“Robbie.”
“What does he want?”
“I can only tell Annie.”
The conversation was becoming circular and Jemma eyed her nephews. The sons of her brother, Cord, they’d always been shifty. She’d never much liked them, to be truthful, but they’d clearly braved hazardous travel to get to Castle Questing, so whatever the message was, it must be important.
So they said.
“Then ye go intae the hall and eat,” she said. “I’ll bring Annie and ye can tell her with a room full of witnesses tae ensure ye dunna do anything stupid.”
Argyle was offended. “What would we do?” he said. “We came tae relay a message because Robbie asked us tae. We risked much with The Bones running about. Aye, we heard it was them. And now ye think we’re going tae assault Annie? That we’ve come all the way tae Castle Questing tae do that?”
Jemma didn’t back down. She pointed to the hall. “Get in there,” she said. “And stay there. Dunna leave the hall. If I come for ye and found ye’ve left, I’ll tell Kieran and he’ll have every Sassenach soldier at Castle Questing hunting for ye. I dunna have tae tell ye what will happen when they find ye.”
Argyle grunted with frustration, waving a hand at her as if to wave her away, but he and Brendan headed dutifully towards the hall as Jemma headed towards the keep. Neither man turned around until they were very nearly to the hall and, then, it was Brendan who looked over his shoulder.
“Is she still there?” Argyle asked quietly.
Brendan faced the hall entry. “Nay,” he said. “She’s gone tae find Annie. Or tell Kieran that we’ve arrived. There’s no telling with her.”
Argyle could smell the roast mutton and it was making him hungry. “We stay the course,” he muttered. “We tell Annie that Robbie is ill and she must come home.”
“But she mustna tell anyone.”
“They’ll never let her leave with us if she does.”
The scheme was set and on the brink of being executed. They’d come too far to back away now. With Annaleigh in their possession, they could force Ian Scott to do anything they wanted him to do.
And that’s exactly what they intended.
But the key would be getting her out of Castle Questing without anyone knowing. Much would depend on her loyalty to her brother and his wish that his illness be kept secret.
Very shortly, they would know…
One way or the other.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Have you gottenany rest at all?”
The question was from William to Kieran as Kieran entered William’s solar and landed heavily on a cushioned chair. The enormous knight kicked his feet out as he sank against the back of the chair and put his hands over his face.
“A little,” he said. “But there was much to do.”
“Like what?”
“Like assess the knights and the status of the army,” Kieran said, hands still over his face in an exhausted gesture. “Like assess the wounded. Christ, William, do I really need to go on?”
William was seated at the colossal, heavy table he used to conduct business. It had been brought all the way from Rome, carved from solid oak with scenes from ancient battles. William had seen it a woodworker’s shop in York and he’d spent three hours negotiating a price for it. He loved that table.
His wife thought it was hideous.
He was writing something onto a piece of fine vellum, carefully scripting out the letters, but Kieran’s snappish reply had him glancing up.
“You do not,” he said. “I was simply asking a question. Why not let Christian do those things? He is your second, is he not? He’s competent and well-trained.”
Kieran took his hands away from his face and reclined his head on the chair back. “He is,” he said. “But he has had command of the army with Anthony resting from a day and a night of command. And Talus… that is a big loss, William. He was a fine knight.”
