“Wheesht, I am that sorry, sir. I ne’er saw him leave.”
“Dinnae blame yourself. Ye were watching him closely. Sometimes one of them just gets a wee bit of luck and slips right by a mon. E’en he sounded surprised that he had managed it.”
“Aye, but ‘tisnae comforting to ken that he has realized we are on his trail.”
“Doesnae matter. It is making him uneasy and that can only be in our favor. We will take him up soon. I but need a wee bit more ere I dare kidnap the fool. The king is beginning to question why we havenae found the traitor yet.” The foul curse Peter spat out eased a little of the fury just speaking of the king’s inquiry roused in Simon.
“Wehavefound him. ‘Tis that fool Hepbourn and his weak-chinned cousin.”
“Oh, aye, that it is. But, Hepbourn isnae without power and coin and he is weel liked at court, e’en by the king. More is needed to point the finger at him. Especially when the king is convinced it is the Armstrongs of Aigballa. They make a much better clutch of villains than Hepbourn and his foolish cousin. If naught else, there willnae be many who complain about the fate of that wee clan for too many Armstrongs are weel kenned to be thieves and rogues. And, we need to find the one who is the leader.”
“Are ye certain it isnae Hepbourn?”
“Verra certain. Hepbourn himself says so. I do, however, have a name now. I need to ken if it is the right one, and if he is the leader. What was said by David and Hepbourn in the woods didnae make that all that clear. If I didnae feel certain that I was weel hidden, I would think they had seen me–their talk was so carefully worded.”
“Who is it?”
“Sir Henry Innes of Lochancorrie.” Peter stared at Simon in silent shock for a moment and then cursed again. “He is your kin, isnae he?”
“He is my brother in fact. My elder brother. If he hadnae banished me from the clan, he would be my laird.”
“Jesu, Simon, this becomes dangerous for ye now. Mayhap ye should step back a wee bit. E’en better, go far, far away so that when this is all discovered, no one can point any fingers at ye.”
“I cannae.” He prayed Ilsabeth would understand why he could not leave even though the net of suspicion was tightening around all of them now. “ ‘Tis my clan.”
“And your blood, your own brother.”
“Nay, Henry isnae any brother to me. He didnae have to banish me for I had ne’er meant to go back there. But there are good people there. Old Bega and MacBean were born there and still have family there. The ones who came before my father and brother were good men and they built something worth saving. I cannae let what Henry does stain the honor they showed all their lives or the honor that was Lochancorrie’s before my father and brother sat in the laird’s chair.”
Peter nodded. “The stain spreads wide when one of a clan dishonors the name and that isnae fair or just, but ‘tis how it is. Especially if ‘tis the laird who spread the stain. So, I am to watch for Henry Innes, laird of Lochancorrie. His looks?”
“Much akin to mine only he is heavier, broader, more muscular and with a thicker neck. I havenever seen him for near to ten years but I dinnae think he will be difficult for ye to spot. He has but one eye and a vicious scar running down the right side of his face. A gift from his first wife. He claims she attacked him in a fit of madness and then hurled herself out the window. He ne’er did explain why she was in the highest of the tower rooms, the one Henry used as his private den so that he could debauch all the maids in peace.
“But I am thinking it will be the way he behaves that will give him away the most. He doesnae act like the laird of a small, remote clan. He acts just like a mon who thinks he has a right to steal a throne.” Which was one reason Simon could not immediately discount the idea that his brother was head of the group of traitors. “He is brutal, uses fists ere he e’en thinks of using words, and he takes to bed whate’er lass catches his eyes whether she wishes to be taken or nay. If ye ken any lasses in this town ye care about, Peter, best get them hidden. Henry sees rape as a mon’s right.”
“Are ye certain ye were bred from the same seed?”
Simon laughed briefly and even he could hear the bitterness in the sound. “Aye, I fear I am certain. My father was a brute as weel, but nothing like Henry. In the end, my father e’en feared him and he may have been right to do so. There is a verra good chance that it was Henry who killed him. Be verra cautious around Henry, Peter. He may act like some brute from a distant past, all brawn and brutality, but he has wit and cunning. He also has skill, fights like one possessed, and prefers to kill all enemies as slowly as he can.”
“There is a monster coming to town then, isnae there?”
“Aye, there may be. I am still hanging on to the hope that Hepbourn is wrong, confused, or has been lied to by someone. The possibility that he is right gives me e’en more reason to find the traitors, prove they are as guilty as sin, and prove that I deserve the reputation I have made for myself. Win the king’s favor all over again, if ye will. If I can do that then I may be able to keep the clan from having to pay for Henry’s idiocy. I may e’en be able to keep the lands.”
“Then ye would be a laird.”
“At best I would be guardian of Henry’s son for I wouldnae wish a child to pay for the sins of his father, either.”
“Does Henry have a son?”
“He has certainly done his best to breed near every woman for miles so I cannae see why he wouldnae. Ere I left he had buried two wives and three of the four daughters they had given him. The other was barely more than a child and he sold her in marriage to a mon who was old enough to be her grandfather. If Henry finally had the son he craved, from his third wife or one of his lovers, ‘tis something I shall deal with when this is done for there are too many things that could go wrong.” Simon stood up and clapped Peter on the back. “Heed me in this. Be verra careful if my brother does come into town. If ye miss him slipping out on ye, ye will pay for it with your life, for he will come up on your back and cut your throat.”
“Do ye have any other family?” Peter asked, his smile a little crooked.
“Three younger brothers and two sisters. My sisters have long been married and I believe they are content. I dinnae ken where my other brothers live, but they left home at a young age just as I did. I pray that means that they havenae been infected by the taint that twisted my father and brother. Take care, Peter. I will meet with ye again, same time and same place, in two days unless something happens that requires we meet sooner.”
Peter held his tankard up in a silent toast and Simon headed for home. He realized he had a need to be with Ilsabeth and the children. He was feeling sick to his soul over the chance that his own blood would be a traitor. Despise Henry as he did, he still found it hard to believe that the man would turn against his own king. As far as Simon knew, there was no real reason for Henry to do so. Henry had been banished from the court but he suffered no other ill, and he had well deserved to be banished.
What would he do if the leader of the traitors were Henry? Simon cursed softly. He knew what he would do. He would hand his own brother over to the king for punishment. It would be hard, and not because he had any care for the man, but because he was blood, his own laird despite throwing him out of Lochancorrie.
