‘Where were you?’
‘With a woman. Some forgettable warm body with accommodating thighs.’ His mouth twisted. ‘I’m not proud of what happened, my lady, but I want a chance to put the matter right. Please let me have that chance. Let me assist in whatever Sandulf has planned. He cannot bear this burden alone.’
She watched the shifting shadows. Danr and Sandulf were much alike—neither wanted the other one hurt.
‘Call me Ceanna, please. I’m your sister.’
‘I hadn’t considered that. I have acquired three sisters in a matter of months. All of them excellent women.’ He sobered. ‘I love my little brother dearly, my—Ceanna. He is fun to tease. I can see he has grown up beyond all recognition in our time apart. I knew the boy and want very much to know the man. Will you allow me the honour and privilege of fighting alongside him and you? Will you allow me to do what I failed to do all those years ago?’
‘He gave me specific orders where you were concerned.’
‘And if I fail to protect you, my new sister-in-law, what will that make me? Don’t you think I carry enough of a burden with the deaths of Alarr’s fiancée and Ingrid emblazoned on my soul?
Despite his many cuts and bruises, despite his obvious tiredness, Ceanna saw the pleading hunger in his eyes. She handed him Sandulf’s sword. ‘I doubt I could swing it anyway if it came to it.’ She rapidly outlined the scheme she and Sandulf had devised. ‘You can get it to him when I reveal myself. All eyes will be on me.’
Danr gave the sword a few practice swings. ‘It is well balanced. I prefer my own sword, but this will do until I can retrieve it.’
‘Sandulf is going to need that.’
Danr made an overly innocent face. It was easy to see how women fell for his charm. ‘You said he had a dagger. And things can happen very quickly in operations like this.’
‘Sandulf and I agreed the plan. Follow it.’ She added ‘please’ as an afterthought.
His eyes danced even more. ‘I’ll see what can be done.’
‘My lady, the sun rises,’ Bertana shouted from the door.
Ceanna ground her teeth. Arguing with Danr was pointless. She lifted her hood and concealed her features. ‘The time has come.’
‘If you slit his throat,’ Lady Mhairi cried out as the assassin pulled Sandulf’s head back and he could see the horrifyingly familiar scar, a double star with a cross as well as a newer scar overlying the old one on Lugh’s ugly face, ‘they will search for the murderer.’
‘They will, but not very hard.’ The rough hands slipped about Sandulf’s neck, cutting off his oxygen.
‘Giric, the King’s Regent, is already hunting the assassin who murdered Aed. The last thing we need is the King’s guard sticking its collective nose in our business, Brother. Patience. Your thirst for blood will be quenched. I agree with my lady, we wait and allow the crowd to tear him limb from limb.’
The hands about Sandulf’s neck loosened. He gulped in life-giving air. ‘I will wait for now.’
‘What is going on here? Stepmother, why is this man tied up?’
Sandulf’s heart stopped. Why could Ceanna never stick to an agreed plan? She had put herself in danger without any back-up. The townspeople were still to gather in any significant number.
‘Lady Ceanna! By all the—’ He started again in a different tone. ‘It is excellent to see my bride alive and well.’
‘I understand you’ve arrested this man for my murder, Stepmother.’ Ceanna pointed towards where he stood. ‘Release him. As you can see, I am very much alive.’
Sandulf’s eyes narrowed. Where was his sword? How could she have forgotten it? She seemed to think mere words would alter this. He fought against the ropes, but one knot was more stubbornly tied than the rest.
‘Brother. I can take her before anyone notices,’ Lugh said in a low voice. ‘Blame it on the Northman, trying to escape. The villagers will lap it up. I can preach a sermon on it.’
‘Do it.’
Sandulf twisted his wrist to the right, to the left and slid his hand out. He grabbed the dagger from his boot, pivoted, but saw he was too far away for an accurate throw. Lugh was nearly upon Ceanna. Then he saw him, his battered but unbowed brother standing in front of her, with a drawn sword, their family’s battle cry emerging from his throat.
Lugh belatedly tried to change course, but his momentum carried him forward. But with one motion, Danr connected with the robed assassin.
There was a gurgle and Lugh fell to the ground at Ceanna’s feet. Danr made a little flourish with his hand and bowed towards Sandulf. Always the showman was Danr, Brandt used to say.
Sandulf clenched his dagger until his knuckles ached. ‘Brother, you were supposed to be resting from your ordeal.’
‘I believe I’ve saved your life, Sandulf. Do not throw it away so easily next time.’
‘Guards, seize them!’ Lady Mhairi shouted. ‘These heathens have attacked and killed a monk!’
Nobody moved. All shocked eyes seemed to be on Ceanna.
‘What are you waiting for? That man, that heathen, slew a monk in cold blood,’ Feradach shouted.
The guards and the now-gathering crowd remained still.
Ceanna raised her arms. ‘For the sake of the love and affection you have given me and my family, I beseech you, stay your hands. These men have saved my life. There has been a plot against me and my father. My stepmother and Feradach, the captain of the guards, seek my death.’
The crowd began to mumble. A lone woman’s voice called, ‘God bless Lady Ceanna! Hooray that you are alive!’
The cry was taken up, growing louder and louder until the roar shook the buildings. Ceanna’s mouth dropped open and she stood still for a heartbeat.
She retrieved the sword Lugh had been carrying and held it above her head. Her smile became genuine as the crowd responded
