“In th’ mornan’ we’ll tak’ ye thaur,” he said.
Robard and Maryam had relaxed, but we were all still wary.
“Did he just say ‘there’s a bell cow here’?” Robard asked.
“No, he said he’ll take us to Rosslyn in the morning.”
“Wonderful,” said Maryam, not meaning it at all.
The Scots were excellent campfire cooks, and we listened to them laugh and tell stories of their exploits long into the night. We couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying but were afraid to be impolite. From their laughter and antics, the tales were apparently funny and full of adventure. We’ll never know. Then it was time for rest, and they all dropped where they sat and went to sleep.
“Should we try to leave?” Robard whispered.
“I don’t think so. The Earl might be insulted. Let’s try to get some sleep and worry about it in the morning,” I said.
But I did not sleep. I half expected another clan to arrive and murder us all in our sleep. The horses the Earl and his men rode looked loaded with plunder, and someone must have been after them. Finally sleep overtook me and I remembered Little John’s admonition: “For every friend you make in Scotland, you make an enemy of someone else.”
I slept fitfully, waking every few minutes to keep an eye on my new “friends.”
Something nudged me awake. I looked up to see a boot attached to a leg. Then I heard the words “It’s mornan’. Gie up.” What? It didn’t make sense. Did someone say it was time for soup? It was not even dawn yet.
When I came fully awake, I found the boot belonged to the Earl. He repeated the words, and by now, I was awake enough to understand. He had said it was time to get up. We stood and found the Earl’s men already mounted up and prepared to ride. Hastily gathering our belongings, we too were ready to depart in a few moments.
The Earl climbed up on his own horse, a large black stallion. “Rosslyn’s tae th’ north.”
“He just said, ‘Rosslyn is north,’” Robard said, delighted he had deciphered the Earl’s announcement.
“I know. I heard him,” I said. We followed along behind the Earl but ahead of his column of men.
“Do you think this is a good idea?” Maryam asked.
“No. Yes. I don’t know. At first I thought not, but perhaps if he shows us the way to Rosslyn, we’ll be less likely to run into any trouble with his countrymen,” I said.
“Unless a bigger, meaner Scotsman with more men comes along,” Robard said.
“Thank you for mentioning that, Robard,” I replied sarcastically.
“I do what I am able,” he said.
We rode through the countryside all morning, and unlike us, the Earl rode through towns and villages with little thought. No one appeared to pay us any attention, but we did stand out, and I worried Sir Hugh would learn of our presence before long.
Shortly after midday we forded the River Esk and climbed up a tall promontory that I later learned the locals called Rosslyn Glen. It was a beautiful spot, with rolling hills that must have been magnificently green in summer. The sound of rushing water made the forest and the earth around us sound as if it were alive, with its own pulse and beating heart.
In the middle of the small village of Rosslyn stood the spire of a church steeple. I hoped it was the Church of the Holy Redeemer that Sir Thomas had instructed me to find. My heart sprang for joy at the thought.
Then as fast as my hopes had risen, they were dashed. Hanging from the gate of the village hung a Templar banner, and a half dozen Templars guarded the entrance.
Sir Hugh was waiting.
30
Well, this truly ruins a fine day,” Robard said, staring at the knights assembled below us. They were camped outside the town walls, with several tents and a cook fire blockading the village gate. Not far away their horses were hobbled and grazed quietly on the underbrush and grass.
The Earl and his men retreated a few paces out of sight of anyone watching from below.
They looked impatient to be on their way. Something told me the Earl was no longer on his lands and would likely find trouble with another clan if he delayed too long. He rode up beside me and offered his hand.
“Guid luck tae ye,” he said. As far as we go. We shook hands and I winced as he squeezed my hand with a death grip. Then we watched him and his men melt away into the trees.
“Lovely people,” Robard said.
“I expect it could have been worse,” I said.
“Sure, after all, they could have eaten us. Now instead we get to face Sir Hugh and a brace of Templars.” Robard often delighted in pointing out the many challenges of our situations.
“How does Sir Hugh keep finding us? How could he have known where you were headed?” Maryam asked as we returned to the top of the glen to study the town.
I couldn’t answer, because in finding him already here, I had come to a horrible conclusion. Someone in Sir Thomas’ inner circle must have been one of Hugh’s spies.
“I don’t know. When Sir Thomas entrusted the Grail to me, he spoke of a small circle of knights within the Order who knew of its existence. It had been their solemn duty to keep it safe. No one else, not even brother knights beyond those few, even knew it was real. But he must have suspected something or someone was unfaithful to their Code, or else he wouldn’t have instructed me to give it to a priest and not a fellow Templar.”
In truth, none of it mattered anymore. I would find Father William and do as Sir Thomas had ordered. Even if Sir Hugh had beaten us here, and even though it was a mystery how he was always able to stay a step ahead of us, it was time for this to be over.
“What now?” Robard asked.
“We wait until nightfall. I’ll sneak into the city and try to find out as much as I can about these knights, and whether Sir Hugh is holding any hostages. If I can find Father William, I can sneak him out of town and he can decide what to do with the Grail.”
“We won’t allow you to go in alone,” Robard said. But I ignored him.
It was approaching late afternoon. We found a copse of trees fed with a spring and watered the horses. The trees would keep us somewhat hidden, but I doubted Sir Hugh would be sending out scouts or setting pickets. He was waiting for me to come to him.
We spent anxious hours anticipating nightfall. Maryam sharpened her daggers on a stone, and Robard tended to his bow and inspected each of his shafts, and took the time to examine several bundles of arrows he had tied to the back of his saddle. I paced back and forth nervously while Angel slept.
“Why don’t we just leave?” Robard finally suggested. “We can go back to Sherwood. You’re both welcome to stay there as long as you like. Let Sir Hugh wait here until he grows old and feeble.” Maryam smiled when Robard mentioned returning to Sherwood, and her expression told me that when this was over, going back to her home in Outremer was no longer first on her list of things to do. For some reason, her look reminded me of Celia, and I thought how I would almost rather be back in France, penned inside Montsegur, than freezing in the woods of Scotland.
I shook my head. “I can’t. Sir Thomas told me the Grail would be safe here. What if Sir Hugh is holding Father William against his will? What if he’s murdered him? I can’t just leave without knowing his fate.”
“So you’re going to go through with it?” Robard asked. “Try to sneak into the village after dark? Alone?”
“There’s no moon tonight. I’ll make my way in somehow and find out what has happened to Father William. If Sir Hugh is not holding him, I will try to persuade him to leave with me. If he is a hostage, I’ll return here and plan our next move.”
“You should let me go instead,” Maryam said. “I’m stealthier than you are.”
“You are, but you and Robard will likely need to rescue me when this plan fails,” I joked.
