Ahearn exchanged a glance with Alexander and rose with purpose from a bench in the hall. Evidently he had heard the tidings as well, and Alexander nodded agreement that Ahearn should join him. The older warrior could always be relied upon to share his views and Alexander would never regret his company. Indeed, he wished that he had a Captain of Arms as experienced and shrewd as Ahearn, but he knew the other man would never be tempted to leave Inverfyre for long. They strode together to the gates of the keep itself where Ahearn swore beneath his breath with unexpected vehemence.
“He is bold beyond all this one,” he said with heat.
“You know him?” Alexander asked, looking between the two men.
“That is Basilisk, the horse stolen from us by brigands en route to Dunhaven. He must have been one of them.” The older man’s outrage was clear, but it grew another increment when the arrival was in view. “That is Anna!”
“Anna?” Alexander echoed.
“Lady Evangeline’s maid. But why is she here, and without her mistress? Has he abducted her? Is this a demand for ransom?” Ahearn stepped toward the portcullis, his eyes narrowing. “And that, I am certain, is the palfrey surrendered to Lady Evangeline by the brigand, the mare she recognized as Gealaich, stolen from Inverfyre years before. Aye, ’tis. Who is this knave in truth? I will have his name if not his hide!”
The man leapt from the saddle of the black stallion and approached the gate with confidence. ’Twas not that the arrival failed to appreciate the defenses of the keep, for he openly surveyed them, his gaze running over the high walls and parapets, lingering on each of the sentries who walked the summit of those walls. He even nodded approval before considering both gatekeepers, undoubtedly taking note of their weapons.
He was dressed simply in dark garb, though Alexander knew that the fur-lined cloak was not cut of cheap cloth. From his tousled fair hair to his trim beard, to his polished boots and assured manner, he was clearly a nobleman of affluent means.
If unarmed and riding a stolen destrier.
He smiled outright at Alexander and bowed. “May I hope that you are Laird Alexander of Kinfairlie?”
“Aye, you find me in my own keep. Who are you?”
“I am Sir Talbot Everard, a knight at your service…”
“You can be no knight!” Ahearn protested. “You must have been one of the brigands who attacked our party.”
“Indeed, I was part of that venture,” that man acknowledged readily.
“Then you are no knight,” Ahearn fumed. “You are no better than a renegade and have no claim to a noble title.”
“Yet I do,” Talbot insisted, a little steel entering his tone. “For I was trained for my spurs under the patronage of the Baron of Rainfirth, my own father, and was knighted by that very man.”
His words carried the conviction of truth, though Ahearn shook his head.
“And what brings you to my gates?” Alexander asked.
“A message, sir, from my comrade, Sir Ramsay MacLaren…”
“Sir!” Ahearn fairly roared. “That knave had naught but his pride and his crossbow, when I cast him into Inverfyre’s dungeon five years past. I would not even hear his name.”
“You should,” Talbot said with heat. “For he alone stands between your former charge, Lady Evangeline, and a dire fate.”
Ahearn flicked a glance at Alexander, his lack of comprehension. “But she is at Dunhaven, with her betrothed, where I delivered her safely.”
“She may be returned to Dunhaven by now,” the new arrival agreed. “Though I fear she is not safe there.” His voice hardened. “The lady is in peril and we believed her kin should know, in case they were inclined to come to her aid.”
“What is this nonsense?” Ahearn began, but Alexander laid a hand upon his arm to silence him.
In that moment, the maid slipped from her horse and hastened to the gates. “You must believe him, my lord Ahearn, sir. Lord Rufus tried to drown my lady and she only escaped with Ramsay MacLaren’s aid.”
Ahearn gasped. “Anna! Is this true?”
“’Tis sir. ’Tis! Then Sir Ramsay defended my lady when we were attacked by Lord Rufus and his men.” Her words spilled forth in a torrent which gave them the ring of truth to Alexander. Anna had truly been frightened, but she was not afraid of Ahearn or Talbot. She swallowed, her voice rising. “Lord Rufus would have killed Sir Ramsay before us all, but my lady intervened. She vowed to accompany Lord Rufus to see Sir Ramsay’s life spared. Sirs, I entreat you, you must ride to the aid of my mistress before ’tis too late!” The maid fell silent then, flushed and curtsied, as if she had said far more than she intended, or perhaps she had run out of words. She spared Talbot a glance and he nodded at her.
“I thank you, Anna, for that confession,” he said and her blush deepened.
The maid had said precisely enough to pique Alexander’s need to know more. “You will abandon all weapons here at the gate, for no stranger enters Kinfairlie armed,” he said.
“I am unarmed,” Talbot said, lifting his arms to show as much.
