that response. “Thenwhodo we send for?”
Estevan looked at him. “Darien.”
