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SHAW HAD NOT FORGOTTEN his vow to look in on the last two injured men. He rode his horse to the middle of the courtyard, carefully slid down, and then set the horse free. William’s cottage was down a different path than the one that led to the cottage he shared with Glenna, so he went there first. When he knocked on the door, William’s wife stepped out.
“How is he?” Shaw asked.
“His fever is gone, at long last, and he sleeps peacefully.”
“Tell him I asked about him?”
“I shall,” said she.
Shaw nodded and then returned the way he came until he reached another path. He turned down that one and walked to the cottage Andra shared with his wife. What he found when he knocked, was a shock he was not prepared for. Andra sat on the side of his bed with his back to the door physically shaking.
“How long has he been like this?” he asked Finola. Three small children sat on the floor beside their father’s bed, playing with sticks and pebbles.
“It comes and goes,” she said.
“What injuries has he?”
She answered just by pointing. On the side of Andra’s head was a hideous axe gash that dented his skull and should have killed him. That he was still alive was a miracle. However, it looked as though the cut was healing nicely and the stitches could be removed soon.
“Any other injuries?”
“Nay, but he is unsteady on his feet still.”
By the time she answered, Andra had turned to look behind him and his shaking had stopped. “Shaw, you are alive?” asked Andra. “I dinna think you were.”
“I dinna think you were either.” Shaw walked around the bed and picked up a leather pouch. “You have finished it?”
“I have little else to do these days.”
Shaw put the bag down and sat on the bed beside Andra. “You have a great deal to do. How I wish I had paid more attention to Bruce, for I am not at all certain how to make a box for buryin’. Yet, we are in need of them. We, none of us, thought life would end so abruptly for those we loved. One day they were here and the next gone.” He stopped to look at the confused expression on Andra’s face. “What I mean to say is, you must teach your children how to work the leather.” He paused until Andra’s expression changed to one of understanding. “Just now I am reminded. We lost our only cobbler, and if you have a mind to, perhaps you might try mendin’ shoes?”
“But Shaw, I shake.”
“And I shall likely limp all of my remainin’ days. I hope not, but ‘tis likely. Did your hands shake while you worked on the pouch?”
“Nay, but...”
“Andra, you cannae stay inside forever. Let the clan see that you are well, that you care for them, and then do your best to learn how to mend shoes. We need you.” At last, Andra smiled and just then, Shaw thought of something else. He handed Andra the cane Skye let him use. “This should help you walk better and if you need two canes, Sky’s grandfather had another. I shall ask her for it.”
“Do you believe in angels?” Andra asked. “After the battle, I saw angels walkin’ among the dead.”
“Did you? I dinna see them but I find great comfort in knowin’ you did,” Shaw said. “How did you get home?”
“Conall found a horse and brought me. He was hurt far more than I, and now...”
“And now he hurts no more.” Shaw bowed his head for a moment, got up, nodded to Andra’s wife, and then gently touched the top of the little boy’s head.
As he stepped back outside, he was concerned about not having the cane to rely on, but as he walked down the path, he found himself to be stronger than he thought. Perhaps he would not limp all his life after all.
For a time, he considered what Andra said. Was it an angel that let him live? A slow smile crossed his face. He supposed not, for he doubted the angels in heaven wore chain-mail armor and carried an English sword.
*
AT EIGHTEEN, INNIS was still unmarried and her chances of ever having a husband had now diminished considerably. She could not help but be somewhat angry and bitter. The year before, her mother passed and since she had no children, she was happy to spend her days cooking and cleaning for Jamie and his family. The castle kitchen, if one could call it that, was little more than an alcove off the dining room. It had a hearth, a table for cutting, various pots, and several sturdy knives. The problem was not the size of the kitchen – it was Hendry. Innis lost two brothers and her father in the battle, and had as much right to grieve as anyone else. Hendry did not think so and made fun of her each time her tears got the better of her. She found it an insult not easily gotten over.
The sun had not yet set, but it was well past time to serve Hendry a meal. Instead of being in the castle kitchen, Innis sat at the table in her cottage defiantly glaring at Evander. Scant light filtered through her small window, and the embers in her hearth offered little more illumination than the lone candle in the middle of her table.
“I’ll not go back,” a determined Innis said. “I hate the lad. He grieves for no one, cares for no one save himself, and is unpleasant even when he is not drunk.”
