“I would not think of his demise,” Leila said.“He has been good to me, and I like him well.”
“As do many, yet his passing will come.I do not wish for it, either, but I would have you know the challenge before you.”
“Challenge?”Leila did not understand.
“What do you believe will happen to Killairic when Calum leaves this world?”
Leila frowned.“Surely it is the legacy of my lord husband...”She fell silent when Murdoch shook his head, his gaze unswerving.
“Killairic was granted to Calum by the king.”
“And now it is his, surely?”
“It is the king’s,” Murdoch said, his expression intent.
“Then it is not my husband’s legacy?”
“It might be, or it might not.”The warrior looked over the hills to the firth and England beyond, his eyes narrowed.“Is it true that Jerusalem is fallen?”
“Saladin reclaimed it, aye.”
“And the King of England would call for a crusade to retrieve it?”
“We heard that rumor in France and England as well.The French king means to join him in that effort, by all accounts.”
Murdoch nodded.“Do you think it likely that a king who called for a crusade to evict the infidels from Jerusalem would entrust a holding upon his borders...”
“To a man wedded to the enemy,” Leila finished, then sat down upon the bench.She knotted her hands together in her lap, hating that she could be the obstacle to Fergus keeping his home.
“I do not,” Murdoch said softly.
“Nor do I,” Leila agreed.
She watched him look past her to the village, his gaze sharpening on something there.She twisted on the bench and saw the priest outside the chapel, sweeping the steps free of the debris that must have gathered there in the storm.The sunlight seemed to touch the cross on the roof of the building as she watched the priest and Leila made up her mind.
She turned back to Murdoch, who appeared to be waiting for her decision.“I was born and raised in one of the villages claimed by King Godfroi and surrendered to the command of the Holy Sepulchre after his death.More importantly, I grew up in a household much concerned with tolerance.There were Christians serving in my uncle’s household.”
“Rum not Franj,” Murdoch guessed.
“Aye, their kin were from Constantinople and Antioch.The wife of one told stories that were common to both faiths, like the Seven Sleepers, to my cousin and me.My uncle was much enamored of the works of Abu Ali ibn Sina, both in matters of medicine and the nature of the soul.”
“They call him Avicenna here.His works are known in some circles.”
“I understand that it would be of aid to Fergus if I changed faith,” Leila said with care.“But I would not imperil my immortal soul without understanding fully what I do.”She gestured to the priest.“It is unlikely that I can speak to this man, or understand him with sufficient accuracy to discuss such matters.”
Murdoch bowed.“I would be delighted to be your servant in this, my lady.Though I am not a religious man myself, I believe I could translate for you.”
“This is what you came to propose to me,” Leila guessed, seeing that he was not surprised.
Murdoch nodded and the barest smile curved his lips.“I would see the succession of Killairic assured, my lady.It is possible that you will soon conceive a child, which would be good, but I would not have such a detail put all at risk.”
Leila nodded.“I thank you, Murdoch.Yours is good counsel and I appreciate that you dared to offer it, though I cannot say what the result will be.Not yet.”
He bowed again.“Inshallah,” he said and Leila smiled.
“Inshallah,” she agreed.She hastened back to the solar then, intent upon leaving her rug there and greeting her husband.
There wasno doubt that Fergus had married well.
