She’d missed the beginning of the man’s conversation, for it had taken her several minutes to make her way to the room without being seen by anyone. Once in place in the steward’s chamber, she’d heard the discussion about the king’s orders. There were three more battles to be fought in this area and they would happen within the next three weeks. The Black Douglas would lead one strike, her husband another, then they would combine their forces for the last one.
Later on, from her vantage point on the battlements, she watched as the new storage rooms over the kitchens were being completed. Dunstaffnage’s continued place in the Bruce’s plan for Scotland was assured by the work that Sebastien had ordered and overseen. On a grander scale, he wanted to build a new wall and extend the protection of the castle to include the barracks and the new stables. Due to the rock foundation, this addition would take several months, possibly years, and the work of hundreds of men to complete. So for now, while the Bruce’s focus must remain on fighting, only the necessary renovations were carried out.
After her daily walk around the high perimeter, Lara made her way to the kitchens, where the main tasks of the cook and his workers were butchering, salting and preserving the beef, mutton and pork they would need for the winter. Just as she reached the path to the doorway and stairs, someone bumped her from behind. Nearly falling, she was only stopped from doing so by the same person grabbing her shoulders and pulling her roughly to her feet. Lara spun around to see who it was and gasped.
Eachann MacDougall.
“Here now, my lady,” he said as he released her. Then he continued in a muted voice that only she could hear. “Hush now, Lara. I have but a moment here. I amno’ happy that you are avoiding me.” He had a cloak on and, with the hood pulled down low, his face was hidden.
Lara looked around to see if their exchange was noticed by anyone. No one seemed to be watching them. “I have nothing to tell you, Eachann,” she whispered. “So I will not be meeting you anymore.”
“Think ye no’? High and mighty, are ye now? Well, I have word from your father for you.” He closed the distance between them and took her arm. “Be there as I’ve told ye to be, and bring something personal of his.”
Lara shook, hearing her cousin’s angry and threatening tone of voice. He was unpredictable and dangerous. “What do you mean? Whose?”
“Dinna be playing the fool for me, Lara. Yer husband is who. Bring some personal tidbit or trinket of his.” He released her with a push.
“Lara!”
She turned and saw Malcolm running to her. He must not see Eachann. Facing her cousin, she whispered, “You must go now. Sebastien will hear of this.”
“Oh, I see how it is now.Sebastien,eh? If ye dinna bring me what I ask, I will be back. I can slip in and out of here with no one the wiser.”
“Go now, Eachann. Please,” she implored him. She did not want Malcolm to be in danger.
“I will be going. Do not disappoint me, lass. The next one I visit will be the boy,” he threatened as he nodded in her brother’s direction. “Be there.”
“Lara!” Malcolm called out again, and Lara turned her body to try to block Eachann from the boy’s view. She looked back over her shoulder and saw her cousin melting into the crowd in the yard.
“Malcolm! What is it?” She reached out and brushed his hair from his face.
Malcolm leaned over and looked behind her. “That looked like Cousin—”
“I did not see anyone, Malcolm. Here now, tell me what you are so excited about.”
Malcolm shook his head but did not ask again. In a few minutes he was so involved with his story about going fishing with Sebastien’s men that he forgot about who might or might not have been there. Lara walked with her brother to the gate and released him to Sebastien’s men after being reassured of their supervision. Then, she went to her chambers to try to figure out what to do about Eachann.
Once there, she glanced at Sebastien’s trunk. He never wore jewelry or any kind of decorative belt or badge. For what possible reason could her cousin need something of Sebastien’s? She might not understand his need for it, but she understood the clear threat if she did not provide it.
Malcolm.
She shuddered at the thought of Eachann gaining control of her brother. Her sister was not safe, either.
Mayhap if Lara gave some trinket to Eachann he would leave and not come back. She could convince him that this area, indeed Scotland itself, would be completely in the Bruce’s control soon, and then Robert would turn his sights on the English.
Lara walked to the corner and carefully opened Sebastien’s trunk. Looking through it would not be amiss, since she was the one who usually placed his cleaned garments there. After a minute of just thinking on it, she convinced herself that there would be no harm in seeing what lay at the bottom. Sliding her hands under the layers of cloth, she lifted them up to check beneath them.
She did not notice the pouch at first, for it was tucked into a small pocket in the lining of the trunk. She moved the clothes aside and slid the leather pouch free, untying the laces and tugging it open. It felt empty, but when she turned it over, two objects fell into her palm—a gold cross and a bejeweled ring.
She examined both items closely. The cross was plain, with no markings, and it was tied onto a leather strip that served in the absence of a matching chain. The ring had a large blue gem on the front and an inscription on the back that she could not read in the shadows of the chamber. When she would have moved nearer to the window for a better view of it, she heard someone climbing the steps toward the chamber.
Hurriedly she placed the items back in the pouch and the pouch back in its hiding place. Putting the clothing over it and smoothing it into position, she closed the lid of the trunk and stood just as Sebastien reached the doorway.
“I saw you in the yard,” he said, before crossing the threshold of the room. “You looked upset.”
Dear God! Had he seen Eachann as well? “Upset?”
“I told him he could not go without your permission. I feared you would throw yourself in the firth after him if you had no knowledge of the plan.” His smile warmed her.
