The army stayed on the edge of the convent grounds and began setting up camp. The convent and its kitchen could not feed an army, and anyway, men weren’treallywelcome inside. It was a nunnery, after all. However, Senga, Brendan, and Noah, along with a few of their captains, trotted up towards the building itself.
Freya had made the difficult decision to stay behind, to guard Keep Grahame against whatever might come its way while its Laird was gone. She had said her goodbyes, and Senga had twisted around in her saddle to get one last look at her friend’s face, in case they never met again.
She wished she had had time to say goodbye to Astrid, too.
After, she told herself firmly.There will be an after. Theremustbe.
As they approached the heavy gray building, a familiar face came hurrying out. Senga smiled at the sight of Kyla, small, bespectacled Kyla, with her husband, Thomas, following behind.
“I’m so glad to see ye!” Kyla chirped. “Come in, come in. We’ve prepared some good food. It’s not a feast—not what ye will have been used to at Keep Grahame, I wager—but it’s good and hot.”
“Good and hot sounds fine,” Senga laughed, slipping down from her saddle.
Glancing past Kyla, she saw Struan and Una standing in the doorway. As always, they kept themselves just a little aloof from the rest. She supposed that had something to do with their respective, terrible upbringings. It was probably best to avoid thinking of that.
A handful of the nuns came hurrying out to meet Senga, faces alight.
“Never thought I’d see ye back here, lassie,” Sister Rosemary laughed, wrapping Senga in an herb-scented hug. Sister Abigail darted forward to hug her next, smiling faintly.
“I hear that ye are in charge of the Grahame infirmary,” Sister Abigail said, sounding pleased. “I taught ye well, I suppose.”
“Ye taught me excellently, sister,” Senga laughed.
Last of all, the Abbess appeared at the top of the stone steps, her hands tucked in her sleeves. Well, the woman had always liked to make an entrance. She descended the stairs somewhat grandly, smiling around at them.
“Ye arrived in perfect time,” she announced to nobody in particular. “I just finished a chess game with Struan here.”
Struan liked chess? This surprised Senga. She glanced at Noah, who lifted his eyebrows in answering confusion.
When their eyes met, heat spread through her chest, and Senga wanted to grin like a fool. She could still feel the cool slickness of the ribbon wound around her wrist, binding them together in a handfasting ceremony. She could smell the herbs Freya had picked and could feel the warmth of Noah’s hand in hers.
Stop it,she chastised herself.Not in a nunnery! It’s not as though ye will be allowed to share a room with him.
“Ye are welcome, all of ye,” the Abbess continued. “Tell me, what news do ye bring?”
“Only news of our armies,” Brendan said, stepping forward. “We’ve brought what men we can spare. Laird and Lady Kenneth are coming, too, but the roads are bad from the rain, and they are delayed. We’ll have to pray that what we have is enough. If Laird Dickson knows that his plan is discovered, I don’t know what he’ll do. He might attack earlier, before we can fortify, or perhaps he’ll change his plan.”
“He won’t change his plan,” Struan spoke up quietly. “Not now. It’ll make him look weak, and I don’t believe he’ll risk it. He’s committed to his course now. He is coming.”
There was a shiver of uneasy silence after he had spoken. People glanced at each other worriedly, and smiles faded from their faces. A sense of unease lodged itself in Senga’s stomach.
He is only speaking the truth,she reminded herself miserably.The truth is not pleasant.
“We march at dawn,” Brendan said, breaking the silence. “Until then, we will rest and discuss our plans for the fight. It could be the last battle.”
A murmur went through the assembled people at that. Brendan’s voice was light and cheerful, with a line of determination in it. It seemed to give the people heart.
Struan, Una, and Thomas went over to Brendan and began to talk about the battle plans. Sister Rosemary and Sister Abigail disappeared back into the convent, no doubt to make preparations for the food. Senga found that she was hungry.
The Abbess’ gaze fell on her, and the older woman smiled.
“I am glad to see you, Senga. Very glad indeed.”
“We’re all happy to see her,” Kyla chipped in, beaming up at Senga. “We prepared your old room for you. Youwillbe staying with us, won’t you, and not with the army?”
“I would like my old room,” Senga confessed, smiling.
Suddenly, she was aware of Noah behind her. He stood still, saying nothing. The Abbess’ gaze gradually slid over to him. Her eyes were thoughtful and a little curious and slid slowly back to Senga.