“Aye,” Evander argued, “but who better to keep an eye on him?”
“You wish me to spy on him? I’ll not do it. I care not what he does.”
“Do you not think it necessary? Surely you have heard the rumors.”
Innis disgustedly clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. “Of course I have. We hardly speak of anythin’ else these days.”
“Then if a lass longed for a child and was desperate enough to...”
Both of Innis’ eyebrows shot up. “I could persuade her otherwise?”
“Precisely.”
“I know not what good I can do. Such things happen at night and I’ll not stay in the castle after dark. I dare not for I dinna trust him.”
“I dinna expect you to stay the night.” Evander untied a small leather pouch from his belt, spread the strings apart, and dumped three gold coins on the table. “Your pay for last month.”
“You found Jamie’s money?”
“Nay, ‘tis what Shaw and I can manage.”
“The two of you cannae pay all that Jamie owes.”
“Possibly not, but for now we pay you. Once the tithe is paid and Hendry takes his share of the harvest, perhaps there shall be extra to sell in the village. We can always sell a horse, for the English took many a Scot’s horse and the other clans are surely in need.”
Innis’ eyes began to brighten and she was about to smile when she changed her mind. “And what if King Hendry dinna pay us next month?”
Evander looked none too pleased with her when he said, “Let us not borrow more trouble than we already have.”
“Very well, but I shall make certain Hendry does not think I return because I think highly of him.”
Evander chuckled. “He’d not believe you, if you said you did. Are we agreed?”
“Aye,” Innis said at length. She got up, lifted her coat off a nail on the wall, and started to put it on. “’Tis likely the castle be a pigsty by now.”
“I’ve another request.”
She finished putting on her coat and then suspiciously glared at him. “What?”
“Tonight we hide some of the harvest from Hendry. Skye shall try to keep him occupied, but she shall need you to...”
“I best take my dagger,” said Innis. She turned all the way around until she remembered she hung her weapon on a nail too. However, when she realized she already had her coat on, she became a little flustered.
Evander took pity on her dilemma, helped her off with her coat, held it while she tied her dagger on, and then helped her put the coat back on. After she closed the door in his face, Evander puffed his cheeks.
*
HIDING PART OF THE harvest from Hendry would have been better done late at night, but there was not a lad among them that did not need a full night’s sleep. Therefore, it was but an hour after sundown that Skye headed to the castle.
When Jamie was laird, there was a guard on the castle door – not any more. A man spending all his time just guarding Hendry was the last thing the clan could spare. Thankfully, there was no moon to lighten the glen and the only light came from candles in cottage windows. That was a very good thing for that meant there would be no Hendry in the tower watching everyone. As she quietly opened the outer door and closed it, she guessed he was in the Great Hall, already drinking more than was appropriate. As part of the plan, Innis made an ample supper for Hendry, hoping he might simply fall asleep.
On the bottom floor of the three-story castle, the only windows were more like slits and barely large enough to shoot an arrow through, although it had been so long since the clan had seen a battle in the glen, no one knew if it was truly possible. Even so, on this night it was helpful that any light coming from inside the castle was slight. As soon as she crossed the inner courtyard and neared the door, she pulled the strings of her small leather bag apart so she could easily reach inside if she needed to. The door leading to the castle foyer was larger and heavier than the first, but she managed to open and close it without making a sound.
Skye cautiously crossed the foyer, laid her back against the inside wall and listened. Just as she promised, Innis left the door to the Great Hall slightly ajar. Skye could hear Hendry and he definitely was not asleep. He was, however, drunk enough to enjoy himself by humming an off-key unfamiliar melody. Skye rolled her eyes and guardedly peeked in. Fortunately, Hendry was not in sight, so she took a chance, scurried across the doorway to the stairs and started up.
She couldn’t remember when or why she and Jamie’s wife had become such good friends, but there was not a nook or cranny in the entire castle Skye was not familiar with and her knowledge was about to come in very handy. She knew just where to step on the stairs, how to stay near the wall on the landings until she got to the next flight, and how to make her way up without making the old wood in the floor creak.
