“I have been given leave to hunt him down. And ye have just given me even more reason to do so. As the Bruce himself said, Sir John Balreaves’s death was decreed from the moment he left the great hall. The good of that is twofold.”
“How so?”
“’Twill allow me to end the threat that has dogged me for so long. And the knowledge of Balreaves’s fate may weel make others hesitate before crying traitor or trying to lay false charges.”
“I pray ye are right. I should ne’er wish this fearful agony we endured visited upon another. Hacon?” She looked up at him and was sorry she could not see him clearly in the shadows. “Why was the king so interested in my father?”
“Dinnae fear for the mon, dearling. ’Tis his skills the king is intrigued by and the chance to make use of them for Scotland. He has even said he willnae condemn the mon if he refuses the king’s suggestion. ’Tisnae vanity, I think, to believe that unusual concession is meant as some salve for me, a gesture of gracious apology.”
“And so the king should apologize. I dinnae ken how he could even think ye guilty of treason or treachery.”
“Ah, loving, ’tis a troubled time. The mon cannae be too cautious. Balreaves had the power to bring such accusations, and the king has been betrayed often enough to listen. I believe the king was willing to listen to what ye had to say with an open heart because he had a doubt or two. He was willing to have me proven innocent.”
“Mayhaps.”
“Even the Douglas gave me a small gift.”
“Oh, aye? What?”
“The end of this squabble with your kinsmen.”
“Oh!” She hugged him. “That is good to hear.” She fought to subdue a huge yawn and failed. “I am sorry. All of this has left me verra tired.”
Tugging the covers up more securely around her shoulders, he kissed her forehead. “Then sleep, dearling.”
“When do we return to Dubheilrig?”
“I should like to return on the morrow, but we shall wait until ye are rested.”
“I shall be rested enough on the morrow. But should ye not get back all the property that was taken from Dubheilrig ere ye leave here?”
“’Tis all returned. Most of it was near at hand. Since the barony of Dubheilrig was held in the king’s name, then all was forfeit to the king, so ’twas right here in the palace. What little was not, Dugald soon found.”
“Then we shall return to Dubheilrig, starting on our way on the morrow.”
“Jennet, ye have had a tiring journey and—”
“And I wish this child born at Dubheilrig.” She gave in to the overwhelming urge to close her eyes.
Hacon tensed and slid one hand down to rest on her abdomen. “Does your time draw so near? Mayhaps we should linger here until after the bairn is born.”
“Nay, that could mean a month or more of idle waiting. Aye, ’tis June now and the bairn is due in about a fortnight. Howbeit, ye can ne’er expect a bairn to come at a time to suit you. And if I wait and have the child here, then we will have to wait until the bairn and I can travel as weel. Let us hie back to Dubheilrig. I can rest all I wish to once we are there.”
“All right. Now, go to sleep.”
“I already am,” she murmured.
He laughed, not really surprised, when a moment later her body went lax and her breathing fell into the light, easy cadence of sleep. Despite what he had said, he would delay the journey if she still looked deeply tired on the morrow. Now that their tribulations were over, even Balreaves facing utter defeat, he dared not take the slightest risk. She and the child she carried were all-important to him. That had become all too clear to him while he had sat in the dank pit of Dunfermline facing death for a crime he had not committed.
“And,” he whispered, brushing a kiss over her forehead, “once we are comfortably back at Dubheilrig, my sweet wee plunder, we will talk about all we both know in our hearts yet cannae seem to say aloud.”
Chapter 24
“Was it truly necessary to buy a gamecock?” Jennet complained without any real rancor as, having stopped for a noon rest, Hacon helped her out of the cart she and Elizabeth shared. “He is a verra ill-tempered bird.”
“I told you, Angus wouldnae take a reward for giving ye a ride to Dunfermline so I bought one of his birds at a verra high cost. I also bought a cart from his son, despite having been supplied with more than enough carts by the king himself. And,” Hacon added as he led her to a shady spot at the edge of the road, “the bird might grow sweeter of temper if ye would cease glaring at it. Sit here and I will get something for us to eat.”
Relaxing against the gnarled trunk of a hawthorn tree, she watched Hacon’s dozen or so men-at-arms scatter amongst the trees on either side of the road. Dugald, Ranald, and Robert escorted Elizabeth to a shady place. They would be in Dubheilrig long before nightfall, and Jennet was certain the village would heartily welcome back its soldiers.
