“Almost there, Father,” Dwyn said soothingly. “Just think o’ the story ye’ll be able to tell once ye’re back at MacGregor.”
“Oh, dear Lord, I shall never breathe a word o’ this to anyone,” Father Machar assured her. “Nay, indeed. Why, I could loseme position as the MacGregor clan priest if anyone learned I had a lady’s tongue in me mouth and her hands on me bottom.”
“Well, it was no’ at the same time, Father,” she pointed out dryly. “And ’twas necessary. Besides, me hands are no’ on yerbottom.”
“Well, something is rubbing me there,” he muttered, and lifted his head, straining to look around his raised legs at her.
“Me knuckles,” Dwyn explained. “They brush against ye on occasion and I’m sorry for it. Now please lie back and relax yermuscles again. Ye’re pulling yer wrists tight and just making me work harder.”
“Oh. Sorry,” he muttered, and let his head drop back on the ground with a sigh before saying, “Mayhap we should just giveup and wait. I’m sure the good Lord will save us.”
Dwyn’s eyebrows rose at that. “Or mayhap the good Lord only helps those who help themselves and He expects us to make ourescape.”
“My dear, our chances o’ escaping are quite thin. There are two o’ us against a hundred Brodie soldiers,” Father Machar pointedout dryly.
“Aye, well, they’re no’ especially smart soldiers, Father,” she pointed out. “No one has checked on us even once since Brodiestormed off to think on how to poison me husband and his family.”
“Hmm,” Father Machar muttered grimly. “The man is certainly insane, and dangerous as well. Did ye realize he’d murdered hiswife?”
“He did mention something of the sort when he attacked me,” Dwyn admitted distractedly.
“Why did ye no’ write to the king then?” Father Machar asked with dismay. “He could have done something about the man hadhe known.”
“Because ‘twould have been my word against his,” Dwyn pointed out quietly as she continued to work on the rope. “I had noproof to give the king.”
“Oh. Aye,” Father Machar murmured on a sigh and fell silent.
“There,” Dwyn said with relief a moment later as she pulled the last cord and the rope unraveled from around the priest’swrists. His arms split apart at once now that they were no longer held together, and she nearly got clobbered over the headwhen Father Machar’s legs immediately began to drop as if his wrists had been holding his legs up. Gasping in surprise, sherolled to the side, just avoiding his legs, and then quickly popped to her feet.
“Oh my, this is so much better. Thank ye, m’lady,” Father Machar murmured, tugging his robes down to cover his legs and thengetting to his feet as well. “What do we do now? I suppose we canno’ just walk out, can we?”
While Father Machar asked the question, it sounded to her like he was hoping she had some way that they could just walk out the tent flap and into the center of camp, but that wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Turning slowly, Dwynexamined the items in the tent with them. Much to her relief it wasn’t just where Brodie slept, but where he kept anythingof value, she noted as her gaze slid over several weapons. Moving to the table where a dirk, sword, belt, shield and severalother items lay, she picked up the dirk and then glanced at Father Machar.
“Which do ye want? The dirk or the sword?” Dwyn asked as he moved to join her.
“Oh, my dear, I canno’ carry a weapon. I’m a priest. How would it look?” he asked with dismay.
“Like ye were interested in surviving?” she suggested dryly.
When the priest merely pursed his lips, Dwyn sighed and turned back to the table to lift the sword experimentally. It wasextremely large and heavy, of course. Not something she could carry with one hand or swing easily even with two, so she leftit and merely took the dirk and moved to the back wall of the tent.
“What are we doing now?” Father Machar asked in a whisper, practically treading on her heels.
“Making a new way out,” Dwyn whispered in response, and knelt to slide the dirk into the bottom of the tent about six inchesup from the ground, and started to pull it up. Once she had a gash that ran about five feet up the tent wall, she eased thesides apart and slowly stuck her head out to take a peek around.
Much to Dwyn’s relief, the only thing behind the tent was woods. They started not far from the back of the tent, and she didn’tsee anyone to the left or right, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be seen by someone to the side of the tent once they gotclose to the trees. They’d have to move quickly, Dwyn decided, and pulled her head back in to offer Father Machar a reassuringsmile. “I do no’ see any soldiers back here. I think we can get to the cover o’ the woods if we are quick about it.”
Much to her relief, Father Machar nodded assent.
“I’m going to slide out and wait while you slip out and then we’ll make a run for the woods together. All right, Father?”she asked.
When he nodded again, she turned and cautiously eased her head out again. Not seeing anyone, she then began to push her shouldersout through the slit. Her chest followed next.
“He’s probably keeping them in the tent.”
“Aye,” Geordie said in response to that whispered comment from the MacGregor. The men were no doubt already in position fartherup the hill in the trees that surrounded the small but deep valley. It had taken he and Conn some time to make their way hereto this spot halfway down the hill. Brodie hadn’t left the trees unguarded. There were men patrolling to ensure no one snuckup on them, and they’d already taken out five men on their way down the side of the valley. Posting the patrols was aboutthe only smart thing Brodie had done. Choosing to camp in the valley had been