On the third floor, she went first to check the small room where the Lairds of old kept their treasures. Save for an ancient hourglass, she found nothing of value. It was time then, to put her plan into action. She went to the door nearest the back stairs, opened it, and then with all her might slammed it shut. The noise echoed throughout the entire building, and soon she heard Hendry throw open the door to the Great Hall.
“Who goes there?” Hendry shouted.
She snickered, and went to the next door. This time when she slammed it, she heard him dart across the dining hall floor and knew he would soon reach the back stairs. She moved closer to the front stairs and counted his steps as he raced up the first flight. Then he stopped. It was not until he moaned that she guessed moving that quickly made him a bit dizzy. Again, she softly giggled and waited.
This time, his footsteps on the second flight of the back stairs were slower and more pronounced. She counted his steps until she knew he was about to head into the third floor hallway, and then carefully crept down the front stairs to the second floor. Above, she could hear him opening and closing the first bedchamber door, and knew it was time. She grabbed the handle to his bedchamber door on the second floor, opened, and slammed it so hard she felt an odd shaking beneath her feet.
Just as she knew he would, Hendry started down the back stairs, but now there was more to consider than just keeping Hendry occupied. Some claimed the mortar in the old castle unworthy, that it could fall at any moment, and Skye was beginning to believe them. Evander promised the men could move the extra food to the empty cottages in short order and she certainly hoped that was true, for at that moment there was nothing she wanted more than to go home. Even so, hiding the food was important, so she said a little prayer and contemplated her next move.
While Hendry came down the back stairs, she went back up the front staircase to the third floor. At the top, she turned around, stuck her hand in her bag, withdrew several pebbles, and threw them as far as she could down stairs.
“Who dare plague me?” Hendry screamed as he started to run down the hallway on the second floor. Assured he was about to catch his intruder, he did not bother looking in each of the bedrooms, and instead hurried down the stairs. Predictably, he slipped on one of the rocks and nearly fell. Unfortunately, he caught himself just in time.
Once more being very careful not to make a sound, Skye went to the back stairs, quietly descended, and headed for the kitchen. She could hear Hendry go back up the main staircase and begin opening and closing doors on the second floor. It was comforting to know where he was.
All told, the castle had five staircases – two that went to the upstairs bed chambers, two that led to the top of the towers, and one near the kitchen that few knew anything about. Skye prayed Hendry did not know about it either. It was rarely used and led to the top of that portion of the castle wall that served to enclose the inner courtyard. She cautiously opened the door, stepped inside, closed the door, and paused to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. It was hopeless, for there was not a shred of light to assist her. Even so, it was her only escape. She put her hand on the wall to feel her way and started up anyway.
As soon as she reached the top, she hurried to the far end of the wall and crouched down. She could see into the inner courtyard well enough through a gap between the large square stones, but the outside wall was higher and she had to stand up to see over it. Evander promised to light two candles in his window to signal that the men were finished, and when she took a chance and rose up, there they were. She allowed herself a relieved breath and then crouched back down to wait. It would probably be a while before Hendry gave up and went back to his drinking.
Skye was wrong.
Hendry did know about the stairs, and with no door at the top, she could clearly hear him climbing up. She rose up a second time, peeked over the outside wall and looked straight down. Jumping would likely kill her and if Hendry found her, he would likely kill her too.
Somewhere inside the castle, another door slammed. Hendry’s footsteps abruptly stopped and soon she could hear him going back down. Skye closed her eyes and remembered to breathe.
“Who does this?” Hendry shouted. Unsure where the sound came from, he turned round and round in the dining room, trying to decide which way to go. It was not until the huge front door slammed that his question was answered. He marched to the door, flung it open, and finding no one in the inner courtyard, stomped across and opened the outer door. He was too late, for by then, whomever it was had gotten clean away.
“I am robbed!” he shouted as he shook his fist in the air. Not one member of the clan came to his aid or even opened their cottage doors.
Skye dared not breathe. She continued to watch as Hendry crossed the inner courtyard again and went back inside. The next sound she heard was the door to the Great Hall banging shut. She stood up and looked down the outside wall once more. With the light of a candle held in front of his face, Shaw motioning for her to meet him behind her mother’s cottage. She nodded and then crouched back down. At last, she could go home – if she could escape without Hendry catching her.
