‘The abbess is your aunt?’ He thought about what knowledge he’d gleaned about the monastery. He knew it was a double monastery and ruled by a woman, rather than a man. He also knew that the current abbess was a powerful figure in her own right and had ties to the Alpin family who ruled Strathclyde. Lady Ceanna was exactly what he sought: the key to his entering the monastery without the assassin detecting him and escaping. Finally, the fates had embraced him.
She kicked a stone and sent it skittering down the track. ‘My mother’s sister, but...’
‘I’ll take that as a yes.’ He examined her from under hooded eyes. ‘Unless you persuade her that this is a true and holy vocation, you think she’ll refuse you entry?’
Her hand went to her hip. ‘Are you always this inquisitive? It is private business.’
‘Holy maids are few and far between where I am from and I am merely taking advantage of the opportunity.’ He gave a half-shrug, but his body tensed. He silently willed her to confide in him. ‘You should be at court, somewhere where that dress could be admired rather than tramping through the mud with me. It leads me to conclude your departure from home was hasty and carried out with something akin to desperation.’
‘I look forward to reaching Urist, who will have my trunk and my proper clothes.’ She tilted her nose upwards and resembled a strutting blackbird. ‘When we arrive, we can pretend we hardly spoke for the duration of the journey.’
‘Never spent the night together. Never woke up in each other’s arms.’
Her cheeks coloured a delightful pink. ‘Nothing untoward happened.’
‘We survived the night. Survival is important.’
Her brow lowered, but her eyes started to twinkle, turning from dull grey to brilliant silver. ‘You are teasing me. You enjoy teasing me.’
He bowed low. ‘Guilty, my lady. I’ll do my utmost to ensure your reputation remains untarnished.’
She rubbed the back of her neck. ‘I have turned it over and over in my mind. Urist was odd, but I don’t think he intended to cheat me. He is loyal to my father. He made a point of telling me that. It was a point of pride for him. Something made him leave early and now I’m wondering if perhaps he was wary of you.’
‘Of me?’ Sandulf shook his head. ‘He should never have taken my gold, if he was wary. It would have saved us both trouble.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘I trust that he waits for me at the bend in the river where there is a good place to camp at night. It is simply further than I remembered, or, as you said, I took a wrong turn earlier. When we last spoke, he mentioned it several times. And I do recognise one or two of the landmarks.’
‘Consider the subject changed.’
She rolled her eyes and skittered around a muddy puddle. Sandulf smiled at the indignant twitch of her backside. Somehow that great aching place in his centre, the one which had gnawed at him since the massacre of his family in Maerr, had eased a bit this morning.
Vanora stopped abruptly, whimpered and slunk back against Ceanna. Ceanna bent down and instantly tried to reassure the dog that all was well.
The sound of an owl hooting drifted across the moorland, defying the time of day. Sandulf froze, reached out and grabbed her arm, shoving her behind him.
‘What are you doing?’
He unsheathed his sword. ‘Stay here with your dog. There is a noise I want to check. You will be safe with her.’
Sandulf tried to bury the sudden unsettled suffocating feeling deep down within him. That specific sensation had taken to arriving at increasingly awkward times since his brother’s aborted wedding, but he’d suffered from it ever since he was a little boy. It seldom meant, as his mother had once claimed, that something bad would happen, but this time he ignored it at his peril.
‘I am certain the meeting place is close. I saw the forked tree back there. Urist mentioned that in his message.’ She pointed in front of them, towards where the owl had hooted.
‘Even so, you remain here until I return.’ He crouched down so Vanora could see his face. ‘Look after your mistress.’
‘What is going on? Why are you both so jumpy?’ Ceanna started forward. ‘I demand to know.’
‘Do you, your ladyship? Do you really want to know? I am trying to protect you, as I promised.’
‘I am not some child to be fed pap. What is up there and why should I be concerned?’
‘I am not certain. It is better to be safe.’ Sandulf pointed with his sword. His nerves steadied with the blade in his hand. He could handle whatever lay ahead. He could keep his promise to her.
Ceanna’s eyes widened. ‘You expect trouble?’
‘I am prepared for it. There is a difference.’
Her mouth became a thin white line. ‘I can look after myself.’
‘But can you keep quiet? In order to protect you, I need you to be silent. If I tell you to run, you do that.’
Her eyes blazed with barely suppressed fury. ‘You go ahead. I can wait.’
Sandulf cautiously crept around the bend and cursed loudly when he saw what was ahead. The scene with its wholesale slaughter was far worse than he’d feared. The last time he’d seen anything close to it was back in Maerr.
He stood looking at the scene for what felt like a long time. Nothing moved. One of the bodies looked to be that of their erstwhile guide, but he was unnerved by the stillness. He methodically checked the ash from the fire—warm but not hot. There was something odd about this which did not sit right. But he saw no reason to keep Lady Ceanna away from this place. Whoever had done this was long gone. But equally it would be a great shock to her to experience it. He knew what women
