A second man of an age with Ramsay and two younger boys straightened to survey them from the far side of the building. The man was tall and trim, his hair a dark gold and his beard neatly trimmed to a point. He was sufficiently handsome that Anna stole a slow look, and Evangeline liked that his gaze was steady. He and Ramsay shook hands and conferred quietly, exchanging no more than a few words as if old friends.
The boy were perhaps fifteen summers of age, and less tidy in appearance than the fair-haired man. Their garments were plain and well-worn, and their hair was long on their necks. They deferred to Ramsay, though, and at his gesture, turned away from their scrutiny of Evangeline and Anna to continue with their labors.
Evangeline dismounted and took an appreciative breath of the familiar scents of horseflesh, manure and straw. It was warm, as well, and she reminded herself that she might have been dead this day. ’Twas a moment to count one’s blessings.
One of the boys took Gealaich’s reins with a bow of his head and another took those of Anna’s palfrey, leaving the two of them standing, each with a bundle of wet garb. To Evangeline’s satisfaction, the boys began immediately to brush down the horses, showing an experience with the task that convinced her the creatures would be well-tended.
To her greater relief, a familiar stamp and nicker sounded at the end of the space, making her realize a dark stallion was almost lost in the dark shadows.
“Basilisk!” Evangeline cried, striding toward the great black destrier. That stallion’s eyes gleamed and he nickered a greeting, even as all the men in the stables spoke as one.
“He bites, my lady!”
Evangeline laughed. “He has opinions, like any creature of majesty,” she said, letting the beast nibble at her hair. “Oh, Ramsay, I am so glad you did not sell him.”
The men exchanged glances and Ramsay looked startled. Then he bowed. “I saved him for you, of course, my lady.”
She laughed and ran her hands over the horse’s gleaming flanks, unable to disguise her delight. The great horse nuzzled her, clearly glad of her presence as well. Though it was insufficient evidence, the horse’s presence and good condition redoubled Evangeline’s view of Ramsay’s merit.
He could not be a villain, not in truth.
“Hare stew this night,” the fair man said, then lifted a brow. “Again.”
Again, Evangeline was surprised to hear Norman French, but was glad her family often spoke it at home. The men had unfamiliar accents, which meant she had to listen more closely to their words than to Ramsay’s to understand.
Where were they from?
Why were they in Scotland? It seemed unlikely that men would journey a distance to join a company of thieves in a forest. Had they been convicted of some crime in their own lands?
Ramsay nodded, seemingly less concerned by similar fare than his companion. “And most welcome it will be. Have you all eaten already?”
The fair man nodded. “Aye, since we might have starved waiting upon you.”
“I am not so late as that,” Ramsay protested, casting Evangeline a smile that made her heart jump. “And I think the delay was justified.”
The fair man’s brows rose when Evangeline smiled in return and the pair stared at each other, their gazes locked. Evangeline let her admiration show and saw the heat dawn in Ramsay’s eyes, a blue fire that seared her very soul.
The older man returned, looked between them and cleared his throat. “I have no doubt the boys will readily finish whatever remains,” he said. “If you can stir yourself from your admiration long enough to eat.”
Ramsay grinned, untroubled by this comment, but Evangeline flushed. “I believe we will.” He gestured to a narrow staircase that Evangeline and Anna should precede him. “If you can bear to leave the horse, my lady, we might eat.”
“Of course.” Evangeline kissed Basilisk’s nose, a salute he tolerated as well as any man of her acquaintance. “Behave,” she whispered and he stamped a great hoof with such vigor that she smiled.
“Basilisk?” Ramsay said as he lit a third lantern from those burning in the stables.
“Named for his weighty stare,” Evangeline said. “When he was a mere colt, the ostler said that glare could turn a man to stone, and so he was named for it.”
Ramsay chuckled as he lifted the lantern, the light illuminating the way ahead. “Between his kick, his bite and his glare, he is better armed than most steeds.”
“He has opinions,” Evangeline repeated. “I would not give asoufor a being without any.”
Ramsay raised his brows but did not comment upon that. Instead, he gestured to the building around them. “Construction on this tower was halted before it was completed,” he explained as they climbed the stairs. “And now it stands vacant.”
“Save for you.”
“Save for me and my men on this night at least. Who am I to let a fine structure go to waste?”
“Is it not your haven?”