Somehow, she was not as brave now as she had been when she first entered the castle. For what seemed like forever, Skye stayed hidden and waited to see if Hendry would come back out. As well, she kept an eye on the window of the north tower and was relieved when he was not there. Even so, she stayed a while longer, nervously twirled a lock of her red hair, and waited until she was certain Hendry would not come out again.
Terrified, she finally slipped back down the stairs, tiptoed to the front door, quietly opened and closed it, and made good her escape. As soon as she was out, she ran around her mother’s cottage and into Shaw’s arms.
She was violently shaking, so Shaw held her long enough to calm her before he stood her away from his sore ribs. “You did very well,” he whispered.
“If not for you, he might have had me.”
“I should not have let you go. Dinna let Evander tell you to do it again. We need your kind of sunshine and I know not what Hendry would do if he caught you.”
She neither agreed nor disagreed. She was too frightened to know what to say.
“I lent Andra the cane you gave me,” said Shaw. “Might you let him use the other? He is still unsteady on his feet.”
“Aye,’ she managed to say at length, “I shall take it to him in the mornin’.
“Good. Go home, your mother is worried.”
She nodded, peeked around the corner to make sure Hendry was not lurking, and then scampered around the cottage and darted inside.
*
AFTER SHAW FINISHED counting the baskets of food in the cellars the next morning, he walked to the castle. He was not looking forward to his first real encounter with Hendry since Hendry appointed himself laird, but if he was to report the counts, he had to enter them in the log just as his brother did.
He was not yet healed and hoped his vulnerability was not too obvious. When he opened the door to the Great Hall, Hendry had his head on the table and was sound asleep. It was the perfect opportunity to have a good look around since Shaw had only been in that room a few times before. It was a long, narrow room with a hearth at one end that might have taken the chill out of the air – if it was lit, and if there was wood beside it to burn. The long table lacked a good polish, but the woodwork was as magnificent as he remembered.
Shaw ignored the weapons on the walls for he knew Jamie’s would not be there and he needed no reminders. Instead, he looked around for the paper log in which to write the numbers. At last, he spotted it on a small table and went to pick it up. Not caring if he woke Hendry or not, he took the ledger, the quill pen, and the bottle of ink with him to the opposite end of the table and sat down. He penned the number of livestock first, then the food, the amount of tanned leather, and the baskets of wool that had been washed and spun. During a normal winter, the women made clothing, but this year he suspected they would not have much time. Aside from meals to prepare and bread to bake, there would be snow to melt down for water, and if not, carried from the river. Ice needed to be broken so the livestock could drink, and stored hay fetched each day to feed them. Sheepdog puppies to sell come spring needed to be nurtured inside, and eggs had to be gathered, providing the hens did not freeze to death. All that and more without many men to help would leave little time indeed for making cloth and sewing clothing.
Shaw wrote the number of men, women, and children in the log, and then wrote the names of the dead. He tried twice, but somehow he could not write his brother’s name, so he did not.
Hendry never moved a muscle. For a moment, Shaw hoped the man had drunk himself to death. He might have, too, for the sun was out and Hendry was normally in the tower watching by this time of day. Unfortunately, Shaw could see Hendry breathe. He put everything back where he found it and left the room. During past long winters when fuel for fires was getting low, some of the families moved into the castle. Not this year, not with Hendry inside.
*
HIS WORK FINISHED, Shaw decided to soak in the sun for a little while before he tried to put together a burial box for Conall. He crossed the outer courtyard, headed into the tall grass of the glen and only had to pause twice to rest as he walked the entire length. He was on his way back when Lexine came to walk with him.
Jamie once said he loved no other once he laid eyes on Lexine. She was perhaps not the most handsome woman Jamie had ever seen, but she had the kind of blue eyes he looked forward to seeing first thing every morning. She was wise as well, and Jamie often asked her opinion. After the clan split, Jamie and Lexine had more time to spend together and their lives were filled with love and laughter. Too soon, Laird Jamie MacGreagor was gone.
“Are you well?” Shaw asked her. Under his breath, he begged her not to ask how Jamie died. He had seen little of her since his recovery, and even then it was just in passing. One thing Shaw admired was that when Lexine was not tending her feeble son, she enjoyed weaving baby blankets out of soft lamb’s wool for the clan’s newborns.
“I am well, thank you. Glenna says you grow stronger every day and I am happy to hear it.”
“I was grieved to hear about your son.”
