“They must have men posted at both gates. Nay one is going to lead a horse out, let alone two.”
Thor had no chance to say more since Father Bennett returned with his escorts. He held open the register and thrust it out for Sir Richard to examine. He tapped the page and cocked an eyebrow. Sir Richard seemed to scan the page, but Thor narrowed his eyes as he wondered if Sir Richard could actually read. It was as though the man stared at a blank page for all he seemed to understand what was before him. Had Father Bennett somehow realized that?
“As ye can see, I entered the marriage between Thormud Seamus Magnus Sinclair and Lady Greer Adelaide Gunn. Ye can also see I have registered three births and a death since that date. The ink is fully dried, and I didna have time to falsify aught. Ask yer men.” Father Bennett turned toward them. “Did I write aught in this book while ye followed me?”
“My lord, the priest touched no quill, nor did he open the book until he entered the keep.” The guard who stepped forward clearly wore a hauberk beneath his doublet. Sir Richard appeared more prepared for a battle than the last time he arrived. While none of the men who entered the Great Hall wore their full suit of armor, Thor didn’t doubt there were now fully armored mounted knights nearby. This complicated matters even beyond Greer’s observations.
“When were the banns posted? I would see record of that.”
“The couple already handfasted, which by the laws of Scotland is a binding marriage for a year and a day, and they married by consent before the same witnesses present today. There was nay need to read the banns since they already married. I performed the ceremony because they wish to seal their marriage before God. The law already recognized them as wed.”
“And when we were last here, both the men from Clan Gunn and I objected to any union between Lady Greer and this mongrel. The marriage does not stand without the posting of the banns and the opportunity for concerned parties to object. Two objections were already presented.”
“The couple has been living as mon and wife by mutual consent. That is all that is required. Even the Church recognizes this as an irregular but acceptable marriage in Scotland. The banns are a tradition, but Rome hasnae made it an incontrovertible decree. They’d already handfasted when ye attempted to object. That doesnae negate the marriage.”
Greer and Thor watched the priest argue with the English king’s delegate. Blaine stood silently next to the man of the cloth, who’d returned to his place on the dais. Rose clutched Thor’s sleeve beneath the table, grateful that she was already sitting beside her twin. Greer’s fingers ached from how tightly she clung to Thor’s hand. She feared she would be ill. The longer the exchange carried on, the more she feared casting up her accounts in front of everyone. When she could no longer deny her nausea, she pushed back her chair, her hand covering her mouth as she rushed to the dais stairs.
“Greer!” Thor rushed to help her, gathering her skirts in his hand as she descended the stairs. Sir Richard made the grave mistake of stepping in front of her, attempting to block her from reaching the main stairs to the bedchambers. Greer had no control of what happened next, but she felt a smug satisfaction when it did. She removed her hand and vomited across the front of the knight’s doublet, spraying some up to his neck and much of it landing on his boots. Thor caught her as she feigned unconsciousness. “I warned ye the other day that ma wife is with child. Ye have made her distraught in her fragile condition. If aught happens to ma bairn, I shall name ye the cause.”
Thor swept Greer into his arms, stepping around the mess she made and the stunned man whose nose curled. Thor didn’t wait for anyone to agree or disagree, making his way directly to the stairs. He climbed them to the second floor with Greer motionless in his arms. When they reached the second-floor landing, her eyes popped open, and her hand covered her mouth.
“Do ye fear being ill again?”
“Nay. I can smell maself. It’s wretched. It canna be pleasant for ye.” Greer grimaced.
“I dinna give a damn. What I care aboot is getting ma poorly wife away from that mon before he does more to upset ye and before he can do aught to separate us. I willna have it.”
“I feel much better now. I didna make maself ill, but neither did I try hard to move past him when he blocked ma way. He deserved it.” Her unrepentant grin eased Thor’s worry, and he couldn’t help but join in.
“I agree. Let’s get ye to our chamber where ye can rinse yer mouth and wipe yer face. Then we must ready the few things we can carry. Rose will sort out sending the rest to Dunbeath. I also dinna want the chamber to appear like we left for good.”
“Where are we going to go? This keep doesnae have tunnels, and there arenae any caves that we can hide in that they couldnae search.” She assumed it had no tunnels. She imagined if it had, Blaine and Rose would have told them after the first time both the English and the Gunns arrived. They understood how beneficial those would be if they existed and could provide Thor and Greer with a safe escape.
“We have the servants’ stairs, and they end near the passageway out to the gardens. If we can make it to the gardens, then we stand a better chance of skirting the Sassenachs. We need a way out of the bailey. If we can find that, then we can flee by foot or by horse. We may nae have a choice for a while.”
“Where will we find mounts?”
“I have the coin to buy at least one. If we canna buy any, then we borrow them.”
“Borrow?” Greer’s chin tucked as she looked up at Thor, an eyebrow raised.
“I’ll send them back to their owner once we reach Varrich or Dunbeath. Uncle Tristan has plenty of horses he can lend us. He can send someone back with the ones we borrow along the way.”
“That is a vera sound way to excuse theft. But I canna think of aught better, so I willna complain.”
“Our choices are vera limited, so we will have to take whatever opportunities appear.” They reached their chamber door, so Thor lowered Greer to her feet. They entered, and Thor locked and barred the door. Greer poured water into a mug and rinsed her mouth before chewing a few mint leaves. She soaked a linen square and wiped it across her face and along the back of her neck. She felt better for it, but she still didn’t feel herself. She wished she could claim a bairn was the reason, but they’d only made love for the first time that day. While she understood she might already carry their child, she doubted she would experience any symptoms this quickly. She assumed it was her frazzled nerves and fear that caused it. She didn’t want to imagine having the ague while making a mad dash.
“Gather what ye need and we can place it in a plaid. Only pick what can fit into a saddlebag once we get a horse.”
“I dinna need aught but a plaid for the nights.”
“I’ll keep ye warm, lass.” Thor winked. They both knew they still needed the extra layers. Even though it remained warm enough that Greer didn’t need an arisaid while the sun was out, at night, she would freeze. She tossed a fresh chemise and two pairs of stockings onto the Sinclair plaid Thor unfolded. He added his own stockings and a leine. Once he refolded the yards of material, it was impossible to tell they’d hid anything within. “We need to make our way out before anyone comes to check on ye.”
“We have to tell Rose and Blaine. They’ll panic if they dinna find us.”
“I ken. That’s to our advantage. It’ll be obvious to the Sassenachs that they didna help us if they are anxious to find us too. They ken which direction we’ll head.”
“And if we dinna find a way out when we get to the gardens?”