She looked away. “I am grateful to have Jamie’s daughters still to raise. They remind me so of him.” Lexine stopped walking, and took a moment to glance back to make certain no one could hear her. “Shaw, there is somethin’ I must tell you.”
He stopped walking too and turned all his attention to the woman he liked and admired very much. “What?”
“I am quite certain that...”
*
AWAKE FINALLY AND STANDING in the north tower window, Hendry watched Lexine and Shaw talk. Shaw appeared to be agreeing with her about something and the more Shaw nodded, the more Hendry narrowed his eyes. He watched and watched, for their conversation seemed endless, until at last Lexine walked back to the cottages. When she got close enough to see him watching her, Hendry moved to the side, deeply frowned and whispered, “’Tis just as I thought.”
*
HENDRY WAS NOT ONLY furious, he was drunk when he stormed out of the castle and marched down the path to the cottage Lexine and her two small girls now occupied. Without even knocking, he yanked open her door and when she screamed, he yelled at her. “Be quiet, lass!”
Clearly afraid of him, she wrapped her arms around her frightened, crying children and returned with a defiant glare of her own. “Why are you here?”
“I have come for Jamie’s gold.”
Lexine kept her tone low and even. “What gold?”
In long strides, he walked to the beds at the end of the room and began to toss the two mattresses aside. When he found nothing under them, he took out his dagger and began to slice up the first mattress.
Lexine eased her daughters toward the door and then slipped them outside. In a flash, she picked up the smaller of the two, took the other one’s hand, and raced to the back of her cottage. Her first thought was to run to the cottage Shaw and Glenna shared. Nevertheless, when Lexine got there, she stopped short of knocking. The last thing she wanted to do was to bring Hendry’s wrath down on Shaw, so she turned the other way and when to the home of the only remaining elder.
Shaking and nearly in tears, she burst into elder Aulay’s home, and quickly closed the door behind her. Apparently, it had been a long day for the elder, for he was fast asleep, was loudly snoring and apparently had not heard a thing. She calmed her daughters, set them in chairs and then went to the window and peeked out. Hendry was yelling at the top of his lungs and she could even hear him that far away.
After Hendry had done all the damage he could to the inside of Lexine’s cottage, he started to storm back out when he spotted Shaw standing in the open doorway. Shaw stood with his arms folded and a stern expression on his face. “What do you want?”
“I came to see what a lad who has clearly gone daft looks like.”
“I am not daft,” Hendry argued. He approached Shaw, stared into his eyes for a long moment, and when Shaw did not move, he took his hand and tried to push Shaw aside. It was not as easily done as he expected and when Shaw still did not move, he screeched, “Dare you stand in my way?”
Without saying a word, Shaw relented, moved back, and then watched as Hendry traipsed back to the castle. A moment later, Shaw went inside and looked at the carnage. “Lexine?” he whispered. She and the children were obviously gone, so he went back outside to look for her. By then, he was far from alone. Several of the men had come to see what was happening and Evander even had his sword drawn.
“You stood up to him?” Evander asked Shaw.
Shaw looked at Evander’s sword and then back at his friend’s face. “As did you, I see.”
“I surprised myself. Do you suppose Hendry thought I was protecting him? He did not seem to fear me.”
Some of the other men chuckled, and so did Shaw. “Did you happen to see where Lexine went?”
“Here,” she said from the back of the gathering crowd.
“Are you hurt?” Evander asked.
“A little frightened, is all. He demanded Jamie’s gold.”
“Gold?” several asked at the same time.
“Jamie had gold?” Evander asked.
Lexine set her youngest daughter down. “Not that I know of, but Hendry thinks he did, and now he accuses me of hidin’ it from him.”
“Well, he must not be allowed to ruin your belongs no matter what he thinks,” said Evander.
“And who is there to stop him?” Dan asked. “He is our laird and we are beholden to obey him. ‘Tis the MacGreagor way.”
“Aye,” said Shaw, “’Tis the MacGreagor way.” As the crowd dispersed, he went back inside Lexine’s cottage and began to straighten up the place up. He set the chairs upright, and although Hendry had cut one side of each of the mattresses, the other side looked like they might do until they could be sewn up again. He even put the pillows and blankets back on the beds. Then he held out his arms, let the little one run to him and tucked her into bed. He did the same with the older one, and when he looked, Lexine was smiling.
“’Tis what Jamie used to do,” said Lexine. “They miss him so.”
In a friendly gesture, Shaw touched her on the shoulder and then headed for the door. “We all do. Fret not, for I doubt Hendry shall come back this night.”
“I thank you. Tomorrow I must fetch the rest of our things and bring them from the castle. Hopefully, that shall be the last I shall ever have to see of Hendry MacGreagor.”
Shaw nodded and left. He was infuriated by Hendry’s audacity, but there was some good news – when he lifted the little girls, the pain in his chest did not increase. It was a good sign that he was nearly healed and it could not happen too soon to suit him.
*
IT WAS VERY EARLY IN the morning when Glenna heard the urgent cries of little children. She cautiously opened her door, pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders, closed the door behind her, and attempted to follow the sound. As she walked down the path, the cries grew louder and seemed more urgent, until at last, she realized they were coming from inside Lexine’s cottage.
She softly knocked on the door, “Lexine, are you unwell?” She got no reply and although the children stopped crying for a moment, they soon went back to howling. “Lexine?” She knocked louder this time and tried again, “Lexine?” Still, there was no answer, so she opened the door.
Both of Lexine’s little girls were sitting on their bed with tears streaming down their cheeks. Lexine was nowhere to be found. “There now, dinna fret,” Glenna said as she went to soothe each of them. “She shall come back soon enough.”
Something was truly amiss.
The morning fire had not yet been lit in the hearth and Lexine would not have left her children alone for long. Glenna handed each of the little girls a crust of bread, and then went to look out the door. She had not been there long before she saw Shaw coming up the path.
“Lexine is not here,” Glenna whispered when he came near enough to hear.
“Perhaps she has gone to get milk for the girls.”
“Aye.” Glenna doubted it. Lexine would have gotten milk the night before, but that was the only thing that made sense. “The cottage is stone cold.”
Worry wrinkles crossed his forehead. “She dinna light the fire before she left?” He watched the anxious look on his aunt’s face as she shook her head.
“Build one and stay with the girls while I see if I can find her.”
“Aye,” Shaw barely had time to say before she headed down the path.
“Lexine?” Glenna began to shout. She paused each time a cottage door opened and inquired, but none reported seeing Lexine since the night before. Glenna walked every path, looked inside each empty cottage, and the more she called out, the stronger the feeling of dread gripped her very soul. Soon, others were dressed and had joined in the search.
Shaw left Lexine’s girls with one of the other women and went to search too. Members of the clan walked all the way around the loch, looked in the storage cellars, walked into the forest in all directions, and repeatedly called her name. The people searched for her both up and down river and one of the men even rode to town. She was not there either.
An hour passed, and then two. “A stranger took her?” a worried Glenna guessed when she and Shaw finally met up again.
Shaw did not think so. “Nay, the dogs would have barked had a stranger taken her.” He dreaded the thought, but by then, there was no place other to look save in the castle.
*
IN THE GREAT HALL, Hendry would barely look at Shaw. “How should I know where she is? Why should I even care? She will not tell me where Jamie left his gold and she knows very well the clan is in great need of it.”
“Perhaps she dinnae know where it is,” Shaw argued, “if indeed there is anythin’ left of Jamie’s funds.”
As soon as Evander entered the room, he walked to the head of the table and leaned forward until Hendry had no choice but to look at him. “Have you hurt her?” he boldly asked.
“Of course not,” Hendry huffed. “She has likely run off.” Hendry abruptly got to his feet and walked out of the room.
“Where is he goin’?” Shaw asked.
“To the north tower, most likely. We should follow him. Perhaps we can see Lexine from there. On the other hand, perhaps we can see her better from the south tower.” He stuck his head out the door, assured himself that Hendry was gone and started out. “She would not leave the wee ones alone lest somethin’ happened to her. Hendry has killed her.” Evander led the way to a flight of stairs and began to climb up to the south tower. “There can be no other explanation.”
“Aye.” Shaw had been thinking the same thing, but saying it out loud took him aback for a moment. He did not like Hendry, but he did not think him capable of murder either. Shaw gave his aunt a pledge not to go in the towers and therefore briefly hesitated to go up. Still, for Lexine he was willing to break his pledge this once. The stone stairs felt sturdy enough under his feet, but he noticed some of the mortar was beginning to crumble near the wall. “’Tis not safe,” he muttered.
“The north tower is worse,” Evander said. “I cannae think why Hendry has not noticed.”
“Is that why my mother fell – because the wall is crumbling?”
“Did Glenna not tell you about that?”
“If she did, I was too wee to understand.”
“Next time you look up at the north tower, take notice of the two stones missing from the window’s ledge. Your mother put her hands on them and when she leaned out, they gave way.”
“Apparently, I know less about my parents than I thought.” Very carefully, Shaw stepped out onto the highest level of the tower and made his way to the large, open air window that faced south. The midmorning sun allowed him to see a good distance, but in most places, the forest was too thick to see someone unless they moved. It was unlikely she was there, for the forests had been thoroughly searched. In the distance, green and blue rolling hills lacked trees, making it easy to spot a traveler if there was one – Shaw saw no one there either.
Evander thoughtfully rubbed his forehead. “Where do you suppose he left her?” Shaw did not answer. “Perhaps she is in the castle somewhere?” He went back down the stairs and the two of them began to search the castle room by room. They opened every door, looked in every closet, checked every possible hiding place, and climbed each of the staircases except the ones leading to the towers. The last place they looked was atop the inner courtyard wall.
Satisfied Lexine was not in the castle, Shaw and Evander went down the stairs, out the door, into the inner courtyard and looked up “He is in the north tower just as you guessed,” said Shaw. “Do you suppose he carried her up there?”
“Hendry?” Evander scoffed. “He is too slothful to carry his own firewood. He demanded I bring him some yesterday and I said I would – the moment I had time. Unfortunately, I have not yet found the time.”
“No wonder the castle is so cold. Jamie never let it get that cold inside.”
“We were happy to fetch firewood for Jamie.”
Shaw opened the outer door and let Evander walk through first. “Last night, Lexine said she was going to collect the rest of her things this morning. I should have offered to go with her.”
“I can see how she might have gone early this morning so she could avoid seein’ Hendry, but alone? Did she not know Hendry was dangerous after what he did to her cottage?”
“’Tis worse than that.” Shaw stood in the outer courtyard with his back to the north tower. “She thinks Hendry killed Jamie’s son.”
“What?”
“She has no proof, but the laddie was fine when she put him to bed that night. The next mornin’, he had passed, and...”
“And what?”
“She suspects her son dinna die in his sleep for his eyes were wide open.”
Evander considered that for a very long moment. “As you say, ‘tis not proof. Still, if she thought that, she would not have gone to the castle to collect her things alone at night or even in the morning.”
“Unless she went to accuse him?”
There was little more to say and nowhere left to search, so Evander went home and Shaw went to comfort Glenna. When he arrived, his aunt had the little girls in the cottage she shared with Shaw. They were fed, warm, and playing on the floor. “You dinna find her, did you,” she asked.
“Nay.” He went to the table, sat down, and poured himself a goblet of water.
Distraught, Glenna sat on the edge of her bed and covered her face with both hands. “Will this madness never end?”
Shaw took pity, went to her, gathered his aunt in his arms, and let her cry. He remembered he had not learned how to build the first burial box and now they probably needed two, but then they had but one body to bury...so far anyway. Lexine should have accused Hendry in front of everyone and Shaw might have advised her to do just that, if he had thought to. Now he feared it was too late.
When Glenna managed to collect herself, she left his arms and took a seat at the table. “’Tis I who should raise Jamie’s daughters. There is no other left to do it properly. They must be taught the stories.” She suddenly thought of something. “Did Jamie teach you the stories?”
“Some of them.”
Shaw began to gather his things. He didn’t have much except a change of clothes and his comb. He stared for a moment at his brother’s clothes still hanging on the wall, decided he might need them, and gathered them in his arms too. “I shall sleep in one of the empty cottages.”
“Find a newer cottage, one where Hendry cannae keep a constant eye on you.”
Shaw smiled and went to the door. “Perhaps I should let him keep a constant eye on me. From the way he looked at me earlier, he likely suspects I know he killed her. Let his soul be troubled each time he sees me – if he has a soul.”
“But you will take care, for I cannae lose you as well. I cannae bear it.”
“I shall be careful. I have no desire to die, particularly at his hands.”
